April 7 – Roasted Chicken with Olives and Prunes

I love this recipe from Elanaspantry.com – though this is the first time I’ve made it with a whole chicken! Usually I just put 4-5 chicken breasts in a baking dish with the rest of the ingredients, but today I picked up a whole chicken at the store to try this out for real.  Actually, we haven’t eaten chicken in quite a while… since thinking more about the fact that what our food eats becomes our food, I’ve been less excited to buy walmart chicken. Plus, we’re still working through our 1/4 grass-fed cow, and I don’t want to spend more money on meat when we have lots of yummy beef in the freezer.  But today I decided to treat us to some chicken, so I found some at the store that claims to be raised cage-free with an all-vegetarian diet… it’s a start I guess!

Breakfast: fruit smoothies (frozen peaches, cherries, blueberries, orange juice); a cheese stick; coffee

Lunch: leftovers of course! Cauliflower mash with sausage mixed in; carrots and green beans; water

Snack: zucchini-blueberry muffin (recipe to come tomorrow!)

Dinner: Roasted Chicken with Olives and Prunes; cauliflower mash; fruit salad (bananas, oranges, blueberries, grapes); water

Bedtime snack: 1 zucchini-blueberry muffin and a small glass of milk

ROASTED CHICKEN WITH OLIVES AND PRUNES

1 whole chicken
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup pitted green olives
1 cup pitted prunes
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon capers
2 bay leaves
1 clove pressed garlic
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup agave nectar
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup water

1. Rinse the chicken and pat dry
2. Place the chicken breast side up in a pyrex baking dish, then sprinkle with salt
3. In a large bowl, combine the olives, prunes, oregano, capers, bay leaves, garlic, olive oil, agave, apple cider vinegar and water
4. Spread the contents of the bowl in the dish around the chicken
5. Bake at 425° for 20 minutes
6. Lower heat to 375° and continue to roast the chicken until it is cooked through, about 40 minutes
7. Remove from oven and serve