Sheet-pan chicken and vegetables over grain

This is the fix for the day that quietly lands around 900 kcal. Eating "clean" can leave a meal short on energy. A grain base and weighed oil help fill it out.

Here, the 15 g of extra virgin olive oil is per serving: about 130 kcal and 2 g saturated fat from the oil. Olive oil has some saturated fat. One pan, one grain, done.

Method

1. Heat the oven to 220 °C.
2. Cook the brown rice in unsalted water according to the package, usually 30–40 minutes, then let it stand covered for 5 minutes.
3. Cut the chicken into pieces about 3 cm across on a separate board. Cut the broccoli into small florets, the pepper into 3 cm pieces and the zucchini into 2 cm pieces. Wash hands and utensils after handling raw chicken.
4. Put the chicken and vegetables in a bowl on the scale and weigh in 60 g oil for the whole batch. Add the paprika, cumin and garlic powder; toss.
5. Spread on a large sheet pan in one layer, using a second pan if crowded. Roast for about 20–25 minutes, turning halfway, until the centre of the chicken pieces reaches 74 °C and the vegetables are tender. Check several of the largest pieces with a thermometer. Never part-cook chicken to finish later.
6. Divide the rice, chicken and vegetables evenly among four servings. Add the lemon juice.

Notes

• Weigh the oil every time. Poured by eye, 50 g of oil is about 7 g of saturated fat.
• Portion leftovers, including the rice, into shallow containers and refrigerate within 120 minutes. Keep at 4 °C or colder and eat within 3 days.
• For a batch, freeze extra portions promptly after chilling. At −18 °C, the chicken meal is best within 3 months for quality; it stays safe while kept frozen. Thaw in the fridge, never on the counter, and reheat until the centre reaches 74 °C.
• Log it by weight: grain, chicken and oil separately. Nutrition uses the dry rice and raw chicken and vegetable weights, includes all 60 g oil, and assumes chicken with about 45 mg sodium per 100 g.