A Happy & Healthy Father’s Day Feast!

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Being a nutritionist, I’m always looking for creative new ways to make food healthier! This year, I decided to take a healthier approach to celebrate Father’s Day while bringing plenty of flavor and fun. I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we did and that you and all the dads in your life have a happy and healthy Father’s Day!

Greek Wedge Salad with Creamy Lemon & Feta Dressing

If there’s a wedge salad on the menu, my husband is ordering it! I’m trying to add a healthy twist to this Father’s Day menu, I made some swaps to a traditional wedge, and the results were delicious! Normally loaded with saturated fats from bacon and creamy blue cheese dressing, my Greek Wedge Salad with Creamy Lemon & Feta Dressing has more of a Mediterranean Diet vibe. I swapped the blue cheese for feta (which is lower in fat and made with goat’s and/or sheep’s milk and often better tolerated by those who struggle with digesting dairy) and swapped the bacon for grilled shrimp. My whole family devoured this fun take on a Greek salad, and I hope yours will too!

Ingredients:

For the salad:

  • 3 heads Boston or Bibb lettuce; washed, quartered, and the core carefully removed, keeping quarters intact
  • 1 package cocktail tomatoes; quartered
  • 4-5 baby cucumbers or 1 large English cucumber; sliced
  • 1 small red onion; diced
  • ½ pound cleaned and deveined shrimp; grilled for about 2-3 minutes per side until cooked through (or for ease, buy pre-cooked grilled or cocktail shrimp)
  • 2 ounces good quality feta cheese in brine; drained

For the dressing:

  • ½ cup plain FULL FAT Greek yogurt (low or non-fat yogurt will not work as well for this recipe)
  • 4 ounces good quality feta cheese in brine; drained (spending a little more on high-quality Greek feta will make all the difference in this recipe)
  • Zest and juice of 1 lemon (I used a micro-plane for zesting)
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic; finely minced
  • 1-2 Tablespoons fresh chopped dill
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Add all the ingredients and blend until smooth in the bowl of a food processor.
  2. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to desired taste. (Feta cheese is quite salty, so the dressing may not need much salt).
  3. If the dressing is too thick, add more fresh lemon juice, some of the feta brine, or water to desired consistency.
  4. Refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight to develop the flavors.

Putting the salad together:

  1. Line the quartered lettuce sections down the center of a rectangular platter.
  2. Decorate the platter on both sides of the lettuce with cucumbers and tomatoes.
  3. Add the shrimp to the platter.
  4. Drizzle the desired amount of dressing along the center of the lettuce wedges and on the veggies and shrimp.
  5. Sprinkle with some crumbled feta cheese and top with a sprinkle of diced red onion.
  6. Serve and enjoy!

Garlic and Herb Butterflied Chicken & Potatoes

Staying with my Mediterranean theme, I made Garlic and Herb Butterflied Chicken & Potatoes for the main course! YUM! These were hands down the best roasted potatoes I’ve ever eaten, and the chicken was tender and flavorful! Loaded with anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory phytonutrients, oregano is one of my favorite herbs, and sulforaphane-rich garlic is a heart-protective powerhouse!

I baked this dish in the oven; butterflied chicken lends itself to grilling, so go for it! Just toss the potatoes in some of the marinade and roast them in the oven separately. I made two chickens (so I didn’t have to cook dinner the next day), but feel free to half this recipe if desired.

Ingredients:

For the chicken and potatoes:

  • 2 small (organic if possible) whole chickens, butterflied or Spatchcock. (I asked the butcher to butterfly whole chickens for me)
  • 3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, washed, dried, and cut into wedges

For the marinade:

  • 5 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced or pressed
  • 3 TBSP chopped fresh oregano
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • Zest of 2 lemons
  • Juice from 1 lemon (about 2-3 TBSP)
  • 1 TBSP kosher or coarse sea salt
  • ½ – 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

  1. Add all the marinade ingredients to a large bowl or container with a tight-fitting lid to make the marinade. Whisk well to combine.
  2. Add the chicken to the marinade bowl coating the chicken well, and cover.
  3. Refrigerate for at least six hours or overnight, flipping and re-distributing the marinade over the chicken once about halfway through marinating time.

When ready to cook:

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Spread potato wedges around a large roasting pan, leaving room in the center for the chickens.
  3. Remove the chickens from the marinade and place the skin side up in the pan. The potatoes should surround the chickens.
  4. Drizzle or brush the potatoes and chicken with some of the marinade and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  5. Roast in the oven for about 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours or until the thickest part of the breast is 165 degrees.
  6. Remove the chickens from the pan and tent with some aluminum foil to rest for 15-20 minutes.
  7. Meanwhile, gently stir the potatoes to coat them with the juices, then drain most of the pan juices from the potatoes (reserving the liquid) so the potatoes crisp up better.
  8. Return the potatoes to the oven to continue cooking until nice and crispy.
  9. After the chicken has rested and the potatoes are crisping up, cut up the chicken and serve alongside the potatoes, drizzling with the reserved juices.

Enjoy! What meal are you serving for Father’s Day?

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lizjackowitz
Liz lives in Fairfield, CT, with her husband of 27 years, her bulldog Otis and enjoys weekend visits from her daughters, ages 18 and 21. Liz holds a Master’s degree in Human Nutrition, is a board-certified Nutrition Specialist, and is a licensed dietitian-nutritionist in Connecticut. As a breast cancer survivor, Liz is passionate about the role nutrition and lifestyle can play in preventing and treating chronic disease and has recently launched her private nutrition practice, A Little Healthier. Liz believes that even the smallest change to one’s diet and lifestyle can impact health in a meaningful way and that everyone can be “A Little Healthier.” Liz spends her free time in the kitchen cooking and developing (mostly) healthy recipes, taking long walks, spending time with friends and family, and traveling. Liz loves a good movie, a great meal, an even greater dessert, and an excellent margarita! 

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