In the last year, I have had 2 – count them…TWO – fairly significant surgeries. Last May, I had my gallbladder removed after a gallbladder attack put me in the hospital (mind you, I didn’t know I even HAD a gallbladder problem). Then in November, I had an emergency appendectomy leaving me two organs lighter. From June to October, I felt like I was definitely still healing from the gallbladder surgery and trying to figure out what I could and could not eat. If you’ve had gallbladder surgery, you know you basically can’t eat anything fatty, greasy, rich…..aka good. And also what 95% of my diet consisted of! So when I had the emergency appendectomy – which, by the way, makes you feel like you are certainly dying. It’s horrible and terrible and I’m glad I never have to experience it again. But when I had it, I felt like I had to start ALL over with the healing and relearning what I could eat again. I made it through the holidays basically by not eating much of anything but come January, I knew I had to start eating better and treating my body better.
Well…..its now April and, as of 2 days ago, I had not even started any of that!! I could blame a lot of things – post holidays, travel, busyness – but what matters is I started yesterday! I have a nutrition plan (not a diet – I hate those!) and am going to try my best to follow it during the week and fill my body with more good stuff and less crap. It’s all a work in process and, if you know me, you know I will always need a day for Chick Fil A, pizza, and some bourbon. BUT…it is a START…and you’ve gotta start somewhere, right?
The nutrition plan I’m following gives me a guide to how much protein, vegetables, carbs, etc I need every day. So yesterday I jumped right in with this DELICIOUS bowl for lunch. While I was eating it, I found myself thinking how it really did taste better than any fast food I could’ve eaten! That’s progress to me!
Mediterranean Chicken Bowl
Ingredients
- 1/2 chicken breast, pre-cooked with your favorite seasoning (instructions below)
- 1/3 cup quinoa
- 1/3 cup zucchini, roughly chopped
- 1/4 avocado, chopped
- 2 tbsp feta cheese
- 2 tbsp hummus
- 1 handful chopped kalamata olives
- 1 squeeze of half a lemon
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- olive oil
Instructions
- Bake chicken breasts at 350 for about 20 minutes or until cooked through. I sprinkled the chicken with olive oil and my favorite chicken seasoning. Once cooked, dice half of a chicken breast and save the rest for another meal.
- Cook quinoa according to package. Halfway through cooking time, I added 1/2 tbsp of minced garlic and a good squeeze of a lemon.
- While the quinoa cooks, drizzle a tbsp or so of olive oil in a pan. Once hot, add the cut up chicken, zucchini, and other 1/2 tbsp of minced garlic. Cook until the zucchini is soft.
- n your bowl, add 1/3 cup of the quinoa and the cooked chicken and zucchini. Top with black olives, feta, avocado, and hummus.
I thought it was simple and delicious. I still have my gallbladder and stones as I am in my eighties and afraid of having anaesthetic so if your recipes are gall bladder friendly I would love to have more please. Thank you for saring
Maggie, I will definitely post some gallbladder friendly recipes! I had mine removed a few years ago and learning how to eat again without a gallbladder has been tricky. Thanks for the comment! Glad you liked the bowl!