Every Friday for six weeks I am sharing with you a recipe from my new book, The Skinny Gut Diet. If you have tried it all, but you still can’t lose weight, then this book is for you. You are not entirely to blame for your extra pounds. As it turns out, the bacteria in your gut play a major role in whether or not you will lose weight—and keep it off—for good.

Lemongrass-Chicken

Lemongrass chicken is a perfect Skinny Gut meal. With protein, nutrient-packed Swiss chard, prebiotic scallions, and coconut oil for healthy fat, your palate will be pleased and your gut bacteria happy. This meal only 1.6 teaspoons of sugar (that includes sugar that breaks down from starchy carbohydrates), as calculated using my sugar tracker calculation:

teaspoon-tracker

1.6 teaspoons of sugar
25 minutes to prepare and cook
Serves 4

3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large shallot, minced
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 fresh chile, such as serrano or jalapeño, seeds removed, flesh minced
2 fresh lemongrass stalks, outer layers removed, minced
1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 2-inch chunks
1 tablespoon tamari
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 bunch (about 1 pound) Swiss chard, trimmed and chopped
4 scallions, green and white parts thinly sliced

  1. In a medium bowl, combine the garlic, shallot, curry powder, chile, and lemongrass. Add the chicken and tamari and stir to coat well. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
  2. Heat ½ teaspoon of the oil in a large sauté pan or wok over high heat. Add the marinated chicken and stir fry, turning every few minutes, until well browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. Add the water and continue to cook until the chicken is fragrant, appears glazed, and is cooked through when pierced with a fork or a knife, about 5 minutes more. Remove from the pan and set aside.
  3. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel and heat the remaining ½ teaspoon oil in the same pan. Add the water and continue to cook until the chicken is fragrant, appears glazed, and is cooked through when pierced with a fork or knife, about 5 minutes more. Remove from the pan and set aside.
  4. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel and heat the remaining ½ teaspoon oil in the same pan. Add the ginger and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the chard and stir-fry for 2 minutes, or until the chard is wilted and the ginger is fragrant.

Place the chard on a serving plate and top with the chicken pieces. Serve garnished with the scallions.