🏁NKO Club | Juicy Med Chicken & Mental Health Month!

01 MENTAL HEALTH MONTH:

May is mental health awanress month and taking the time to reassess what works for us, and frankly, what isn’t working for us is key.

I chose to find a new therapist in Florida to help begin the healing process and set a healthy and foundation for the next chapter in my own life. things have CHANGED so much, so many for the good, and yet so many “messy middle” moments: the challenges that come from outgrowing what was but not quite being able to exist in that “next level” self you are building.

taking the time to prioritize presence and take action for our mental health as outlined by each of these tiles below can create actionable steps toward building a better relationship with our minds.

screenshot the challenge below and TAG @nkoclub & myself @kendalltoole so we can hold each other accountable with small tasks to help reframe and reignite our commitment to improving our mental health, together.

02 NUTRITION:

NEW! PROTEIN-FORWARD RECIPE ACCOUNT: @nkokitchen

If there is a way I share my love with people it’s often through food, particularly food that can be both DELICIOUS and nutrient-dense. So while I’ll continue to share recipes here, some of the favorites, the snack tips and more will also live on the NKO Kitchen IG account so you can easily save and share your favorites (*cough* until one day I have the time to finally put it all in a cookbook for y’all cough)

JUICY MEDITERRANEAN CHICKEN

 INGREDIENTS (marinade + sauce):

-1 lbs raw chicken breast tenders OR small chicken thighs

-2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt 

-4 tbs feta cheese

-bunch of fresh Parsley

-1 fresh lemon

-6 cloves garlic

-dired oregano

-sumac

-dried chili flakes

*opt dried lentils

 INSTRUCTIONS:

set oven to 375 F

in a mixing bowl combine ½ cup yogurt, 3 tsp sumac, 2 cloves minced fresh garlic, 1 tbs freshly chopped parsley, 3 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp red chili flakes and half of the juice of a lemon. Stir until combined. Add in the chicken and cover completely in marinade. Let chill, covered in fridge for up to an hour.

mix together 1/3 cup of greek yogurt, juice of half a lemon, 4 tbs feta, 4 cloves of fresh garlic, 1 tsp sumac, 1 tsp oregano & 1 tsp red chili flakes to a small blender or food processor. mix until combined. add a splash of water to thin out sauce if you like. set aside in fridge.

preheat a fry pan to medium heat, add a very thin layer of high smoke point oil (avocado oil) and sear each side of the chicken tenders for two minutes max each side. after searing, arrange on a baking sheet and finish cooking in the oven until the internal temp reaches 160 F (for that size likely an additional 10-12 min. depending on the oven)

build you plate with premade and reheated bone broth rice, roasted sweet potatoes or a complex carbohydrate of your choice. arrange the cooked chicken tenders atop, drizzle the greek sauce generously atop the chicken and add dried lentils or cracked b lack pepper to taste!

Each serving averages 40+ grams of protein (more if served with bone broth rice) lots of fiber and even probiotics from the greek drizzle!

tag @nkokitchen and #nkokitchen if you make this and let me know what other recipes you’d like me to put a healthier spin on!

VIDEO RECIPE BELOW —>

03 SHOPPING:

MOVING IS STRESSFUL and the only thing keeping me hanging on is my skincare routine/ 5 min makeup and finally having somehwat of an organized kitchen or at least one I can cook in.

05 YOUTUBE:

WEEKLY VLOGS + COOKING/ GROCERY HAULS & MORE COMING SOON!

Subscribe to my NEW YouTube channel here as we begin to build community with longer formats and more chances to truly connect.

WHAT CONTENT WOULD YOU LIKE? Email us back and I’ll hop on creating more feel-good, health & wellness focused content to keep us all locked in and in the fight.

REMINDER: they can knock you down, but they can NEVER knock you out!

xx,

Keni