This year’s theme is “Bite into a Healthy Lifestyle,” and I’m celebrating by biting into an exciting new series of recipes inspired by USDA’s MyPlate. I’m a big fan of the simplicity of this food icon, designed to make it easy to build a healthier diet, one plate at a time. If you ask me, striving to make your plates look more like MyPlate (with half of the real estate covered by fruits and veggies) is one of the most straightforward ways to shift your eating habits to become healthier than ever.
For this recipe series, I’m calling my invention the MyPlate Bake. The concept is to follow the MyPlate formula of 1/2 veggies + 1/4 carbs + 1/4 protein, and roast it all together on a single sheet pan. This results in a healthy home-cooked dinner for two, made from scratch with whole food ingredients, in under an hour (prep and clean-up included). Believe it!
I’ll be updating the blog every week this month with a tasty new variation, so stay tuned! First up is an instant classic that I already know will be a go-to in my kitchen: the Maple Dijon Chicken MyPlate Bake.
The beauty of this recipe is the streamlined procedure, absolutely perfect for busy weeknights. Let’s break it down:
1. Preheat your oven to 400 F and collect your ingredients. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil for easy cleanup, and take out your favorite medium-sized bowl that you’ll use to toss the ingredients with their seasonings.
5. You now have 20 minutes to wash the dishes (there won’t be much more than your bowl/knife/cutting board) and set the table! Before you know it, you’ll be pulling this deliciousness out of the oven:
Preheat your oven to 400 F and collect your ingredients. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil for easy cleanup.
Wash the potatoes and slice them into roughly 1-inch chunks or wedges. In a medium bowl, toss the potatoes with the olive oil, mustard, maple syrup, hot sauce, paprika, dill, and salt + pepper. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer covering 1/4 of the foil-lined sheet pan, and put it into the oven to begin roasting.
Meanwhile, chop the broccoli and toss it in the same bowl used for the potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper.
After the potatoes have cooked for 20 minutes, remove them from the oven and distribute the broccoli over half of the pan. Coat the chicken breasts with lemon juice, fresh herbs and salt + pepper, then place the chicken on the remaining 1/4 of the sheet pan.
Return the pan to the oven and continue to roast for 20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the broccoli is crisp and tender.
https://flavorrd.com/2015/03/special-series-myplate-bake/
What a good idea!! I love using the oven to roast a bunch of things at once. Makes cleanup so easy.
You bet!! For me, too much cleanup can be a bigger barrier to cooking than the prep itself!
Such a smart idea to translate the MyPlate method directly into your food prep method. The visual makes it so clear as to how we should build a healthy meal!
Thanks!! It really is all about the visual… once you get into that mindset, it’s easy to apply the same method to anything in your fridge!