This meal is part of my latest revelation in meal planning. How can I still eat healthy, not rely on packaged meals, and still have fun in the summer?  Oh, and I want to WANT to make dinner, which means the meals have to sound good- I am sorry brown rice, veggies, and tofu, but I am looking at you now. Yes, I like to eat you, but I just can’t get excited about it (like I used to). I need burgers! Pizza! Quesadillas! But I need to look and more importantly, feel like I am not eating burgers! pizza! and quesadillas!

Or in short, how can I keep healthy eating sexy? In taste, looks, and how I feel after I eat it.

Enter this dish….






.the beauty and taste of a classic BBQ chicken pizza studded with summer produce at its best all folded up in a quesadilla which means it takes minutes to throw together and get on a plate. Then when you think how ridiculously easy this is to make, from beginning to end, and how it feels like such an indulgence with the ooey gooey cheese and creamy avocado, there’s no reason not to give it a try.

Veggie Hide and Seek

A quick timeout to say that I am generally opposed to the whole ‘hide-the-veggies’ movement. If I want a brownie, give me a brownie but don’t pretend your black bean chocolate concoction is a baked treat. I believe in tasting vegetables (and chocolate for that matter). And if I drink a chocolate shake, there better not be a kale aftertaste. How can we expect our kids and our guests to trust us when we deceive them with what we offer?

But if the veggies are in plain sight, then I can bend the rules a little more. If you tear open this quesadilla, nothing is going to stop you from seeing grilled corn, zucchini, and purple onions. There is no deception here. We are just taking something good- a BBQ chicken pizza- and making it better, both in nutrition AND taste.


BBQ Chicken and Veggie Pizza Quesadilla
Classic BBQ chicken pizza studded with seasonal produce all wrapped up in a whole wheat tortilla.

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2 skinless boneless chicken breasts, frozen or fresh
1 bottle BBQ sauce
cubed zucchini
cooked/grilled corn
purple or red onions, diced
Monterrey Jack cheese
cilantro, minced
whole wheat tortilla
avocado, cubed

To make the chicken: place chicken in slow cooker and cover with BBQ sauce. If frozen, cook on low for 6-8 hours, shredding before last hour. If fresh, cook on low for 3-4 hours, shredding before last hour.
Heat medium-sized pan on medium high. Spray with cooking spray or light coat with oil of your choice. Place tortilla in pan. On one half of tortilla, sprinkle cheese, add toppings, and sprinkle with cheese, fold over.
Spray top of tortilla with oil or lightly coat.
Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until cheese has started to melt (or toppings fall out). Flip. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, checking often.

I wasn’t specific on quantities, because it’s really up to you. Want a big, thick quesadilla, pile them on (but be careful flipping).
Avocado can either be cooked in quesadilla or served on top. For Baby G, I stuck it in the quesadilla, but for me, I ate it separate.
When buying BBQ sauce, read the label! In a perfect world, I would make my own every time. I don’t live in a perfect world, so I buy it, but I make sure not to buy sauce that has high fructose corn syrup- it’s harder than you think.

Badger Girl Learns to Cook by Kimberly Aime



Recipe Review

I loved this dish, but I knew I would love it. The rest test was whether Baby G would eat it. Ironically, I wasn’t worried she wouldn’t like the vegetables. She loves zucchini and corn. I am trying to get her to eat meat and avocado. She devoured the whole thing.


Not surprising, she also devoured the shredded lettuce that I served with it. She is so her mother’s daughter.

This will definitely join our repertoire of easy dinners. I plan to do a lot of adapting depending on what we have for produce. Anything that can be diced can really go in this dish. We just happened to have leftover grilled corn and zucchini in the fridge. It felt natural throwing it in there. I would do it again in a heartbeat, but I also wouldn’t hesitate to try new veggies.

So, back to the original questions.

Excited about making it? Check.

Easy to throw together? Check.

Healthy and well balanced? Check and check.

Feel good after eating it? Check.

Sexy healthy meal? Check.

Mission accomplished.


How do YOU keep healthy eating sexy?





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