Healthy Recipe: Savory Oat & Protein Bowl

Sometimes you just need comfort food, and for me, if it’s in a bowl, its more comforting. After the longest, coldest week in Chicago yet, all I wanted was something quick, that was healthy, but comforting.

One of my favorite comfort foods is oatmeal, and over the last couple of years, I’ve started using oats in savory dishes. It’s such a great alternative to the typical couscous, quinoa, or rice, and the consistency makes it feel like risotto.

I also love finding meals that even though I made it all fresh, could easily be turned into weekly meal prep meals, making dinner or lunch during the week super easy. Friday night’s dinner was just that!

Calories: 500 kCal
Fat: 16g
Carbs: 31g
Dietary Fiber: 8g
Protein: 60g

Ingredients

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced
6 cups kale, chopped
2 cups egg whites
1 cup rolled oats (not instant oats)
2 cups vegetable broth
2 medium red peppers, cut into thin slices
1/2 cup pecorino romano (parmeseanor nutritional yeast works too)
1 medium avocado, diced
Cholula Chipotle Sauce
Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb
Salt

Directions

1) Bring veggie broth to a boil in a medium pot. Add salt and rolled oats. Bring to boil, and let cook 5-7 minutes, or until oats are al dente and liquid is thickened. Add 1/4 cup of pecorino, mix and then cover and let sit.

2) Coat large saute pan with cooking spray, add chicken, sprinkle Mrs. Dash on it and cook over medium heat.

3) While chicken begins to cook, add kale and peppers to a separate pan. Sprinkle with salt. Cook over high heat until kale starts to wilt and peppers brown.

4) When chicken is 3/4 of the way cooked, add egg whites to the pan. Sprinkle more Mrs. Dash and a little salt, and turn heat up to high. Scramble and cook until egg whites are opaque and well mixed with chicken.

5) To serve, put oats in the center of a bowl, add chicken & egg mixture around it. Top with kale & pepper mix, avocado and the remainder of the pecorino (spread evenly across all 4 bowls). Sprinkle Cholula sauce for a bit of spice.

Note: This can be made with a number of different proteins or vegetables and different seasonings. I love it with shrimp and roasted vegetables with Italian seasoning (basil, tomatoes) or with salmon and julienned veggies with Asian flavors too!

The oats save in the fridge nicely, and if you pre-cook the chicken and egg mixture, you can have it from fridge to dinner table in under 10 minutes if you prep everything on Sunday for the week. Try different combos of flavors and proteins to mix it up with the same base.