Grilled Hawaiian BBQ Chicken with Roasted Sweet Potatoes

I always feel like Memorial Day Weekend is the start of grilling season, and let me tell you this recipe set the standards pretty darn high! Although you are making a homemade BBQ sauce, don't go running. The sauce is extremely easy and simple, using very little ingredients and NO added sugars. I have tried many over-the-counter paleo BBQ sauces and many homemade sauces before, and this sauce is unlike all of them. It seriously turned out so delicious and totally worth quickly blending up! Make sure you plan ahead for this one and let the chicken marinate in the sauce for at least 30 minutes before grilling - the longer the better, so if you can let it marinate overnight I suggest doing that. I doubled the marinade ingredients and used about 5lbs of boneless chicken thighs to get me a little more meals. I also paired with my roasted sweet potatoes and quickly roasted some broccoli when that was done to complete the meal. A little more prep time when you choose to roast so many vegetables, but I had more time this weekend so I went for it. However, baking a sweet potato or throwing them in the Instant Pot while you're grilling can save some time. Anyways, this grilled Hawaiian BBQ chicken seriously came out amazing and I will most definitely be making it all summer long. Let me know what you think if you try it out! 

​Grilled Hawaiian BBQ Chicken
Ingredients:

• 1 fresh pineapple, skin removed and cut into rounds with the core removed
• 2 lbs boneless chicken thighs (or breasts)

For the marinade:

• 1/2 cup coconut aminos
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 4-6 pitted dates, soaked for 10-15 minutes in warm water to soften then drained
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• For serving and topping:
• White or cauli rice (Cauli rice for Whole30)
• Mixed greens
• Chopped green onions (for topping)

Directions:

1. Soak dates in warm water as noted to soften. 
2. To make the marinade, place all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor and run continuously to combine all the ingredients until smooth. Stop to scrape sides down as needed and restart.
3. Place chicken in a shallow bowl or dish and pour the marinade over. Toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
4. When you are about ready to grill, cut pineapple into rounds as noted. Cut out the tough inner core from the rounds and set aside.
5. Heat your grill to high heat (about 500° F). Add the chicken and pineapple to grill and cook, flipping once and basting chicken with any remaining marinade until cooked through, about 5-6 minutes on each side depending on the size of the chicken. Remove pineapple when it is grilled to your liking (we grilled it just 3-4 minutes per side). 
6. Serve chicken and pineapple with your desired side, over rice or over greens (or greens and rice). Enjoy.

Original recipe found here


My Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients:

• 4-6 Sweet Potatoes (Depending on how much you want to make. 5 medium sized sweet potatoes usually gets me 6 oz of sweet potato fries for 6 meals. I think my idea of medium sized is bigger than most though.)
• Olive oil spray
• Sea salt (I love using Garlic Sea Salt!)
• Optional: Cinnamon, Paprika, any other Spices

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Skin and cut the sweet potatoes into whatever shape you want. I either do fries, wedges or circles.
3. Spray baking pan with olive oil. Lay down sweet potato fries flat (do not just dump a pile on the pan).
4. I fill my Misto with olive oil and lightly spray the fries, then add some sea salt (or whatever spices you enjoy).
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Take out of the oven and move them around or flip them over. Bake for another 15-20 minutes.
6. Keep an eye on them, if they are thin bake for less time, and vice versa. Key is to move them around or flip them over half way through baking them. I usually make mine thicker, so I bake them for at least a total of 40 minutes.