Balsamic Chicken & Feta Stuffed Peppers
As summer rolls around it’s starting to dawn on me that I need a bit of a kick up the butt to get back on track and feel my most confident in the sun this year. That’s not to say I need to be ‘skinny’ or even at my slimmest, but I need to know I’m heading in the right direction for me…because then frankly anyone who thinks I’m not ‘beach body ready’ can go do one! With that in mind, recipes like these Balsamic Chicken & Feta Stuffed Peppers are perfect for light lunches, dinners or even picnics in the sun!
What Makes These Stuffed Peppers Healthy?
This recipe serves two and trust me one half is plenty with a healthy portion of salad to go with it! The health benefits of this recipe don’t just stop at portion size though! Peppers themselves are great for you, they’re full of antioxidants and vitamins, particularly vitamin C, so you should be eating them every chance you get. For this recipe I used sweet peppers however it works just as well with Bell Peppers too, so it’s really just a matter of taste!
Then there’s the pearl barley which lies underneath the chicken and feta. Pearl barley isn’t as popular or mainstream as rice but it’s certainly not a scary ‘health food’! You can pick it up in any supermarket, it’s quick to cook, it’s a wholegrain and it tastes fab! Pearl barley is also packed with fibre, protein, vitamins, iron and selenium which helps boost your immune system! You also don’t need much as it really bulks out when cooked, so it’s a pretty cheap ingredient too which is always a bonus!
Does This Stuffed Peppers Recipe Fit With Slimming World?
Absolutely! This recipe is completely syn free when using your Healthy Extra A, the peppers themselves use just a quarter of your Healthy Extra A each (the recipe serves two with one half as a serving) and so you have the option of either saving the rest of your Healthy Extra for another meal or milk for example, or you can do what I did which was sprinkle a second quarter on each portion of salad! That meant that when I ate this I only used half of my Healthy Extra A, but like I say the recipe itself only calls for a quarter per portion.
The rest of the stuffed peppers are totally syn free, with balsamic vinegar, fry light, chicken pearl barley and peppers all falling under either the ‘free’ or ‘protein’ section of the plan! If you’re not sure how the Slimming World plan works have a read of my very simple and easy to understand How Slimming World Works guide.
Perfect For Summer Picnics
The weather is well and truly on its way to warming up (bring on summer!!!) which means one thing…it’s almost picnic season! I adore a good picnic, but they can often be filled with danger areas for anyone trying to eat a healthier diet. I’m talking sausage rolls, high fat potato salads, unhealthy sandwiches, crisps…you get the drift! Stuffed peppers can be the ideal alternative as they can be eaten hot or cold and because there are so many different varieties of peppers you can use the one which fits your travel needs. For instance you might opt for a bell pepper instead to avoid spillage, but the principle stays the same!
With these stuffed peppers to enjoy in the sun, alongside a hearty salad, plenty of fresh fruit and don’t forget lots of water, you’ll be winning at the picnic game and don’t have to jeopardise your healthy lifestyle at all. This is particularly important as these kinds of summer activities are often great family times and there’s no need to spend them feeling guilty or even miss out completely through fear of falling off track!
Making Balsamic Chicken & Feta Stuffed Peppers
This recipe really couldn’t be any more simple if it tried, the ingredients don’t take long to cook and they’re all easily accessible. Balsamic and feta go together perfectly and add so much flavour to the chicken! I have used low fat feta cheese (sometimes just marked as ‘salad cheese’ in supermarkets) to give you even more bang for your buck…you can have a massive 65g as your Healthy Extra A! Remember each pepper half only calls for a quarter of that!
Cliona Keane
Serves 2
A delicious stuffed pepper recipe with balsamic glazed chicken, feta cheese and bags of flavour! Perfect for lunch, dinner or even picnics!
5 minPrep Time
20 minCook Time
25 minTotal Time
Ingredients
- 1x Sweet Pepper - halved (or 2x Bell Peppers)
- 100g Pearl Barley
- 1x Large Chicken Breast (diced small)
- 3tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- 32.5g Reduced Fat Feta Cheese
- Fry Light
- Handful Chopped Parsley
- Salt & Pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.
- Cook the pearl barley as per the packet instructions. Drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, fry the diced chicken with Fry Light, adding one tablespoon of the balsamic vinegar when it is almost cooked through. Season with salt and pepper as per your own tastes.
- Add half of the parsley (reserving the rest for garnish) and continue frying until the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove the seeds from each half of the pepper and lay them on a baking tray. Spoon pearl barley into each, smoothing it so it forms a flat surface.
- Top with chicken and then crumble half of the feta onto each half.
- Spray with some more fry light and bake for 15 minutes or until the peppers have cooked and the feta on top has begin to char slightly.
- Serve hot or cold with a side salad!
Notes
Syn free on Slimming World using a quarter of your Healthy Extra A. Add 1.5 syns if not using your Healthy Extra A. Syn values correct at time of writing. Please do not screenshot this recipe to share - share the link instead!
9 Comments
Louise
25/04/2017 at 10:10 am
Cliona
25/04/2017 at 12:36 pm
Helen
25/04/2017 at 1:13 pm
Monika
25/04/2017 at 5:47 pm
glynis
19/06/2017 at 11:18 am
Cliona
01/07/2017 at 10:24 am
Maria
30/05/2018 at 11:01 pm
Kristin
01/07/2018 at 11:11 am
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