Guest Runner Chef: Matthew Halip

Matthew Halip, a 22-year-old student at Guilford College, is one of my personal training and running clients. Matthew's a member of the Lacrosse Team at Guilford college and he's also training for his first marathon-The North Face Endurance Challenge taking place in San Francisco in just a couple of weeks. This is a bear of a marathon with a 4,519ft elevation gain!! This is a race where it's mandatory to check in at each aid station. Matthew can handle it though. He's a great young man, in awesome physical shape and has a good head on his shoulders. I've been very impressed with his ability to handle the workouts, his race training, lacrosse practices and school (it's his senior year). I discovered that Matthew has a flare for cooking. Actually he said it's a passion for his entire family. So, I asked him to share with us one of his favorite recipes he likes to prepare when in training. Read on to discover his tasty chicken and vegetable dish. 

Matthew's Healthy Chicken-n-Veggies

This is a very simple chicken and vegetable dish, similar to stir-fry but significantly healthier, in the sense that I don’t use a pre-made marinade or soy sauce (both of which have a high sodium content). 

Main Ingredients:

• Chicken breast
• Carrots
• Corn
• Broccoli

(Most any combination of vegetables will work.)

Coating for Chicken:

• Chili Powder
• White granulated pepper (black pepper will work. I only use white pepper because I think it looks better)
• Sprinkle of salt
• Garlic powder (use garlic if possible I just didn’t have any in stock, but no more then 4 gloves- it will take over the dish)
• Onion powder (use an onion if possible I just didn’t have one in stock)
• All spice

Simple-n-healthy vinaigrette sauce:

• olive oil
• honey
• Dijon mustard

Mix olive oil, vinegar, 2 teaspoons of honey, and a tablespoon of Dijon mustard. The rule of thumb is 2:1 of olive oil to vinegar, but depending on your preferences you can change the ratio (I prefer mine more acidic). 

Directions:

Roast the chicken breasts at 350° F anywhere between 15-20 minutes (all ovens are different) or until he internal temperature reaches 165° F. Ten minutes before the chicken breast is cooked, put the vegetable combination in a frying pan and drizzle with vegetable oil (or olive oil). Cook on medium. Make sure you take the chicken out of the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before the vegetables are finished cooking. Once the chicken sets, cut into cubes and combine with the vegetables. At this point, pour the vinaigrette over the dish and let cook for no more then 2 minutes. Once the chicken absorbs the marinade, take off the stove and enjoy.