Easy Slow-Cooker Chicken Gyros and Homemade Tzatziki

Why hello there! I’m back with another 21 Day Fix approved recipe. I found this recipe when someone posted it in the 21 Day Fix Support/Recipes group. Since I absolutely love any type of Mediterranean food, I just had to try it.

The original recipe was posted to Six Sisters’ Stuff but I made some small changes based on my preference. And when I say my preference, I mean my Middle Eastern taste buds that very much enjoy garlic and lemon. Feel free to cut the amount of garlic and lemon.

Ingredients -

1. 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2. 4 cloves garlic, minced (I actually have a wooden mortar and pestle that I use to mash the garlic)

3. 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (typically one fresh lemon) or ½ lemon juice

4. 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced

5. 2 tablespoons olive oil

6. 1 teaspoon sea salt

7. 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

8. 1 teaspoon dried oregano

9. 1/4 cup water

Directions –

1. You can begin by placing chicken in Ziploc baggie or Tupperware and adding 1 tablespoon oil, salt, red wine vinegar, oregano and garlic. Place in refrigerator and let sit for 30 minutes.

2. Spray crockpot with a non-stick cooking spray. Place chicken inside slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. (Add in a fourth to half of the onion slices in the last 30 minutes to an hour. Save the rest for later.)

·       You can skip the marinating process by mixing all ingredients in a bowl and pour over the chicken once it has been placed in the slow cooker.

While the chicken is cooking, you can make your homemade tzaziki. This recipe, I seriously became obsessed with. I’m never buying tzatziki again!

Ingredients -

1. 1 6 oz Fage 0% Greek Yogurt (or Greek Yogurt of your liking)

2. 1 Persian cucumber, diced

3. 1 tablespoon lemon juice

4. 1 garlic clove, minced (or as mentioned above – use a mortar and pestle to mash)

5. 1 tablespoon fresh dill, finely chopped

6. Dash of red wine vinegar

7. Salt and pepper to taste

Directions -

1. Mix first 6 ingredients together. Once well combined, add salt and pepper to taste.

2. Chill about one hour before serving.

Final prep of the sandwich –

I put together the sandwich in a Pocket Thin – 100% Whole Wheat Pita 

The additional ingredients I used for this was diced lettuce and tomatoes, the rest of the sliced onion, feta cheese, and kalamata olives. 

The way I count this for the 21DF is 1 red (easy to measure the meat into your container), 1 yellow (the open pita), 1 green (for lettuce/tomato/onion), 1 blue (cheese), and 1 orange (olives). I just measure out the tzaziki into two tablespoons and don’t count it.

Personal Your Way Pizza

Today’s 21DF recipe is going to be so easy that your kids can help you make it! What person doesn’t love making their own pizza? Mine has a Greek theme to it but you can add whatever you’d like, this is meant to be just a small guide to help you get an idea on what you could put on the pizza and what containers you can use.

1 Yellow - Flat Out ArtisanThin Pizza Crust 

2 tbsp Marinara Sauce (The one that I used and am totally obsessed with is the Bertolli Organic Olive Oil, Basil & Garlic)

1 Green – I used sliced grape tomatoes and spinach

1 Orange – Kalmata Olives

1 Red – Meat of your choosing –  I used sliced steak, which I had already cooked

1 Blue – Shredded cheese (Once again, I really wanted to use a salty cheese – feta – but opted for an approved cheese intead)

1 – Bake Flat Out for 2 minutes at 375 (according to package)

2 – After two minutes remove the Flat Out but keep the oven on. Next, use a spoon to spread out the marinara sauce and then spread out your veggies, meat, olives, and sprinkle cheese on top

3 – Bake about five minutes and then you’re all set!

Enjoy your delicious and healthy personal pizza. It’s ok not to share, I won’t blame you!

No Crap Buffalo Chicken Salad

So my friend is a Beachbody Coach and got me doing her 21 Day Fix. If you know what it  is, you’re probably a fan. If you don’t know what it is, I’ll tell you. In brief, it is a way to learn clean eating and portion control. I’ve always been a fan of clean eating but the portion control thing was always my biggest problem. Since starting it, I’ve had some great results and it really is a great lifestyle change. It puts you in the habit of being conscientious of the foods you’re putting into your body. Once I really started looking at ingredients, I was shocked to see some of the junk that was listed. To get me on a better track without feeling I was stuck eating boring food, I started to put a healthy spin on my favorite recipes and editing other recipes I’ve found.

Here’s one that I really enjoy making for lunch. I once made it for my boyfriend who refused to eat it at first because I said there was yogurt in it and he was convinced it wouldn’t taste good, but after trying it he fell in love with it and now I make it all the time! So I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Ingredients -

1 Container of 6oz Fage 0% Plain Greek Yogurt

1/3 cup Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Sauce

½ tsp Garlic Powder

¼ tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper

1 lb Cooked Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast (shredded or cut into tiny pieces)

4 Heart of Celery Stalks, Finley Chopped (or 2 regular stalks)

½ cup Cilantro

½ cup Crumbled Blue Cheese (due to sodium levels in blue cheese, I used an 2/3 cup Italian 4-cheese mix for 21DF recipe) 

1 cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth

Directions -

1 – Cook whole chicken breasts in broth by bringing to a rapid boil and then simmering until finished. If you have any broth left, drain it out. Once done, allow chicken to cool before shredding - to avoid burning any fingers! 

2 – In a large bowl, mix together the yogurt, buffalo sauce, garlic powder, and pepper. Then stir in chicken, celery, cilantro, and cheese.

3 – Serve on your choice of bread, wrap, or crackers!

This is good to be refrigerated for about 4-5 days.

As far as the 21DF is concerned, the way I measured this out was as follows:

Greek Yogurt = 1 Red

Chicken = Once shredded, I measured it out one red container at a time until all the chicken was in the bowl. 

Celery = Same process as the chicken, but using the green container

Cheese = 2 Blue

Bread = 1 Yellow

The number of red containers is how I separated the completed dish. My completed recipe had a total of four reds so I counted each serving as 1 R, 1/4 G +bringing a remaining green of celery sticks  to equal 1 G, 1/2B.I ate it with a  sandwich thin which counted as 1Y. I hope this makes sense, if not – please feel free to let me know or ask any questions that you have.

I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you find a new way to spice it up, let me know. I’d love to give it a shot!