Coconut Crusted Chicken with Spicy Peach Dipping Salsa

I apologize for the hiatus...this happened last summer, too. I've been very busy (as summers seem to go...), but also haven't really had much worth blogging about until now!

A few weeks ago I went to a girl's night at my friend's place. She served us a delicious recipe similar to this, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. Coconut crusted chicken....just thinking about it makes me drool. We had peaches laying around in our fridge, and I thought...coconut....chicken...peaches...yes! I'm going to have it all!

This recipe is extraordinary, and I know I'll be using coconut to crust more than just chicken in the future. We used 2 chicken breasts for this recipe, and ate it for dinner. It would also serve as a fantastic appetizer!

*This recipe contains egg.

Coconut Crusted Chicken with Spicy Peach Dipping Salsa

You will need:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into strips
1 egg, yolk and white lightly whipped
1 cup (at least) unsweetened coconut (I used unsweetened coconut ribbons from Whole Foods and cut them up a bit smaller to accommodate)

AND

2 peaches, peeled with pits removed
1 tbsp raw honey (optional...if your peaches are really sweet, omit! The peaches I had were not at all sweet)
1/2 tsp red chili flakes


1. Using a hand blender, blend peaches, honey, and red chill flakes until MOSTLY smooth. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

2. Dip chicken strips into egg mixture, then coconut. Cover thoroughly with coconut before placing on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

3. Once all are complete, bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Flip, then bake for another 5-7 minutes.

4. Allow to rest for 5 minutes prior to serving.


**I managed to save 2 small pieces and a little salsa before they were all devoured...here's what they look like!

Panne Rizo-- Vancouver

Panne Rizo is a place I avoided for a long time. It's a rice-based bakery in Kitsilano that is absolutely 100% gluten-free.

The words "rice bakery" just scared me to death. I have had some awful experiences with rice-based goods...I just imagined everything would be dry, dry, dry. I was afraid to go, and be sad with what I found. Isn't it wonderful to have your expectations blown out of the water?!

I'm so sad that it took me so long to go. This place is glorious. The food is WONDERFUL. I've tried a few different products, and am absolutely in love.

They always have a variety of samples available, which is awesome...you get to try before you buy! Who doesn't love samples?!

Products I've tried:

Chia Bread- Absolutely delicious. I eat it lightly toasted, and the taste reminds me of an english muffin/crumpet. It's become a staple in my house. I buy two loaves at a time, and keep them in the freezer. It's vegan, so NO eggs! That's tough to find in gluten-free bread. It's the only vegan bread loaf in the bakery as far as I know.

Multigrain Loaf- This was a good multigrain loaf. I prefer the chia....bread is more of a 'treat' now for me, so I don't really care if there's seeds or different grains in it. It's less moist than the chia bread.

Breadcrumbs- SO GOOD. I need to go buy some more immediately. I made breaded fish, chicken, yam fries, zucchini, and more with this product. Homemade chicken strips....I thought I was dreaming! Definitely something to keep in the house.

Gingerbread Men- I bought these at Christmastime. They were spicy, and delicious. You would never know the difference between these and "normal" gingerbread men. The package was so cute with a family of 4- two big gingerbread men, and two babies!

Pfeffernussen- This is a type of German Christmas cookie that I discovered through Panne Rizo. They are like little snowballs. They're similar to a ginger cookie, but covered with powdered sugar. Lightly spiced, and absolutely delicious. Between my boyfriend and I, we went through about 2 dozen!

Foccaccia- When I first tried this, I said, "It's actually foccaccia". You won't be disappointed in this one. Careful though, it's heavy on the garlic (delicious, but my tummy was unhappy with me...I'm not supposed to do garlic). I couldn't resist.



I'm slowly discovering more and more of their products, and have not yet been disappointed. Everything's been a wonderful discovery, and I will forever be a loyal customer. It looks like you can order their products online- I'm not sure if they ship!

It also looks like a variety of stores also carry their products including:
Whole Foods (Lower Mainland)
Urban Fare
Planet Organic (Victoria, Coquitlam)
Nature's Fare (Langley)
Edible Flours
Tamaringo's Cafe (Langley)
Good Nature Health Foods (North Vancouver)

I haven't seen them there, but would love to know if you have! Leave me a comment below!

Protein Powder and Favourite Smoothies!

With so many different protein powders on the market- it's hard to pick which one. I've had great, good, average, and terrible protein powders, and with all my allergies it's tough to find one that works!

