Spa Week at Cocina Pacifica focuses on healthy meals, vegetables from nearby organic farms, and fresh fish caught daily from our backyard, the Pacific Ocean.  Breakfast and lunch are served on our patio overlooking the beach, and our dinners are informal cooking classes where we dine on our lessons.  For those more interested in eating than cooking, kick back with a glass of wine and cheer the others on.

While higher in carbohydrate calories than some of our more traditional spa fare, this guest-favorite dish is loaded with healthy fats and appetite sating carbs and proteins, which are perfect for sustaining you if you elect to spend your vacation time engaging in vigorous deep sea fishing, swimming, beach running, coastal hiking, yoga, golfing, shopping and more.  For the less physically active, reduce the carb and calorie count by substituting fresh greens and fruits for the rice, beans,  plantains, or avocado.

Ingredients

6 chicken thighs trimmed
2 tbs cumin
2 cups of chopped red onions
1 cube chicken bullion
2 cups chopped green bell peppers
2 packages Sazon Goya
2 bunch cilantro (coriander & annatto spices)
1 bunch green onions (6)
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoons black pepper
6 roma or 15 cherry tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 can of light beer
3 medium ripe plantains or sufficient to make 1 cup of slices
2 avocado
1.5 cups of refried beans / frijoles

Directions

Finely chop or blender/food processor 1 cup red onion, 1 cup green pepper, ½ cup cilantro, 3 green onions (bulb plus stem), 1 clove garlic, half of tomatoes. Sauté in 1 tbs olive oil until tender.

After tender, add cayenne, cumin, 1 pkg of Goya powder, black pepper, and continue to sauté.

Remove sautéed veggies from pot; add 1 tbs olive oil and lightly brown chicken.

Add veggies back in, along with coarsely cut remaining onion, bell pepper, garlic, green onion, tomatoes. Add beer. Add bay leaves. Bring to boil then reduce to simmer for two hours covered.

Rice
2 cups brown rice
4 cups water
1 cube chicken bullion
1 package Goya powder

Plantains
Cut into slices. Sauté in a tablespoon of hot sunflower / vegetable oil until golden brown.

To Serve

Cup rice, chicken with sauce, 1/4 cup of frijoles, a few fried plantains, avocado slices and cilantro garnish.

Six servings, with rice, beans, plantains, and avocado:  Calories 393.8. Total Fat 12.2 g, Saturated Fat 2.5 g, Polyunsaturated Fat 3.6 g, Monounsaturated Fat 4.3 g, Cholesterol 57.3 mg, Sodium 280.1 mg, Potassium 840.7 mg, Total Carbohydrate 48.3 g, Dietary Fiber 10.1 g, Sugars 6.8 g, Protein 21.9 g, Vitamin A 18.8 %, Vitamin B-12 4.9 %, Vitamin B-6 33.1 %, Vitamin C 94.4 %, Vitamin D 0.0 %, Vitamin E 9.3 %, Calcium 8.0 %, Copper 19.9 %, Folate 18.1 %, Iron 22.9 %, Magnesium 22.4 %, Manganese 50.6 %, Niacin 33.5 %, Pantothenic Acid 18.8 %, Phosphorus 24.7 %, Riboflavin 14.8 %, Selenium 15.3 %, Thiamin 15.6 %, Zinc 15.3 %