One cuisine that I absolutely LOVE in this world is Greek. I first fell in love with the cuisine when I visited the island of Crete during the summertime. The food there was out of this world amazing. I was staying in a small village surrounded by tons of olive trees growing in the hills. The food was so fresh that you could walk outside and pick a cucumber or tomato, bite into it, and be fully satisfied without any seasonings or cooking. It was that good.
Not only is it tasty, but it is so amazingly healthy for you. While I was there, I ate everything the locals would eat. Even though I stuffed my face to the point of feeling uncomfortably fully, I still felt better than I ever have in my entire life. I felt so well-nourished, healthy, and light. I didn’t experience any heaviness or bloatedness like we experience from many foods in the United States. The best part was that my skin was beyond glowing (and tan, of course), which I believe occurred as a result of eating this incredibly healthy cuisine. Therefore, I am a firm believer of eating the Mediterranean diet as I sure noticed positive results from it for myself!
I decided to make a quinoa bowl inspired by a gyro. Gyros are so delicious but with the flatbread or pita, it makes for a somewhat unhealthy dish. The pita or flatbread is often made with white flour, which I decided to omit to make it healthier option without sacrificing the flavor! Instead of using any type of bread, I substituted quinoa in its place. I added the typical greek salad of cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and olive oil. For the protein, I made super tasty lemon-oregano grilled chicken. And a gyro to me is not complete without the yogurt dill sauce called tzatziki. I usually ask for extra, that’s how good it is. Put all of this together in the quinoa bowl and it makes for an incredibly delicious and healthy meal!
Greek Chicken Quinoa Bowl
Ingredients
Lemon Oregano Chicken
- 2 Boneless Chicken Breasts
- 2 Garlic Cloves minced
- 1/4 cup Olive Oil
- 1/4 Lemon Juice
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Rind
- 2 teaspoons Dried Oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Pepper
Quinoa Bowl
- 1/2 Medium Cucumber chopped
- 1/2 Medium Tomato chopped
- 1/4 Red Onion chopped
- 1/2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Cup Quinoa cooked
- 2-3 Tablespoons Tzatziki see recipe below
- Olives dill, or lemon slices to garnish
Instructions
- Place the chicken breasts and the rest of the chicken marinade ingredients in a plastic bag or container
- Let marinate in the fridge for 2-3 hours
- While chicken is marinating, prepare the tzatziki according to the recipe posted below
- Place the prepared tzatziki in the fridge
- Meanwhile, cook quinoa according to package instructions and set aside to cool
- While the quinoa is cooking, cut up the cucumber, tomato, red onion and toss in a bowl with the olive oil and set aside
- Remove chicken when it's done marinating and fire up the grill to medium heat
- Grill chicken breasts until fully cooked inside and chicken is no longer pink
- When chicken is done, remove both breasts from grill
- Evenly distribute the cooked quinoa, cucumber salad, and tzatziki between two bowls. Place a chicken breast in each bowl.
- Garnish with olives, dill, or lemon slices
- Serve and enjoy!
For the Tzatziki Recipe, I used the Wanderlust Kitchen’s recipe which you can find here. It is delicious and actually tastes exactly like the authentic tzatziki that I had while visiting Greece!
Queen of My Kitchen
That looks sooo delicious. I just had zesty chicken and black bean quinoa bowl at Starbucks the other day and thought I would make my own version but I’m making this instead!!