My last post was almost a month ago! Life gets busy sometimes and finding moments to sit and reflect don’t come around often enough. I have been on a journey to better health, and it’s been wonderful!

I think we’ve all experienced that moment, day, week, (year?!) where you feel tired, heavy, bloated, just not right. I felt myself sort of falling into that funk and realized that I wanted things to change. I am by no means a doctor or nutritional expert, but I’ve put myself on the path to success by focusing on sleep, exercise, hydration and (OF COURSE) eating healthy, yet DELICIOUS, food.

Shawarma kebobs served with leafy greens and golden sweet potato rounds. Drizzled with tahini dressing.

The idea that “healthy” food doesn’t taste good is a complete myth. I am a food lover, seafood maniac, obsessed cook and comfort food junkie, and I am loving this. I’m focusing on a diet with less high-calorie, highly-processed ingredients, while cutting back on refined sugar, salt, dairy and most grains. (Following paleo diet rules, with a few exceptions.) 🙂 It’s all about what foods work for you, so change up whichever ingredients and foods make you happy.

Click here to check out my latest healthy creations on Instagram. You might get some ideas for yummy meals at home.

I am so completely delighted by the amazing food and recipes I’m adding to my repertoire, I haven’t looked back. I am so excited to share these recipes on the blog, because they are SO DELICIOUS and SO EASY.

Chicken shawarma makes me drool. It’s one of my fave dishes. If you haven’t heard of it, shawarma is a meat dish with variations all over the Middle East, Europe and the UK (all over the world!). Layers of seasoned meat (chicken, lamb, turkey, beef) and fat are speared and cooked on a rotating spit. The juices drip down the stack and the meat is shaved off around the outside as it becomes cooked. It’s usually served as “fast food” in a pita as a sandwich, on rice, or with fries. (I’m drooling.)

Photo cred: Wikipedia

Making my own version of chicken shawarma at home is one of the best things I’ve done in a while (could possibly become the worst, because I can’t stop making it). I use chicken breast, shawarma spices, no salt and grill these on the stove on my grill pan (this recipe is paleo-friendly). (My recipe was inspired by a recipe from Paleo Cupboard.) You could do this on the barbecue and stick the chicken on skewers too, perfect for the summer!

Chicken shawarma kebobs, served with garlic zucchini hummus.

Chicken Shawarma Kebobs

Serves 2 (a chicken breast each)
Paired wonderfully with a tahini dressing or zucchini hummus!

Ingredients:

• 2 large chicken breasts cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2  paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder (more or less depending if you want it spicy)

1. Place cut chicken pieces in a medium bowl. Combine all other ingredients in bowl and mix well.

2. Let chicken marinate for about half an hour in the fridge. (You can marinate a couple hours or overnight, but I can never wait.)

**If you’re making skewers then skewer the chicken before the next step.**

3. Heat grill pan (or grill, or regular non-stick pan if you’re not grilling) on medium heat and lay chicken on the grill.

4. Cook for about 7 minutes on each side (total of about 15 minutes cooking). I usually flip the pieces over once halfway through. They should have a nice brown colour to them and some pretty grill marks if you’re grilling.

For the first time, I don’t have pictures for all the steps. I guess I’m always in such a rush to eat the chicken, I forget! This one’s a simple one though. You are mixing the ingredients together and cooking. That’s it!

Hope you love this! The chicken is extra addictive when served with tahini dressing or zucchini hummus. These nutty sauces really add that Middle Eastern flavour and they’ve got a nice garlic-y lemon tang to them! I’ll be posting those two recipes ASAP. 🙂 xo