Welcome bootcampers! Each week I'll be posting a recipe or two here. During the bootcamp, the recipes will fit the diet level you're on, but the blogs also continue between bootcamps! Keeping it pretty simple for this first blog with items you're likely to already have on hand. Because you have a meal a day with both carbs and fats, the possibilities and combos are really quite endless on L1. Today I have for you two versions of a chicken dish using peanut butter paired with a sweet potato recipe for your carb. I also encourage you to look back at my past blogs - almost all will fit the L1 diet on one of your meals or snacks since this is the most open nutrition plan you'll have during the bootcamp :)

Grilled Peanut Chicken

In a bowl, mix the peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce, garlic, curry powder, and cayenne pepper. Place chicken on grill grate, and brush with 1/2 the sauce. Turn chicken, and brush with remaining sauce. Continue grilling 10 to 15 min., until juices run clear. This can be done quickly on a Foreman indoor grill! Also no reason you couldn't do it in a skillet or bake it. Extra sauce can be served for dipping! This recipe counts for your protein/fat and calls for 2 Tbsp pb which is half your allotted fat serving. You can choose to double the sauce or use it all on one serving of chicken. You can always have smaller portions so this isn't a problem but you COULD have another 1/2 fat serving if you like. Perhaps sprinkle 1/8c (2 Tbsp) crushed peanuts on top!

Spicy Peanut Butter Chicken

For you spicy-food lovers! Cut chicken into small pieces. Drizzle 1 Tbsp oil in pan, or better yet, consider a non-stick spray. Saute in skillet over medium heat with garlic and spices (either mix in or rub on chicken prior to cutting). You certainly can add more spices if you want. Consider some chili garlic sauce - this can be found in the international aisle of grocery stores and is typically in a small plastic cylinder with a FLAT green lid. There should be no sugar in the ingredients or on the nutrition label! This is NOT sriracha which has sugar. Once chicken is cooked through, add pb to melt. If it clumps up, lower the heat and drizzle in more EVOO or water to thin it out. Cook a bit longer to get nice pb crust on pieces. Once pieces are well coated, remove from heat. Again this recipe counts as your protein/fat. One pound of chicken is fine for 2 large servings (and certainly it will cook down to less than 8 oz/each) or more smaller servings. Also, again, this recipe has 1 full fat serving as written so for 2 chicken servings, feel free to double the pb or add in another 1/2 fat serving if you wish.

Sweet Potatoes & Caramelized Onions

• 1 Spanish onion
• 1 large sweet potatoes (fist-sized = 1 serving, this would make 2)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, slivered
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Pepper to taste

Peel and chop onion. Peel and chop sweet potatoe into 1-inch cubes or matchsticks. Heat oil over medium heat in a skillet. Sauté onions slowly over med heat until they are turning amber, then darker brown, ~15 min. Once onions are caramelized, add sweet potato chunks and garlic. Continue cooking over med heat, turning up heat a bit if potato does not brown. Cook until potatoes are also slightly browned and golden. Add water, turn the heat to low, and cover for ~10 min, or until potato has softened. Remove lid, turn heat back up, and add ginger, paprika, and pepper to taste, Sauté just a little longer, then remove from the heat and serve.

That's it for the first blog of 2013! I hope you enjoy these recipes. Please feel free to comment on Facebook about what you think of these recipes or to share any Meltdown-friendly tweaks you make for others to enjoy! Until next week, Feast for Level 1, Feast for flavor, and as always...FEAST ON!!!

~Coach Lauren