Roasted Chicken With Green Beans

I used to make this dish years ago and forgot about it until recently. The original recipe comes from the Real Simple magazine, but I had modified it for our taste. This dish is versatile in the cuts of chicken you use. You can use a whole cut-up chicken, breasts, thighs, wings, legs or a combination of your favorites. My kids love wings and legs and my husband and I prefer the chicken breasts, so we use a whole cut-up chicken minus the thighs, which I save for a later date.

I used to make this dish with olive oil, but I recently learned the smoke point of various fats needs to be taken into consideration because a fat is no longer good for consumption after it has exceeded its smoke point and has begun to break down. It is believed that fats that have gone past their smoke points contain a large quantity of free radicals which contribute to risk of cancer. Refining oils (taking out impurities) tends to increase the smoke point. Extra Virgin Olive Oil has a ballpark smoke point of 325°F – 375°F, depending on the quality of the oil. Thus, we do not raise the temperature past 325°F when using extra virgin olive oil. Avocado oil has a ballpark smoke point of 520°F and is similar in composition to olive oil, which makes it a great choice for this dish, as the dish is cooked at 450°F.

Packed with more than 20 vitamins and minerals, avocados are one of the world’s healthiest foods. Avocado oil is high in potassium, vitamin A,E, and D. Additionally, avocado oil has been found to have the highest concentration of monounsaturated fats, which are the “good fats” in our diets that help balance cholesterol levels. Oleic acid is the monounsaturated fats in avocados and avocado oil. The antioxidants and beta-sitosterol found in avocados help to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. An essential nutrient for bone and cardiovascular health, the magnesium found in an avocado is also known to reduce migraines and prevent type II diabetes. The Omega-3 Fatty Acids in avocados may reduce inflammation, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, depression and arthritis. Lastly, avocados contain soluble fiber and foliate, both of which aid in improving overall heart health. (Source)

This dish is so yummy, we just wanted to slurp the sauce up! It has a wonderful garlic flavor and the added benefit is how good garlic is for you. Garlic is one of the oldest medicinal herbs (prescriptions for garlic are found on Sumerian tablets from 3000 B.C.). When Russian soldiers in World War II suffered a shortage of antibiotics, they used garlic to such an extent it was called “the Russian penicillin.” The sulfur compounds in garlic and onions promote apoptosis (cell death) in colon, breast, lung, and prostate cancer, as well as in leukemia. Epidemiological studies suggest a reduction in kidney and prostate cancer in people who consume the most garlic. Moreover, garlic and onions help to regulate blood sugar levels. This, in turn, reduces insulin secretion and IGF (insulin-like growth factors), and thus the growth of cancer cells. This recipe calls for mincing the garlic, which makes this recipe even better — active molecules of garlic are released when a garlic clove is crushed and are much more easily assimilated if they are dissolved in little oil.