Greek-Inspired Chicken Bowls
By the end of 2017, I had spent entirely too much money going out every day for lunch. I told myself that in 2018, I would get back to making my lunches at home. Not only would this save me some money, but I’d be eating something healthier than what fast food restaurants can offer.
I took to Pinterest for inspiration. It didn’t take long for me to find a recipe that intrigued me. Eazy Peazy Mealz shared her recipe for Greek Chicken Meal Prep Bowls. I quickly skimmed her recipe and realized how easy and simple it was! I’ve linked to her original recipe, but I decided to put my own spin on the dish, using some of my favorite ingredients.
To prepare for this recipe, I went to Kroger for some chicken breasts, then Trader Joe’s for tomato and cucumber. At home I had orzo, quinoa and feta.
I started by marinating my chicken breast in Ken’s Greek vinaigrette for about 30 minutes. Once it finished, I butterflied the breast and threw it on my cast iron grill pan. Butterflying the chicken helps it cook more quickly and evenly. Once it finished, I let it cool down and cut it into small, bite-sized pieces.
For the base of the bowl, I used a mixture of quinoa and orzo. I prepare the bowls the night before and place them in the fridge when I get to work. The first time I made this bowl, I was turned off by the amount of cold quinoa. The texture was too much like caviar and it freaked me out. The next time, I used just orzo and it was great! I still had a lot of quinoa, which is why I decided to mix half the portion size in with the orzo. Both are full of protein which helps keep me full longer! I mixed the orzo and quinoa in a little of the Greek vinaigrette to complete my base.
That is all I do the night before. I like to prep my produce the morning of. Since I’m usually late to work, an additional 10 minutes makes no difference to me. I wash and quarter my grape tomatoes, then cut my cucumber slices into fourths as well. I toss my veggies in a little more of the Greek vinaigrette—I really love that vinaigrette.
Once that’s done, I add it to my Tupperware container, on top of the orzo-quinoa mixture, then place the chicken pieces beside it. You can also add ingredients like feta cheese crumbles, red onion or Kalamata olives.
To add another flavor component, I pack a small container of OPA Tzatziki Ranch. Tzatziki is a dip or sauce made with strained yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, dill and other seasonings. It’s pretty easy to make with Greek yogurt, but I’m lazy and didn’t want to do that. OPA’s Tzatziki Ranch is only 45 calories and adds a great, creamy flavor, with dill and cucumber, to the bowl. No, you don’t really need it. However, I forgot my tzatziki one day and the bowl wasn’t quite as good.
Not only is this recipe easy, but it’s incredibly versatile. You can mix it up with brown rice, salsa, avocado and chicken to create Tex-Mex Bowl. Hey Arielle, that’s a good idea. I’ll have to try that next. That’s just one option. I’ll definitely have try more variations of this quick and tasty meal prep lunch.