Easy One-Pot Moroccan Chicken and Couscous

 

During the week, when I am rushing to get kids to extracurricular activities, finish homework, and start an early bedtime routine, I don't have much time to prepare healthy, home-cooked meals.  I love to incorporate healthy, healing spices in my dishes and certain cuisines use more spice in their dishes.  The spices of Moroccan cuisine are delightful, enticing, and absolutely divinely healthy for us!  Creating the perfect tagine can take hours of prep work and would be too timely for a quick weeknight meal.  So, when creating the perfect dish, I try and make it a one-pot recipe that takes minimal prep work, but loads of spices!  This particular dish uses onions, bay leaves, garlic, cinnamon, turmeric, and cayenne pepper for our spices and garbanzo beans, tomatoes, carrots, and zucchini for our vegetables. The health benefits that each of these vegetables and spices brings to the table are numerous!

Onions are a powerhouse and the medicinal properties of onions have been recognized since ancient times.  Onions are packed with nutrients, high in vitamins and minerals! Vitamin C, B vitamins, and potassium are part of what makes this vegetable so special.  Vitamin C helps ward off colds, viruses, assists in collagen production, and protects your cells against the damage of free radicals.  B vitamins play a key role in red blood cell production, cellular metabolism, and nerve function.  Potassium is an important mineral that performs numerous functions in the body from fluid balance, nerve transmission, kidney function, and muscle contraction.  Onions can help your heart stay healthy, ward off cancer, help control blood sugar, and may boost bone density.  We can all benefit from onions!

Garlic is a plant in the onion family that has numerous medicinal properties!  Closely related to onions, shallots and leeks, garlic contains sulfur compounds that a released when crushed, chopped, or chewed.  Allicin is probably the most famous compound thought of that is associated with garlic.  Nutrient-dense garlic contains manganese, vitamin B6, Vitamin C, selenium, fiber, and trace amounts of calcium, copper, potassium, phosphorus, iron, and vitamin B1. Eating loads of garlic can combat sickness, including the common cold! Garlic reduces blood pressure, controls cholesterol levels, may prevent Alzheimer's disease and dementia, add to longevity, and improve athletic performance.  Garlic is a powerhouse in this dish!

Bay leaves are rich sources of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, iron, potassium, calcium, and magnesium!  They also can help reduce the severity of migraines!  Bay leaves are extra special as they help with digestion by containing enzymes that break down protein helping to digest food faster!  So glad our bay leaves are in this dish!

One of my favorite spices to cook with, cinnamon, is not only aromatic but extremey healthy for you too!  Cinnamon is loaded with anti-inflammatory properties, loaded with antioxidants, and is high in a substance with medicinal properties!  When I took a course in nutrition, Ceylon cinnamon was recommended to have the most health benefits and is the cinnamon that I use.  One particular property of cinnamon that makes it such a game-changing spice is that it improves sensitivity to the hormone insulin.  Due to this property, cinnamon lower blood sugar and has a powerful anti-diabetic effect.  Cinnamon tastes great on chicken, apples, bananas, in pies, and custards!

Turmeric is another spice I use in this dish and has bioactive compounds with powerful medicinal properties.  Curcumin is the main active ingredient in turmeric and has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a strong antioxidant.  This particular spice also boosts brain-derived neurotrophic factor which is linked to a reduction in brain diseases and improved brain function.  Curcumin in turmeric can lower your risk of both heart disease, depression, and cancer and has properties that are even used to treat cancer.  In addition to adding turmeric to foods, it might also help to take a curcumin supplement to gain the full health benefits.

Cayenne pepper is a spice used to add a slight amount of heat to this dish and amplify the other flavors!  Cayenne pepper boosts metabolism, improves digestive health, may lower blood pressure, reduces pain, helps alleviate headaches, and can help prevent cancer!  Wow!  Cayenne works due to a compound called capsaicin which, according to certain studies, has led to cell death of cancer cells.  

Garbanzo beans, tomatoes, carrots, and zucchini along with chicken and chicken broth are our healthy vegetables added to this dish!  Garbanzo beans are loaded with fiber and prevent constipation.  They also high in vitamins, minerals, and protein and are great for weight management and blood sugar control!  Tomatoes are major dietary sources of lycopene which has been linked to a reduced risk of heart disease and cancer.  Carrots are great sources of beta carotene, fiber, vitamin K1, potassium, and antioxidants and can aid in weight management.  Zucchini is great for weight management, improving heart health, strengthening vision, and reducing blood sugar levels.    

With all these healthy nutrients, you have a power-packed dinner that is easy to prepare, minimal prep work, and can be made in just one pot!  

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat or yellow couscous

2-3 tbs olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2-3 bay leaves

6 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast chopped

1 15 ounce can of crushed tomatoes

1 (48 fluid ounce) can chicken broth

2 carrots cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2 zucchini cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Salt to taste.

Directions:

1.  Prepare couscous according to instructions.

2.  Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Cook the onion until tender.  Mix in bay leaves, minced garlic, cinnamon, turmeric, and cayenne pepper.  Add chicken to the pot, coat in seasonings, and cook until browned.  Add garbanzo beans, tomatoes, and broth.  Bring mixture to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes.

3.  Mix in carrots and zucchini, season with salt.  Cook an additional 20 minutes until vegetables are tender.

4.  Serve over couscous!  Enjoy!