Keeping with the two themes that drive my meal prepping, today I’m bringing you one of my favorite relatively easy, tasteful, and healthy dinner options. I’ve always been a big fan of rice bowls, but I’ve moved away from consuming any grains like rice and bread. That doesn’t mean I can’t still indulge in a fresh Mexi-dish when I’m at *home.

*A caveat when I share meals: I’m usually prepping my meals on the road in a hotel room – not actually at home. 

Thus, I’ve made the move to substitute lettuce for the rice, and here’s what we end up with:

GRILLED CHIPOTLE CHICKEN BOWL

INGREDIENTS:

• (1) Boneless Chicken Breast
• (1/2) Hass Avocado 
• (1/2) Sweet Onion
• (1) Green Bell Pepper
• (1/4 Cup) Cherry Tomatos
• (2 Cups) Head of Lettuce
• (1/2 Cup) Canned Pinto Beans 
• McCormack Grill Mates Chipotle & Roasted Garlic Seasoning
• Hot Sauce of Choice
• Olive Oil Non-Stick Spray
• Balsamic Vinaigrette

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Season both sides of uncooked chicken breast with Chipotle & Roasted Garlic seasoning
2. Using a plug-in grill or a non-stick pan on the stove-top, cook chicken on high for 10-15 minutes*
3. Flip chicken on grill or in pan and let cook on high for another 10-15 minutes. 
4. Remove chicken breast from pan near the end of the 10-15 minutes and begin slicing the chicken breast and replace the slices on the grill with the undercooked sides down. Rotate and slice the chicken breast slices further until all chicken looks thoroughly cooked. This is important – it will ensure that none of the chicken goes uncooked (it is hard to cook the chicken on a stove-top of plug-in grill in a hotel room). 
5. As you slice and rotate the chicken, it may need to cook another 10-15 minutes. Continue to add desired amount of seasoning to the chicken as it cooks. I’m not shy with the seasoning!
6. Rinse head of lettuce thoroughly. Rip off 2-3 cups of lettuce and place in medium-large sized bowl
7. Rinse tomatoes, onion, and pepper thoroughly. Cut and slice as desired
8. Spray a separate pan on stove-top with olive oil non-stick spray, and cook peppers, tomatoes, and onions on medium. 
9. Add 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinaigrette to the veggies in the pan. Mix veggies in the pan frequently and cook on medium for about 5 minutes. 
10. Remove veggies from the pan and place in the bowl on top of the lettuce. 
11. Heat 1/2 cup of pinto beans in microwave as instructed by label. Once done, pour beans into bowl 
12. Remove all cooked chicken from the pan/grill and place in the bowl 
13. Cut avocado in half, using the side without the seed.** Peel and then slice half of the avocado as desired. Place avocado slices in bowl.
14. Pour desired hot sauce (Frank’s RedHot Wings is my choice) as desired

*Tip 1: When cooking in a hotel room, it is imperative that you turn on the stove-fan or open any windows. The chicken and veggies will produce smoke and steam, and you definitely want to avoid setting off the fire alarm or smoking up your room – trust me!

**Tip 2: To save half of your avocado for tomorrow or the next day, be sure to use the side without the seed. Take any peeled skin from the side you are using that night (keep it as intact as possible) and place it over the exposed portion of the 1/2 avocado that you are saving (the half with the seed) and place in an air-tight ziplock bag. Then refrigerate. This should last 1-2 days at most.

Feel free to interchange the veggies as you see fit. I have oftentimes used mini sweet peppers instead of green bell pepper. I’ve also used a small sweet potato instead of pinto beans. Regardless of how you personalize this dish, it is sure to be a tasty, healthy, and relatively easy plate for dinner!

Here are some quick nutritional facts about the dinner prepared as written in this post:

Derived from MyFitnessPal

Respectfully,

RJF