Mediterranean chicken bowl

Portions are a starting point; eat what suits you.

When appetite is small, a bowl that is mostly protein and vegetables, with a modest amount of grain, is easy to scale down without losing the parts that matter. This one keeps for three days in the fridge, works cold or warm, and tastes better the second day.

What you'll need

Serves 4 · about 25 minutes

• →500 g skinless chicken thigh or breast
• →1 tablespoon olive oil, plus a little extra to finish
• →2 teaspoons dried oregano
• →1 lemon (zest and juice)
• →1 cup uncooked quinoa or pearl couscous (or a 400 g pouch of cooked grain)
• →1 cucumber, diced
• →250 g cherry tomatoes, halved
• →½ red onion, finely sliced
• →½ cup Kalamata olives
• →100 g feta, crumbled
• →A handful of flat-leaf parsley or mint
• →Salt and black pepper

Swaps: canned chickpeas or lentils for the grain; tinned tuna or a drained can of chickpeas for the chicken on a no-cook day; cottage cheese instead of feta.

How to make it

• 1.Cook the grain according to the packet and spread it on a tray to cool slightly.
• 2.Cut the chicken into even pieces. Toss with the olive oil, oregano, lemon zest, salt and pepper.
• 3.Cook in a hot pan for 6–8 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink in the middle. New Zealand Food Safety's guidance for poultry is 75 °C at the thickest part (held for 30 seconds), or 70 °C held for 3 minutes; without a thermometer, cook until the juices run clear.
• 4.While the chicken rests, mix the cucumber, tomatoes, onion and olives with the lemon juice and a little olive oil.
• 5.Build each bowl: grain at the base, chicken, then the vegetables, feta and herbs over the top.

If your appetite is small today

• →Halve the grain and keep the chicken and vegetables; the bowl still holds together.
• →Make it a day ahead. Cold food often appeals more than hot when nausea is around.
• →Our guide to eating well when your appetite is smaller covers fibre, fluids and the signs that mean it's time to talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian. The protein guide covers what the research says about protein in a deficit.

A note on numbers

We haven't published calorie or protein figures for this recipe because we haven't calculated them, and figures that look precise but aren't help nobody. If you track intake, weigh your own ingredients and use the NZ Food Composition Database. Anyone with kidney disease or another medical condition should agree an eating pattern with their own clinician or dietitian.