AFFORDABLE & DELICIOUS: GRILLED CHICKEN CACCIATORE

SERVES: 6-8 (Great for left overs)

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

¼ cup olive oil

3 medium onions, sliced

4 green bell peppers, julienned

4 red bell peppers, julienned

3 cups white mushrooms, cleaned & quarter-cut

6 large ripe tomatoes, large diced

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 cups tomato juice

3 tbsp chopped shallots (about 3 to 4)

3 tbsp chopped garlic (about 7 to 8 cloves)

1 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

1 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped

Salt and pepper

12 (4 to 5-oz) boneless chicken breasts

For the Polenta:

1 large onion, chopped

6 tbsp butter

8 cups water

2 cups yellow cornmeal

Grated parmesan

MAKE IT
1) Heat oil in a large sauce pot and sauté onions, peppers, and mushrooms until onions begin to turn translucent and peppers begin to soften.
2) Add tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato juice, shallots, garlic, basil, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Let simmer for 45 minutes until medium thickness.
3) Preheat a grill to high.
4) Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Grill on both sides until cooked through.

MAKE THE POLENTA:

1) Sauté onion in butter until softened. Add water and stir in polenta. Cook on low heat, stirring often, for about 40 minutes until tender. Sprinkle with parmesan.
2) Arrange on a serving platter and spoon sauce around. Serve with a side of polenta (as you would mashed potatoes), and the remaining sauce into a gravy boat.

THE MACROS

CALORIES: 539
PROTEIN: 48 g
FAT: 20 g
CARBS: 40 g

DIRECTIONS:

After a 5-minute general warmup, set a timer for 12 minutes. Perform all exercises in Circuit 1, resting only in the time it takes you to move from station to station, in continuous rounds until time is up. Reset the timer for 12 minutes and do the same with Circuit 2. Proceed to the Finisher, then cool down for 5-10 minutes.

CIRCUIT 1

EXERCISE x REPS

Bodyweight squat X 15

Overhead Press X 12

Dumbbell Row X 10 each side

Hammer Curl X 15

Rope Press-down X 15

Plank X 30 seconds

CIRCUIT 2

EXERCISE x REPS

Walking Lunge X 10

Lateral Raise X 10

Lat Pulldown X 15

Rope Curl X 15

French Curl X 15

Spread Eagle Sit-up X 10

FINISHER

RUN/JOG X 10 Mins.

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS

BODYWEIGHT SQUAT: Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and both hands in front of you or behind your head. Squat low to the ground, making sure your thighs get at least parallel to the floor. Engage your glutes as you stand back up.

OVERHEAD PRESS: Load a barbell at about shoulder height in a squat rack or power rack. Grab the bar with a shoulder-width grip and step back to hold the bar in the “rack” position, with the bar crossing just on top of your clavicles. Without flaring your elbows, drive the bar upward using your triceps. Lock the bar out to full extension overhead, pushing your head forward slightly when the bar is in the top most position. Lower the bar slowly and under control to return to the rack position.

DUMBBELL ROW: Set your right knee on a bench with your left foot kicked out wide to create a stable base. Set your righthand on the bench to create a flat table with your back, and hold the dumbbell in your left hand. Row the weight to your shoulder, pulling with your back and biceps. The move is finished when you’ve rowed it to your shoulder. Pinch it there for one second, then slowly return your arm to a fully extended position. Repeat for the prescribed number of reps on your left arm, then switch and immediately do the same number of reps with your right arm.

HAMMER CURL: Hold a dumbbell in each hand and, without using any momentum, curl the weight up to chest level, stopping just shy of your shoulder. Squeeze your biceps at the peak of the movement, then slowly return to the start position. A typical hammer curl would cover a full range of motion, all the way up to the shoulder—stopping just short of that keeps tension on your biceps, giving you a better workout.

ROPE PRESS DOWN: Clip a rope attachment to a high pulley at a cable station and grip it with both hands at either end. Keeping your elbows at your sides (imagine they’re bolted to your ribs) press down, extending and contracting your triceps hard. Flare your hands out at the bottom of the movement, hold for a second, then slowly return to the start.

PLANK: Lie face-down on the floor and prop yourself up on your forearms, elbows, and toes. Brace your core and keep your body in a straight line from your ankles to your shoulders, holding for time.

WALKING LUNGE: Hold a pair of dumbbells in your hands and step forward with one foot, taking a long stride, then slowly drop your back knee to the floor. Stand back up while taking another step forward, driving through the heel of the forward foot. Continue for an equal number of reps on each leg.

LATERAL RAISE: Hold a pair of dumbbells at your sides. Keeping your elbows fully extended, lift the weights straight out to your sides, forming a T with your arms and torso. Hold the top position for one second, then slowly return to the start position.

LAT PULLDOWN: Sit facing the weight stack at a lat pulldown station, with your knees secured comfortably underneath the kneepads. Grab the bar with a wide grip, and pull the bar down with your lats, initiating the pull with your shoulder blades.

ROPE CURL: Clip a rope attachment to a cable pulley, and set the pulley on the lowest setting near the floor. Stand close to the pulley, hold both ends of the rope attachment and curl it up to your shoulders, squeezing your biceps in the top position, then slowly lowering the weight.

FRENCH CURL: Hold a single dumbbell over head with your hands in a diamond shape supporting the underside of the top bell(the dumbbell should be vertical, perpendicular to the floor). Bend your elbows to lower the weight behind your head. Engage your triceps to press the weight back overhead.

SPREAD EAGLE SIT UP: Sit on the floor and spread your legs as far as you can. Keeping your back flat, lower your torso to the floor under control. Sit all the way up, again making sure to keep your back flat. Keep your abs contracted in the top position.

A trainer buddy of mine—Jay Cardiello—gave a great Ted Talk where he spoke about overcoming mental barriers to weight loss and overall health. I want to encourage you to look it up if you’ve never seen it. It’s well worth your time. But one of the great pictures that Jay draws for listeners—and one that has stayed with me all this time—is the fact that, on a plane, when the flight attendants give the overview of emergency procedures, they always instruct passengers to put on their own oxygen mask first before helping anyone else.