I discovered Organic Rice Protein by Prairie Naturals through a friend, and absolutely love it! It comes in 360 and 720g versions, and in several flavours! It's organic, and vegan-- which I think is tougher to find on the market. Most protein powders have whey- which is milk-derived. It's 100% gluten-free, and is made from sprouted brown rice.

There are 24 grams of protein per serving, and most importantly, it's delicious.
I've tried only the French Vanilla favour, but it also comes in Café Caramel, and Natural. You can find information on all of Prairie Naturals protein products here.

I bought the 360g one, but found that between me and my boyfriend, we ZOOMED through the whole thing. I'm much happier with the 720g, but it's harder to find! In Vancouver, you can find the 720g at Body Energy Club for the best price of $38.99. Whole Foods sells the 360g flavours, but not as good of value.

Here are some smoothie recipes I've created, and have daily! They fill me up, and none of that "they really fill you up" diet lies--I mean it!

Awake Smoothie Recipe:

1 medium banana
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
Splash of juice
4 ice cubes
1 chunk of cucumber (about 2 inches- skin and all)
Small handful of kale
2 Scoops Organic Rice Protein
1 tsp Macha

Blend until smooth!


Simple Vanilla Smoothie:

1 medium banana
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
2 scoops Organic Rice Protein

Blend until smooth!


Cucumber is a great addition to a smoothie- it's a low-calorie, neutral vegetable that can go undetected in your otherwise fruity smoothie! Great way to get your greens!

Yummy Product Review: Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss

Alright people. We are talking about a serious topic here. Ice Cream.

More importantly, we are talking about Soy-Free, Gluten-Free, Vegan (aka. Dairy-Free) Ice Cream.

I had heard about this product through the grapevine, and had been dying to try it. A little while ago at my local Whole Foods, this product was on sale, and I grabbed the VERY LAST carton of it.

The one that was left was called "Naked Coconut"- and even though I'm not a crazy coconut fan, I decided I had to try it.

This stuff is unreal. Although pricey, it is so rich in flavour that you'll find yourself only eating a little at a time (and still being entirely satisfied).

This Naked Coconut flavour was rich in coconut flavour, with little pieces of actual coconut mixed around inside. This is something you'll eat right out of the carton.

I'm looking forward to trying some of their other flavours, including Naked Almond Fudge, Vanilla Island, and Cappuccino. Based on their website, it looks like they have 10 flavours of ice cream, and 2 flavours of ice cream bars available in Canada.

I've seen this product sold at Whole Foods, and Choices Markets so far.
If you love your ice cream, like I do, go out and try this! I highly recommend it!

I love snacks.

Who doesn't love the crunch of a potato chip? I have spent many years training on how to eat entire bags of chips in one sitting.

Potato chips are risky if you've got allergies though.

Watch out for MALT vinegar- GLUTEN

Watch out for all sorts of dairy ingredients. I used to ignore dairy if it was in chips...but it really isn't something you should do.

Watch out for WHEAT. It's sneaky and can show up in the chip, or in the seasoning.

I went out to Whole Foods, and under recommendation from a friend, bought Pop Chips. They are always gluten-free, and some of their flavours are vegan.
My verdict:
Disappointing...They're "popped" so they have the consistency of more of a rice cake than a potato chip. I wasn't crazy about the Salt and Vinegar flavour either. Probably won't buy them again.

There are so many wonderful brands of gluten-free snacks. Mostly made of corn or rice, they are sure to satisfy.

Buy some blue corn chips and dip them in some fresh salsa.
Buy some Kettle Brand chips- but watch out for dairy and malt in a few of their flavours.
Buy some rice crisps...my favourite are Lundberg Rice Chips- try the Sesame and Seaweed flavour.


HOWEVER: If you like to avoid chips in general- there is a solution....

KALE CHIPS!

I've found that Black Kale is the best type of kale to go with if you're going to use this recipe. The leaves are thicker and make for a better "chip". Look for darker, denser kale at the grocery store that looks like this...





LAURA'S KALE CHIP RECIPE:

Heat oven to 275 degrees F.

In a bowl, separate the leaves of kale from their thick stems. (A trick for this is to pinch the stem between two fingers, and slide up towards the top of the leaf. It separates the tough stem from the leaf. Any stem that comes with the leaf is fine enough to eat)

Drip a SMALL amount of olive oil over the leaves, and massage in with your hands.

Add some freshly cracked sea salt...or if you don't have a garlic allergy like me, sprinkle some garlic powder over the leaves.

Arrange leaves (leave spaces between each....this is very important!!) on a lightly oiled baking sheet.

Bake in oven for approximately 10 minutes- leaves should be crispy, but NOT brown.

And finally...

CONSUME!