hacked sweetgreen
Ever since I had sweetgreen for the first time in Houston around a year ago, I have gotten really into making "bowls" of sorts. However, sweetgreen is quite the walk from where I live now, and I'm actively working on expanding what I can cook. This recipe is a result of that process.
ingredients
I use these rough estimates to get to a calorie count that is satiating for me. The recipe is already pretty low fat so additional substitutions would likely be switching out the sweet potatoes or swapping chicken thighs out for breasts or tenders. Makes 2 servings.
core ingredients
- 5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (~50g of protein)
- 3 large (180g+) sweet potato
- 1 Seeds of Change Quinoa & Brown Rice with garlic
- 1/2 package of shredded Kale or mixed greens (I use either Cruciferous Crunch from Trader Joe's or the shredded Kale)
seasonings
- Mexican spice mix (I use "Green Ancho Chile" Spice mix)
- Cholula
- Ranch / Oil / Avacado based dressing (ideally some fat content)
- Salt / Black Pepper / Garlic Salt
steps
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees
- Rinse and peel sweet potatoes. Cut each potato length-wise twice then chop each remaining piece to around 1/2 inch thick pieces
- Take a sheet pan and cover with parchment paper or foil and lightly spray with oil (note: if you season and toss the sweet potatoes in oil prior this can be skipped).
- Spread the sweet potatoes evenly in the pan. If the pan becomes too crowded move some to another tray so that the sweet potatoes can get crispy. Spray the top lightly with oil and season with salt and pepper or garlic salt.
- Put the tray in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until the sweet potatoes start to develop dark brown spots.
- While the sweet potatoes are roasting, take the chicken thighs and coat both sides of each piece with your mexican spice blend. If the spice blend does not include salt, add salt. If some thigh pieces are not evenly thick, slice them so that they become flatter.
- Preheat a large pan to medium-high and place chicken thighs rough side down. Cook each side until there is some development of a crisp exterior or brown spots develop. Internal temperature should be around 170 at this point.
- Remove chicken thighs from the heat and slice / dice into whatever size pieces you prefer.
- While you wait for the sweet potatoes to complete, the quinoa can be microwaved.
- Using a large bowl, place the mixed greens at the bottom, top with chicken, quinoa, and sweet potatoes. Add hot sauce and dressing as desired and mix.
additional mix ins
- Fajita bell peppers and onions work great with this recipe
- Sweet potatoes can be swapped for Yukon golds
- Harissa paste is a good swap for hot sauce if you want to go a different route with the theme