Cilantro Lime Chicken with Guac

One thing that I have learned while doing the Anti-Inflammatory diet is that chicken becomes your new best friend and your worst enemy.
What's for dinner? Chicken. What did you eat for lunch? Chicken. What are you making for breakfast? Probably chicken.  But I am actually okay with it because chicken is so versatile. My favorite recipes are always going to involve some form of Mexican flare to them. There is just something about adding cilantro and avocado to a recipe that makes my taste buds jump with joy.
This recipe is fantastic. Letting the chicken marinade in all the yummy goodness and topping it with this awesome guacamole really make me happy. I paired mine up with some black beans and cilantro and lime cauliflower rice (recipes to follow).


Cilantro Lime Chicken:

1.5 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, fat trimmed
¼ cup lime juice
2 TBSP olive oil
¼ cup fresh cilantro
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon sea salt

Guacamole:

2 avocados, diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, diced
1 TBSP lime juice
2 tsp. red onion, minced (yellow onion works fine as well)
1 small garlic clove, minced
sea salt to taste

1. First prepare the chicken by making the marinade. Coming the lime juice, olive oil, cilantro, cumin, and salt in a small bowl.
2. Take your chicken breasts and either pound them out so that they are equal in thickness all the way around, or cut them in half lengthwise to form 2 smaller pieces.
3. Add chicken and marinade to a large ziplock bag and allow the chicken to marinade for at least 15 minutes. (You don't want it to marinade to long because the lime juice will begin to break down and cook your chicken).
4. Preheat grill to medium high heat (about 400 degrees) and then place the chicken on grill and cook each side for 4-6 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink or has reached an internal temperature of 165.
5. Remove chicken and allow to rest while you prepare the guacamole.
6. To make the guacamole: Take the avocado and slightly mash it with a fork. Add the cilantro,  lime juice, onion, garlic, and salt to the avocado and mix to combine all flavors.

**Randi's Side Notes**
~ You can also leave your chicken thicker and just let it marinade at least 30 minutes and grill a lot longer, if you don't want to pound it out or slice it. I pounded mine thin so it was even all the way around, probably about 3/4 inch thick and 30 minutes was good for me. It was enough time to let the marinade soak in without having the lime juice "cook" it.

Recipe adapted from  Joyful Healthy Eats.