Lemon Chicken with Sweet Potatoes and Avocado Goddess Sauce

 Written By: Cassidy Landry; SLU Dietetic Intern

This is one of my favorite recipes to make, Lemon Chicken with Sweet Potatoes and Avocado Goddess Sauce, an explosion of flavors and colors on one plate. Even better, you can make it on one sheet pan. Sheet Pan meals are a staple in my meal prepping because you can prepare double the items in half the time, saving you overall cooking time and more importantly less dishes to be cleaned. When I prep meals for the week as a busy graduate student, I do not want the same old meals repeatedly, adding a different flavored sauce or dressing can liven up a meal. This recipe provides ~40g of protein, the main source in this recipe is the chicken breast. If you would prefer another source of protein, beans, tofu, and turkey could all be good substitutes. The avocado green goddess sauce provides a bright green pop of color to this dish in addition to fresh herbs. Avocados are high in fat with 60% of this being monounsaturated fats, which research suggests helps to protect against heart disease and lower blood pressure. They are also an excellent source of potassium, folate, and fiber, all of which benefit the heart and cardiovascular system. Along with toppings, I love any type of dish that you can add a variety of additions to add color, texture, and flavor to meals. For this recipe, you can add fresh cucumber slices, in just a single cup of cucumber slices, and you will get 14% to 19% of the vitamin K you need for the day which plays a crucial role in blood clotting, bone metabolism and heart health. You get vitamin B, that is important for our metabolism, helps red blood cells form and maintain the CNS. Vitamin C, an antioxidant that promotes healthy teeth and gums. Along with minerals like copper, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium, they help maintain bone health, heart health, muscle movement and immune system. I also like to add carrot ribbons or slices adding B vitamins and beta-carotene, that protects the body from damaging molecules “aka free radicals”. You can add pumpkin seeds to the top for a lot more than a crunch. They are sources of manganese and vitamin K, both of which are important in helping wounds heal. They also contain zinc, a mineral that helps the immune system fight bacteria and viruses.  

 

The recipe author Half Bake Harvest provides not only delicious recipes but inspires me in my creativity in the kitchen. She provides a wide assortment of meal ideas not only sheet pan or savory but also sweet snacks and desserts. Mixing up recipes and creating new flavor combinations in only half the magic to cooking. It is a way to express one’s creativity and so love to others, food brings people together in extraordinary ways. As someone who is not the best artist or drawer I can show my imaginative side with dishes, ever since I was old enough to sit in a chair I was helping in the kitchen. I urge anyone who is not confident in the kitchen to cook anyways, find recipes you like and experiment. Let yourselves be inventive, the more you cook and create the more confident you will become.