The Method of Madness

To back up my support of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, I’m starting a series that I’m calling Friday Fixin’s. Each post will contain a simple, easy-to-prepare, healthy meal. All of these recipes were pretty much created by me, but I will definitely let you know when I create something inspired by someone else.

So here’s the first one! This recipe is super easy, super delicious, and you only need SIX ingredients!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast
• Salt and pepper
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tsp. garlic, minced
• 1 box of Goya seasoned rice box (I used the Rice & Red Beans Rice Mix)
• 3 cups water

Equipment

• A Chef’s knife or Santoku
• Large pot (between a 2 and 3 quart pot will do)
• Large cooking spoon, metal or plastic

Instructions

1. Coat chicken breast lightly with salt and pepper. Cut the chicken breast into 1-inch pieces.
2. Place the pot on the stove and turn the heat on to medium-high.
3. Put into the pot: the 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil and the 2 tsp. minced garlic. Stir around with cooking spook and let cook for several seconds.
4. Add the diced chicken to the pot, and stir around with oil and garlic. Let cook for about a minute.
5. Add the package of the Goya seasoned rice mix. Stir around with other ingredients and let cook for about a minute.
6. Add 3 cups of water to the point. Let the water come to a boil, and then let the mixture boil for ONE MINUTE. After that, turn the heat to LOW, and let simmer for about 40 to 45 minutes.

Just a couple notes about the recipe based on my experience making it:

• The overall texture (when done right) is light, creamy rice, and the chicken should be tender and fall apart in your mouth.
• This isn’t exactly a 30-minute meal, but it is extremely light on the preparation (you only have to cut the chicken and throw things together), so if you’re coming home right after work to make dinner this will definitely not tax you.
• This dish is pretty scalable. You can choose to use any Goya rice product you’d like, or you can make everything completely from scratch. The reason why I use the Goya products is because all of the seasonings are in the mix for you. Making your own can be costly, and if you don’t know how to create spice mixes, the flavorings could be disastrous (or non-existent). But if you do, make your spice mix and use whatever rice you’d like!

Given my recipe a try? Let me know what you think in the comments!

I’ve followed Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution show more or less from the sidelines – I had heard about it, found it interesting, and I actually caught one of the shows last night. Jamie is a really great guy (or bloke) and you could definitely see the passion he has for making these kids grow up healthy.

Food is something I’m passionate about too (kids not so much), and I can’t say enough just how important it is that you eat healthy and encourage others to eat healthy. While Jamie is focusing on kids, I think as HR professionals we find ourselves often setting up company events that usually involve food: breakfasts, lunches, parties. We should strive to ensure that people have healthy options to choose from. If your company uses vending machines, make sure they carry water, diet drinks, and healthy snacks. Creating a strong health and wellness program that reflects a corporate philosophy of eating and living well can help and encourage employees to do the same – and it shows your company cares about its employees. Have “foodie” employees show cooking demonstrations that can teach employees how to prepare healthy lunches and meals at home quickly.

HR tends to bemoan its role all too often in organizations, and I believe promoting wellness to be one way HR can make a positive impact across an organization. Eating well isn’t a new idea anyway. Do you recall the old adage, “you are what you eat”? Yes, an actual piece of folk wisdom that’s true, I know; but if you eat junk food, you’ll end up looking like the junk food. It’s common sense to eat healthy. Most people don’t know what healthy is, or they believe healthy translates to downright starvation on a diet of salad greens. The latter is completely untrue. About two years ago, I lost about 60 (220 to 160) pounds by exercising and eating healthy, and you know how (and what) I love to eat. Healthy isn’t about deprivation; it’s about knowing what foods are and how they impact your overall health and diet.

And just to be honest, I’ve only gained back about 20 pounds in those two years. I’m happy to say I’ve already lost 5 of them.

To join the Food Revolution, check out these links:

Read Jamie’s food philosophy: http://www.jamieoliver.com/philosophy
Sign the petition: http://www.jamieoliver.com/petition
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jamie_oliver
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jamieoliver