recipe healthy hawaiian chicken kebabs

Having a hard time getting the kids to eat healthy? Kebabs are a fun way to incorporate a lot of delicious vegetables and fruit into your family’s evening meal. Even better, this tasty main course uses boneless, skinless cuts of chicken cut into bite-sized pieces – and they’re baked, not fried.

These kabobs are sure to nourish and delight everyone in the family, but kids especially will love them since they’re as easy to eat as they are to make. Try getting them involved in preparing the meals. Marinate the chicken and pre-cut all the vegetables then have them help you assemble the kebabs. Most importantly, don’t be afraid to make extra! Leftovers can be stored and served over lettuce for a yummy salad, or rolled up in a tortilla or pita for a quick sandwich – perfect for lunch the next day!

Ingredients

Marinade

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (at least 36 pieces), all visible fat discarded, cut into bite-size pieces

2 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce

20 oz. canned, unsweetened juice from pineapple chunks can

2 clove fresh garlic, minced OR

1 tsp. jarred, minced garlic

Chicken Kebabs

Non-stick cooking spray

36 pineapple chunks, packed in their own juice

2 fresh, chopped bell peppers (chopped into 36 pieces)

1 pint grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes

12-15 wooden skewers

2 cups brown rice, cooked to package instructions OR

2 8.8-oz. packaged, cooked brown rice

Instructions

Marinade

  1. In a plastic bag, add chicken chunks.
  2. Have kids add soy sauce, 1 cup pineapple juice, and garlic into the plastic bag. Seal and let chicken marinate in the fridge for about 15 minutes.

Chicken Kebabs

  1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Take chicken out of marinade and place in a bowl.
  2. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Have kids wash bell peppers and tomatoes before chopping peppers. For kid-friendly assembly, place the pineapple, chopped peppers, and tomatoes in 3 separate bowls.
  3. Let kids add 1 tomato to the bottom of 1 skewer. Top with pineapple, chicken and bell pepper 3 times, letting kids add everything but the raw chicken. Let kids add 1 more tomato to top.
  4. Repeat with the rest of skewers.
  5. After 12 skewers are made (and all the chicken has been used), have kids make their own skewers with any remaining pieces. Cook kabobs in oven until chicken is cooked, about 15 minutes. Serve with rice.

Nutritional Information

Servings 4

Per serving: Calories 306, Total Fat 4g, Sat. Fat 0.5g, Carbohydrates 40g, Sugars 20g, Fiber 5g, Cholesterol 73mg, Protein 29g, Sodium 342mg.

Recipe copyright © 2014 American Heart Association. This recipe is brought to you by the American Heart Association’s Simple Cooking with Heart® Program.