Sexy Legs!

Welp I’m back from Paris approximately 3-5 pounds fatter than I was when I left. Yup, you can see the baguettes and croissants poking out of my belly and the creamy soup hanging out on my thighs. Wouldn’t change my consumption last week for anything. I don’t mind eating pretty healthy most of the time if when I go to the food Mecca of the world I have no guilt. And clearly there was no guilt. Well, not until I got back. So I got back into my workout routine and a predominantly protein and veg meal plan.

When I cleansed, the food was set right out for me and I didn’t really bother to think outside the box on how to make it delicious while staying within the parameters of the cleanse. But now that I have a general idea that protein and lots of fiber dense veggies help you lose weight and feel great, I can adapt them to taste good. Which, if you know me, is IMPORTANT!!

So tonight I decided to make Asian inspired chicken legs. I stole a recipe from Food Network as I actually never cook them and pretty much the only way I’ve ever had them is fried. But I wanted to grill them. The problem is, chicken legs take a while to cook all the way through. So, thank you, Food Network for a fabulous Apple-Honey Drumsticks recipe. Per usual I modified it a bit. And per usual, I think my way is better! Wink Wink

Here’s the breakdown

6 chicken legs

olive oil

salt & pepper

2 cups apple juice

½ cup apple cider vinegar

¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce

zest of one lemon

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place chicken in a cast iron dutch oven. If you don’t have this, a glass Pyrex will do fine. Cover the chicken in a little olive oil and sprinkle salt & pepper. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Turn the legs over and lower heat to 300 degrees. Cook another 20 minutes. While the chicken is cooking, mix apple juice, vinegar, soy sauce, lemon zest and red pepper flakes in a sauce pan and cook for approximately 25 minutes. Let it cool. Then preheat your grill to about 400 degrees. You want it screaming hot because you’re not cooking the chicken, just charring it. Put your chicken on the grill and brush with the sauce; turning and coating several times. Then pour any of the left over sauce on top of legs after you’ve removed them from the grill. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

I served this with a green salad and some grilled asparagus which also doesn’t take long on the grill so you can put them on at the same time.

The chicken was super tender and spicy sweet! Absolutely fabulous actually. And the best part really was that I learned how to cook something I’ve only ever seen deep fried! Now that’s a Big Eater Small Body WIN! I’m sure you’ll enjoy this as much as I did!