Cheesy Chicken & Sweet Potato Cakes

A huge number of people have asked me recently for suggestions for healthy chicken recipes.... it seems we all get stuck in a rut of eating the same thing all the time...

So... over the next while, I'm going to make an effort to post recipes for simple & delicious chicken dishes like this Cheesy Chicken & Sweet Potato Cakes...

This is a great recipe that takes very little time to put together & leftovers would be fantastic at lunch time for both children & adults....

For the chicken:

• 1 large chicken breast
• 1 tbsp mixed seeds
• 1 tbsp grated mozzarella
• 1 tbsp almond flour
• salt & pepper
• 1 egg, beaten (divide into 2 bowls)
• 1  tbsp full fat cream cheese

Preheat the oven to 170d (fan). 

Start by mixing seeds, mozzarella, almond flour & seasoning together & spread evenly on a plate. 

Coat the chicken in cream cheese. 

Dip the cheese covered chicken in your seed mixture. 

Next place the coated chicken into the beaten egg. 

Shake off any excess egg and roll the chicken in remaining seed mixture until well coated. (Following all those steps will guarantee that the chicken will remain moist, but with a crunchy coating). 

For the sweet potato cakes:

• 1 small sweet potato
• 1/2 egg (leftover from above)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp almond flour
• pinch of sea salt

Grate the sweet potato. (You should probably peel it first... I didn't cos I'm lazy. It makes no real difference to taste or texture, but for some reason I feel like I should) 

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl until well combined. 

Next, using your hands, form small potato cakes. Press the mixture tightly together to ensure it holds firm during cooking. 

Once you have formed your potato cakes, place in a heat proof dish, drizzle with a little coconut oil & bake for approx 20 minutes alongside the chicken. 

The sweet potato cakes are cooked when they are golden brown & firm to touch. 

Coconut & Lime Chicken

I posted a photo of my dinner of Coconut & Lime Chicken with Sweet Potato Wedges on the Facebook  page last night, not because it was a gourmet masterpiece... but because it was super tasty, quick to put together, healthy & inexpensive... That's what this blog is all about... showing you that you don't need to be an incredible cook, have lots of kitchen gadgets or cash to eat well...

It cost me about €1.35 to make this.... that's far less than a frozen ready meal or pizza etc. It does not cost less to eat processed food. Oh... and just in case you were about to use the excuse that you don't have time... well you're wrong there too... only 25 minutes to make this....

Stop making excuses...

• 1 large chicken leg (you can use breast/drumsticks/wings for this) 
• 1/2 fresh lime, zest & juice
• 2 tbsp unsweetened dessicated coconut
• 1 tbsp almond flour (or 1 extra tbsp coconut)
• 1 egg beaten
• salt
• coriander

Preheat the oven to 170d (fan).

Start by pulling the skin off the chicken leg. (No fat isn't bad for you, but the skin really wouldn't add anything to this dish). 

Remove the zest of 1/2 a lime using the fine side of a grater. 

Mix coconut, almond flour & seasoning of choice together on a plate (or in a plastic freezer bag... this way you can just shake the chicken in the coating... no washing up!!)

Pierce the chicken a couple of times with a skewer/fork & squeeze the juice of 1/2 the lime over the top. 

Next dip the chicken into the beaten egg. 

Toss the chicken in coconut mixture. 

Place the coated chicken back in the egg & coat again in the remaining coconut. Repeating this step gives a thick crust that will go crispy in the oven. 

Place in a heat proof dish & bake for 15-20 minutes until cooked & crispy. 

I served this chicken with sweet potato wedges.... Read on for a great cheat method for making crispy wedges in a hurry... 

Cut the potato into wedges, place in the microwave for 3 minutes to soften them slightly (this just speeds up the cooking process). 

Toss in ground cinnamon, drizzle with melted coconut oil & bake alongside the chicken. They'll be wonderfully crispy & the cinnamon really compliments the sweet flavour of the sweet potato... 

See? It's not difficult to eat well. Oh and if you have kids... they will absolutely LOVE this! Let them eat it with their fingers... :)