You look at your menu, and what’s on it? Chicken, chicken, and more chicken. As a fitness enthusiast, athlete, bodybuilder, or anyone healthy, you are going to be eating chicken. More than likely, lots of it. This is why people end up running for the hills if they see chicken in the off season. There’s nothing to it. No flavor. What are you having? Chicken and broccoli or chicken and some veggies. It ends up not being appetizing. Well, it’s time to spice this bird up and get you back on track.

Let’s look at some ways to make chicken fingering licking good, again.

Marinade

Sure, you can toss a raw piece of chicken in a pan, and toss in some spices. It won’t have near the flavor that it could if you had used a marinade. By marinading chicken, you allow in to soak up the rich delicious flavor. The key is to get the right blend for a good marinade. You need to think about what flavors you are looking for from your food as well. Do you want sweet? spicy? sweet and spicy? The options are endless, but damn it, have a flavor focus. You should not try to combine wild varieties to see what happens. Italian and chinese just do not mix. Basil duck sauce is just not appetizing. Here’s a few marinade suggestions.

1. Chicken Fajita Marinade

Ingredients:
1/4 C. Lime Juice
2 Tbsp. Mince Garlic
1 Tbsp Cumin
Pepper to taste

Instructions: Blend ingredients, and pour over 1 lb. of raw chicken breasts that are cut into strips.

2. Barbeque Chicken

Ingredients:
1 Sweet onion (medium, minced)
2 Tbsp. Minced garlic
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 C. Tomato paste
1/4 C. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tbsp. Paprika
1 Tsp Black Pepper
4 Packets Splenda or about 2 Tbsp. Aritificial sweetener of choice

Instructions: Blend ingredients, and pour over 1 lb. of raw chicken breasts (can be cut into nuggets, strips, or left as breasts).

3. Chicken Stir-Fry

Ingredients:
1/8C. Soy sauce
2 Packets Splenda
1 Tbsp. Peanut oil
1/2 Tsp. Sesame oil
1 Tsp. Minced garlic
1 Tbsp. Szechuan Chili Sauce
1/4 C. Crushed Pineapple

Instructions: Blend ingredients, and pour over 1 lb. of raw chicken breasts (can be cut into nuggets, strips, or left as breasts).

For all marinades, be sure to allow the chicken to soak in the marinade for at least 30 minutes. An overnight soak would be best. It is also wise to keep the meat cool, so put it in the frig to let it soak up the flavor. You can also scour the chicken by poking it with a fork or make small incisions with a knife. This really helps the marinade penetrate the chicken even more (what can I say, cooking can be sexy).

Dry Rub

This might sound like what happens after a long work day and no powder to prevent chaffing. However, a dry rub is a blend of ingredients that are rubbed onto the chicken prior to cooking. This process can help you be more “one” with your chicken. It allows some nice one-on-one interaction prior to shoveling it down your gullet. Again, the right blend of ingredients makes for the perfect flavor when the meat is finished. People do try to cross some boundaries here. People add in cinnamon and/or nutmeg into a barbeque rub. It adds an interesting flavor, but it’s not for me.

1. Sweet Heat Rub

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. Smoked paprika
1 Tsp. Cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp. Black pepper
1 Tbsp. Garlic powder
1 Tbsp. Onion powder
2 Tbsp. Salt
3 Packets Splenda

Instructions: Blend mixture, and rub into chicken. This recipe should coat 1 lb. of chicken. If you need to expand the recipe, then double it, and store the remainder in an airtight container.

2. Italian Chicken Rub

Ingredients:
2 Tsp. Paprika
1 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Onion powder
1 Tsp. Thyme (dried)
1 Tsp. White pepper
1 Tsp. Basil
1 Tsp. Rosemary
1 Tsp. Garlic powder
1/2 Tsp. Black pepper

Instructions: Blend mixture, and rub into chicken. This recipe will coat 1 lb. of chicken.

3. Chicken Taco Rub

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. Chili powder
2 Tbsp. Smoked paprika
1 Tbsp. Cumin
1 Tbsp. Garlic powder
3 Tbsp. Mustard powder
2 Tsp. Salt
2 Tsp. Black pepper

Instructions: Blend mixture, and rub into chicken. This recipe will coat 1-2 lbs. of chicken.

Similar to marinades, be sure to allow the chicken to marinate in the dry rub for at least 30 minutes. Again, you should keep the chicken covered in the frig, and marinating overnight would be ideal. Scouring the chicken or cutting into pieces will help the mixture cover more surface area for a richer flavor.

There are plenty of ways to spice up chicken. Do not get complacent! These are only a few of the recipes that offer ways to simply spice up the chicken. You can always add chicken into various healthy dishes to make it tastier. You can mince up chicken, blend with greek yogurt, and some hot sauce for a tasty “hot wing” chicken dip. You can cut up some spinach wraps into chips, and bake them for a nice dipping tool. Oh, the possibilities are endless!