Lemon Asparagus Chicken
When asparagus is in season we are happy campers! I purchase mine from a local farmer and you can’t beat how fresh it is – from farm to table! Lemon Asparagus Chicken is so tasty, easy and quick to fix. It’s a great Fuel Pull meal but you can take to the next level by adding brown rice or quinoa for an energizing E meal.
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Asparagus is Healthy Eats
Asparagus is nutritionally balanced plant-derived food. It’s low in fat, cholesterol, and sodium. Per cup it contains 10% of your daily vitamin A
also called retinol because it produces pigments in the retina, 18% of your daily E an antioxidant, and 101% of your daily Vitamin K. Other great nutrients are Folate – 67%, Copper – 33%, Vitamin B1 – 24%, Selenium – 20%, Vitamin B2 – 19%, and Vitamin C – 18%. That’s a great bang for your buck!
Asparagus 101
When buying asparagus look for spears that are brightly colored and have compact, tightly closed tips. Spears that are ridged or look dry have lost their flavor. Check the root ends to see how dried out they are; if they are brown, cracked and dry, reach for a different bundle.
Size matters in cooking asparagus. Thin asparagus is great for stir fries and sautéing. Fat asparagus is good for roasting or grilling, and best when you want to serve whole spears, even simply steamed. Medium spears work in almost any cooking method. I used a medium sized asparagus in this dish.
Prepping to cook is a “snap”! Snapping off woody asparagus bottoms gives you spears of slightly different lengths., but guarantees no tough ends when you eat. To snap, hold a spear with both hands and find the natural bending point near the bottom of the stalk. Then snap. Make sure your hands really are near the bottom, or you risk discarding too much; a stalk will snap in the middle if you’re not careful. The spear should break at a point where the asparagus has started to lose its moisture.
Tools Used in the Recipe
Some of my favorite ingredients and prep tools that I used in this recipe.
- Serves: 4
- Calories: 192
- Fat: 4g
- Carbohydrates: 9g
- Sodium: 439mg
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 30g
- Cholesterol: 66mg
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast halves (patted dry)
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil (refined)
- 1 tablespoon organic poultry seasoning
- ½ teaspoon THM Himalayan High Mineral Salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 4 cloves garlic (minced or thinly sliced)
- 1 large red bell pepper (stem removed, seeded, and diced)
- 1 pound fresh asparagus (cut into 2" pieces)
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ½ cup chicken broth (low sodium, low fat)
- Wash the red pepper and asparagus. Remove stem, seeds and ribs the pepper; cut into large dice. Cut asparagus into 2 inch pieces. Mince or thinly slice the garlic.
- Pat chicken breast pieces dry with food safe paper towels. Season breast with poultry, salt and pepper.
- In a large, non-stick or well seasoned skillet, heat coconut oil over medium high heat. Add chicken breasts, cook 5 minutes, turn and cook an additional 5 minutes or until golden brown.
- Stir in garlic and red pepper pieces. Add asparagus pieces and cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in zest and chicken broth and turn heat to medium low. Cover and cook for 5-6 minutes. Serve immediately.
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