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Barbecue chicken is delicious and healthy and those are the two main reasons why I like to make it. It's healthy because the fat drips off while it cooks and no oil is needed to cook it, hence it's a great alternative to frying. So next time, instead of frying your chicken, try barbecuing it instead.

Ingredients
1 small yellow onion, grated
3 cloves of garlic, grated
1 tbsp. brown sugar (optional)
2 tbsp. chopped green onion
2 tbsp. chopped parsley
3 tbsp. chicken seasoning (you can use your favorite kind)
salt and pepper to taste
barbecue sauce
ketchup (optional)
vinegar-based pepper sauce (optional)

Instructions
1. Wash and remove any excess fat from your chicken.
2. Place the chicken in a bowl, add the yellow onion, garlic, sugar, green onion, parsley, chicken seasoning, salt, and pepper. Mix together and let it marinate for at least two hours (I let mine marinate overnight).
3. After the chicken is finish marinating, remove from the bowl, and place them on a grill to cook.
4. In a small bowl, combine the ketchup, barbecue, and  vinegar-based pepper sauce to create the barbecue sauce mixture that you're going to baste your chicken with.
5. Start basting your chicken with the barbecue sauce mixture when the chicken has about 10 minutes remaining to cook.
6. Remove from heat and serve.

Note:
*You can use store-bought barbecue sauce or you can certainly make your own healthier version. The store bought one that I used had no high fructose corn syrup.

*Basting your chicken, in the beginning, can cause your chicken to burn.

Dhal is easy to make, it's healthy and so delicious. Furthermore, you can read my post on the benefits of dhal.

Ingredients
1 cup of yellow split peas
water to cover the split peas
salt to taste
3 cloves of garlic chopped and 2 whole cloves
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. curry powder
pepper (red or black pepper)
parsley green onions to garnish

Instructions
1. Place the peas, the two cloves of garlic, curry powder, salt and pepper in a pressure cooker.
2. Add water to cover the peas in the pressure cooker, and cook until you have a smooth liquid.
3. In a pan heat the 2 tbsp. of vegetable oil and add the 3 remaining chopped cloves of garlic; cook until the garlic is golden brown.
4. After the garlic is finish cooking, transfer the oil and garlic right away to the pressure cooker, and add it (make sure to stand back because it can splatter).
5. Garnish with some chopped parsley and green onions.

Note:
I like to use a pressure cooker because it cooks the split peas faster but if you don't have one you can use a pot. Also, you can soak your peas in some water the night before in order for them to cook faster.

The parsley and green onions add great flavor also.

You're never too young or old to start practicing good lifestyle habits. Below are some good lifestyle tips that you can try:

1. Go meatless at least one day in a week or simply add more vegetables to your meals. When cooking some of your meals, try adding a little veggie to it. Just chop them up into small pieces and add them in. This way you know you're getting veggies in your meal and if you have kids that they are too.
2. Try to eat gluten free. Gluten is responsible for a lot of health problems! There are some really delicious gluten-free products like bread and pasta available these days, so choose those instead.
3. Drink less or if possible no alcohol. Try non-alcoholic drinks instead on your night out.
4. Exercise. We all need this. It can be as simple as going for a nice long walk.
5. Drink less caffeinated beverages. Omg, the amount of coffee we all drink every day! Try drinking less by substituting your coffee with beverages that are caffeine free.
6. Drink more water. No matter how much water you think you're drinking, drink some more. Water is essential to our very existence. If you're drinking plain water and hate it, try flavoring it with lemon juice or slices of fruits (Related post: DIY healthy flavored water).
7. Eat less salt. It's important to keep tabs on our salt intake each day. One great way of doing this is by cooking your own meals and eating less takeout because you don't know what they're putting in your food. Also, avoid processed foods because they contain lots of salt and instead of using tin products (like tomato sauce) make your own or look for low-sodium ones.
8. Consume less fat. Eat less fried foods. Instead of frying your chicken or chips or whatever it is that you normally fry; bake it in the oven instead.
9. Go to the doctor for regular checkups. It's better to know of a disease at its early stage.

Good lifestyle habits can improve our health so let's make an effort to try these.

Related posts:

• What is gluten in food?
• The health effects of gluten
• How to remove gluten from your diet