Lemon Basil Chicken Marinade

Pin It Life has recently given me lemons.  Lemons that I thought were going to be sour, but they turned out to be semi-sweet.  Everything happens for a reason.  I won't get into all the detail on my specific lemons, but I will get into a common philosophy on lemons in general.  This has nothing to do with the lemons I got, just a pure coincidence.

When life gives you lemons, squeeze some in your water and drink it, every day.  Organic lemon water is my new healthy habit.  I recently started drinking lemon water every morning after reading about its alkalizing effects on the body*.  Alkalizing the body is key for overall health.  Although lemons are acidic, once our body metabolizes it, it has an alkalizing effect.  Strange, right?!  I have no idea how it works.  Turns out there is a lot more to benefit from lemons than just your body's PH balance and I love the taste.  What can lemon do for you?  From clearing the skin to boosting your immune system, the benefits are endless.  To read about some of the benefits click here & here

**One thing to note though, is that you should thoroughly rinse your mouth after drinking lemon water (all things acidic, actually) before brushing your teeth to protect your tooth enamel from the acid.  Waiting a half hour before brushing is also a good idea. Drinking with a straw can reduce the effects on your teeth.  I am not a dentist.**

I also love cooking with Lemons.  Lemons add a perfect amount of zing to a pasta sauce or marinade.  I made a delicious Lemon Garlic Basil Chicken Marinade.  Though chicken is acidic, I like to go by the philosophy of moderation (Geeze, I must be feeling philosophical today or something) and I love me some chicken (Organic, that is - I have watched more than my share of documentaries on the food industry recently, but more on that in another post (more philosophy, anyone?)), especially hot off the grill after being marinated in the flavors of summer.  Who needs marinade in a bottle when you can throw a good, fresh, healthy marinade together in less than 5 minutes?  I think it's time we step away from the processed bottled goods and go back to what is natural and simple.  Lemons.  Basil.  Garlic.  Olive Oil.  Doesn't get much simpler than that.  

How many different bottles of salad dressings and marinades do you have in your fridge?  What's even more freaky is the shelf life on these suckers!   You have to think that a homemade dressing would maybe last a week in the fridge, so what's in those puppies making them last eons? Thankfully, I don't like the bottled dressings in Europe or I would be too embarrassed to tell you the number in my fridge.  I am guessing I had around 6-8 when I was in the US and rarely did I finish the bottle.  Talk about waste.  Waste of money and a waste on the environment.  

The flavors of summer as mentioned above, lemon, garlic & basil, though summer seems to have a million perfect flavors.  Just one more thing I la-la-love about summer.  Tip: If you use a lot of garlic in your cooking, the Garlic Zoom by Chef'n is a great way to chop/mince with little effort on your part.  Leaves fingers less garlicky.  Garlic fingers. Ick.

Throw it all together and let marinade for a few hours in the fridge until you fire up the grill.  Grill until no longer pink in the middle and you have the perfect light summer meat dish.  Pair with a salad or some Zucchini Pasta and you have a great summer meal!  A good, crisp, white wine would be delish.  I may or may not be drooling a little bit.

Lemon Garlic Basil Chicken Marinade

Ingredients:

2 organic chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T fresh basil, roughly chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
2 T Olive Oil
1/4 c water
salt & pepper

Directions:

Mix ingredients.  Marinate for about 2 hours in fridge.  Grill until no longer pink in the middle.  Serve hot off the grill!

Bon Appétit!

If you are in more of a lime-y mood, try my Ci-lime-tro Chicken Marinade, packed with more summer flavors! 

Pin It