The Fighter/"Making Weight" Teriyaki Chicken

This week, Lindsey and I (along with another co-worker, Gabby) are doing a detox. Needless to say, it had a big impact on our movie night vibe. No snacks, no beer, no dessert... Thankfully we will be back to normal next week!

I still think our dinner recipe was a keeper--very juicy, sweet and fresh tasting with the cilantro and scallion topping. And honestly, the detox has been great. It feels restrictive but in a good way, you're still able to eat real food (chicken, salmon, salad, oatmeal, plus protein- and probiotics-packed smoothies) and it has even made me a bit reluctant to dive right back into my previous eating/drinking habits. I won't lie, a cup of coffee with cream and sugar to kick off the weekend tomorrow morning is going to be wonderful!

The Fighter was a great movie--chosen mostly because I had it at home already--but it complemented our restrictive diet quite nicely! I think I was one of the only people who didn't see it in the theater, so I was glad to finally see the two Oscar-winning performances by Christian Bale and Melissa Leo. I cannot get over how perfectly Christian Bale was able to nail the personality of the real-life Dicky Ekhart, who you get a glimpse of at the beginning of the credits. WOW. Mark Wahlberg and Amy Adams also gave great performances, they simply weren't outrageous personalities and got somewhat shadowed by the eccentricities of the mother/son duo.

"Making Weight" Teriyaki Chicken

slightly adapted from the GOOP detox

INGREDIENTS

2/3 cup balsamic vinegar

2/3 cup honey

2 tsp freshly grated ginger

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp mirin

2 TB water

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 finely chopped scallions

8 sprigs cilantro, roughly chopped

DIRECTIONS:

Make the sauce. Combine the balsamic vinegar, honey, ginger and pepper in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook for ten minutes. Cool and add mirin and water.

Reserve 1/3 of the sauce for serving. Place the chicken in a ziploc bag along with the remaining sauce and marinate at least one hour or up to overnight.

When ready to prepare, heat a grill pan over medium heat and grill chicken about 5 minutes per side or until cooked through. Serve with the reserved sauce, cilantro and scallions.