Enjoy a healthy, delicious diet

It’s 7:48pm, you just finished a Cardio-Kick Boxing class at the local 24 Hour Fitness. Not only are you slightly annoyed because the dude next to you in the class (yes the one wearing the Dolphin shorts and a t-shirt that was 10 sizes too small with the saying “I hated math then I found out about Pi”) thought that you would seriously fall for a Friday night date request to a revival of “Bye Bye Birdie.” 

I mean seriously, all you really want is a date with a great, reliable guy who actually takes you to a place where pleather is not the appropriate attire and his debit card doesn’t get rejected because it is in his mother’s name. Your lack of satisfying dating experiences has you irritated and famished. You scavenge the annals of your cupboards only to find a seriously outdated can of green beans, a rotting garlic clove and a box of bouillon that still says “Made in the USSR” on the label. 

Sister it is seriously time for a cupboard/dating makeover. Wouldn’t a great chicken, fig and crimini mushroom with sauté and a fuji apple and arugala salad be much better than that the lone TV dinner that is frozen over with so much ice you will have to make a run to REI for an ice climbing pick to break it free!  Pair the chicken dish with a great organic Pinot Noir from Trader Joe’s or break the wine “rules” and go bold with my favorite Cabernet: 2010 Spiral Wines Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.  

I guarantee you, as soon as you start dining better and raising the bar in the epicurean department, you will raise the bar in the guy category. You are taking a bold step by putting organic produce and free range meat in your refrigerator. You are committed to taking better care of yourself inside and out. So here is my recipe for the killer chicken dish and I will follow it with a killer recipe on how to find a great date.

All the following can be purchased at Trader Joe's:

Chicken and Fig Sauté:

2 cloves of garlic finely chopped (Fresh ones-not the ones from your cabinet please!)

1/4 white onion finely chopped

2 tbsp. artichoke tapinade

2 tsp. extra virgin organic olive oil

4 figs chopped

1 can white kidney beans drained

1 cup of crimini mushrooms sliced

2 boneless skinless free range chicken breasts cubed

Sauté the garlic and onions in the olive oil until translucent

Add the artichoke tapinade, figs and mushrooms

Sauté for one minute

Add the chicken and cook uncovered, turning chicken periodically until chicken is done

Finally add the drained kidney beans and cook for two more minutes

Fuji Apple and Arugula Salad:

1 bag washed arugala

1 organic fuji apple cored and diced

1 bag of cut and diced butternut squash

1/4 cup goat feta

1/4 cup pomegranate seeds

1/8 cup walnuts

Combine all the above ingredients in a salad bowl and toss with the following dressing:

1/4 cup of organic extra virgin olive oil

1/8 cup of balsamic vinegar

pinch of salt and pepper

Now open that bottle of vino and vow to yourself that this year, not only will you be committed to a great workout routine that is feasible and a healthy diet, but you are committed to some great dates with guys that aren’t friends of your little brother. So now that you have mastered a great recipe for a fantastic dinner, here is my recipe for finding a great date.