Shred Happens: So Easy, So Good: 100+ Protein-Packed Mediterranean Favorites with a Low-Carb Twist

Cookbook By: Arash Hashemi

“Consider this collection more than just recipes; it’s a celebration of flavors, health, and community,” Arash Hashemi author of Shred Happens: So Easy, So Good: 100+ Protein-Packed Mediterranean Favorites with a Low-Carb Twist; A Cookbook. Cookbooks that can be considered diet or healthy sometime gets a bad reputation, but I have found that most of them have really valuable information and a lot of delicious recipes in them. This cookbook is a perfect example of that. I love all the ideas to help you incorporate more protein into your meals. I’ve never meant a carb I didn’t like so it can be a struggle to get enough protein.

It was really difficult to narrow down the recipes that I wanted to try first but I ended up trying Buffalo Chicken Pasta and One-Dish Lemony Chicken Bake. Read on to find out how the recipes turned out.

Buffalo Chicken Pasta

Finding new ways to use leftovers is always on the menu for me. This recipe for Buffalo Chicken Pasta uses rotisserie chicken or other cooked chicken – its a great way to utilize leftovers without them being boring.

I didn’t have a lot of these ingredients in my kitchen, so I picked them up at the store. For the buffalo sauce I bought Yo Mama in mild – just know its delicious but not mild at all! I was a little scared about the cottage cheese (as I hate cottage cheese) but used it as called for.

The recipe was really easy to make and didn’t take a ton of time. I tasted the sauce prior to putting everything together and it was delicious. Once everything baked the sauce mixture was so spicy! I do eat some spicy stuff but this was out of my range and I thought my mouth was going to catch on fire! It was such a bummer. My sister was able to eat more than me as she eats spicier foods than I do.

I decided to try this recipe again and bought a different buffalo sauce. This time I used Sweet Baby Ray’s Mild Buffalo sauce. I tasted the sauce mixture before mixing it in with the chicken and it was still a tad too spicy, so I added a little more yogurt and cottage cheese – then tasted again and it was perfect. Once it was baked, I was so happy as it was delicious and the perfect amount of heat. Plus, the leftovers from this meal heated up really well in the oven. To heat it up I stirred everything again and added a small amount of shredded cheese on top and put it in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes. This recipe is now on my regular meal rotation.

One-Dish Lemony Chicken Bake

One-dish recipes are my favorite for weeknights – it makes everything seem so easy. I eat a lot of chicken and am always looking for something new to try so this caught my eye. Normally I am not a big fan of chicken thighs, but I am working on branching out and eating more than just boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

The one-dish chicken lemony bake is really simple and easy to put together. It calls for 2 lbs. of bone-in skin-on chicken thighs – I got mine at Publix and the package was 2 lbs. but it was only 4 chicken thighs. Next time I am going to find a package with 6 chicken thighs as mine were so large it took an extra 20 minutes for them to cook fully.

It was a delicious meal and another one that the leftovers heated up really nicely the next day. I’m not a leftovers person so this was a great outcome for me.

The one-dish lemony chicken bake is a must try for all home cooks and I know it’s going to be a regular staple in my home.

Shred Happens: So Easy, So Good: 100+ Protein-Packed Mediterranean Favorites with a Low-Carb Twist; A Cookbook is a great cookbook. I am so happy that I purchased it and plan to try a lot more recipes from it. It’s already got some splatters from the meals I’ve made and will soon have more – which to me is a sign of a great cookbook.

Even if you aren’t trying to get healthier I would still recommend you pick up this cookbook. The recipes are delicious and easy to make – you won’t be disappointed!