Friday's Fave Foods***Easy Balsamic Chicken

I figure if I keep working the healthy recipes at some point I will become 100% committed to healthy eating as opposed to only about 70%. Which is about where I am right now.

Thyroid disorders are tough. I have found out pretty quickly that the medical establishment does not seem to know much about it. My gyno diagnosed me (kudos to him for that) but he also wants to treat me, and it has become painfully obvious he is shooting in the dark. The local endocrinologist will only take new patients with a referral, and the gyno is doing everything in his power to avoid referring me. Meanwhile, my GP got a copy of the lab reports, and now he wants to treat me. Except he did not come close to catching it in the first place, and he is the one that cleared me for my adoption paperwork. He just writes things like "obese" on my records. (Ouch) Actually tho, I trust him the most. All I can say is, if you think you may have this problem, get yourself educated so you can make educated decisions and fight for your health. If you have the energy. Because, you see, that is one of the big problems. That said, lets move on to....

Easy Balsamic Chicken***The Sonoma Diet

4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves

1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup of olive oil

3 cloves of garlic or 1 and 1/4 tsp. minced

1/4 tsp of kosher salt

1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper

1.)Place each chicken breast between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Using the flat side of a meat mallet, pound lightly to 1/2" thickness. Remove plastic wrap.

2.) Place chicken in a self-sealing plastic bag. In a small bowl, mix vinegar, oil, garlic, salt and red pepper. Pour over chicken. Seal bag: turn to coat chicken. Marinate in the refrigerator for 1-4 hours, turning bag occasionally.

3.) Drain, discarding marinade. For a charcoal grill, grill chicken on the rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium coals for 10-12 minutes or until chicken is not longer pink, turning once halfway thru grilling.

Oven Method: Place chicken on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Roast chicken in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink.

Serves 4

Notes: Love the grilling method. Especially for us Southern girls in the middle of the summer. Also, you could do these ahead of time and use the chicken for salads, sandwiches,etc.