10 Health Benefits of Garlic To Go With this Drunken Garlic Chicken

Okay, there are really far more than 10 health benefits of Garlic.

I just picked my favorite 10 to go along with the 10 cloves of garlic that I use in this recipe. A benefit per clove.

10 Health Benefits of Garlic:

Garlic:

1. Has Powerful Antibiotic properties: it has been found to have 1% the potency of penicillin

2. Has a powerful combination of Anti-inflammatory and Anti-oxidative stress compounds (Sulfur Compounds) that make it a unique food for cardiovascular support, especially in terms of chronic degenerative cardiovascular conditions like atherosclerosis.

3. Is not only rich in Sulfur Compounds, but is also a good source of Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Selenium, and Manganese.

4. Has the power to boost Hydrogen Sulfide production in human red blood cells which appears to help protect against various cancers and cardiovascular disease. The allyl sulfides found in garlic may play a key role in it’s cancer-prevention benefits.

5. Helps to reduce Acne, likely due to the antibiotic and blood cleansing properties

6. May improve Iron Metabolism, most likely due to the diallyl sulfides that can help increase production of a protein called ferroportin (ferroportin is a protein that runs across the cell membrane, forming a passageway that allows stored iron to leave the cells and become available where it is needed).

7.  Powerful immune boosting benefits. One clove per day can improve your health. Two to three per day could potentially stop the onset of a cold or reduce it’s severity.

8. It has been shown to be an effective anti-fungal agent for treating yeast infections, vaginitis, and athlete’s foot.

9.  A component of garlic called diallyl disulfide has been shown to kill leukemia cells.

10. Research has shown that cooking garlic with meat reduces carcinogenic chemicals in cooked meat that are believed to be linked to breast cancer in meat-eating women.

A few notes to remember about preparing and eating garlic:

To maximize the health benefits, you should crush the garlic at room temperature and allow it to sit for about 15 minutes prior to cooking it. This will help to trigger the enzyme reaction that boosts the healthy compounds in garlic.

If possible, wait until the last ten to twenty minutes of cooking your dish before adding the garlic. The less time that garlic cooks, the more health benefits it will retain.

Do not microwave garlic. It will destroy the live enzymes and beneficial properties of it.

Three ways to combat the dreaded Garlic Breath that results:

1. Eat two teaspoons of Fennel Seeds

2. Eat two teaspoons of Cardamom Seeds

3. Eat one to two Tablespoons of Fresh Raw Parsley

Drunken Garlic Chicken and Vegetables

Ingredients:

¼ lb Organic Bacon (nitrite free), cut into ½ inch pieces (such as Applegate Farms)

3 lb bone-in, skin-on organic chicken pieces

1 tsp salt, or more to taste

½ tsp pepper, or more to taste

1 tablespoon: olive oil

1: large organic yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 pound: organic carrots, sliced diagonally in 1 inch pieces

8 ounces: artichoke hearts, in water, drained

½ cup: fresh organic mushrooms, left whole (I used Baby Bella’s)

1 ½ cup: dry white wine 
(I used an organic white from Napa, however, you can use a 12 oz bottle of gluten free beer instead of the wine – lends an awesome flavor if you are not sensitive to yeast)

½ lb organic fingerling potatoes, halved OR Sweet Potatoes cut into 2 inch cubes

1 ¼ cups: gluten-free organic chicken stock, or homemade bone broth

2 teaspoons: fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons: fresh basil, coarsely chopped

1: bay leaf

10: cloves organic garlic, thinly sliced

1/3 cup: green onions, sliced white and green parts

3 cups: brown rice or quinoa, cooked

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Season chicken all over with salt and pepper.

3. Heat oil in a heavy 5-quart Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the bacon and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.

4. Add the olive oil to the drippings and brown chicken in the Dutch oven turning once, about 5 minutes total. Will most likely have to do it in batches so you do not over-crowd the pan (add a little more olive oil, if necessary). Transfer chicken as it is done to a plate and set aside.

5. Add onions and cook until soft and golden, 5 to 6 minutes. Add carrots, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and potatoes and cook for a few minutes more, until they start to caramelize and brown a bit.

6. Add wine (or beer) and deglaze the pan with it by scraping off all of the delicious browned bits. Then add chicken stock, rosemary, basil and bay leaf and stir well.

7. Return chicken, along with any accumulated juices, to the Dutch oven and spoon vegetable mixture over the tops of the chicken. Cover and transfer to the oven.

8. Cook for about 45-50 minutes. Remove pan from oven and add sliced garlic. Return to oven for another 15 minutes, until chicken is tender. Remove bay leaf from pot.

9. Spoon chicken, with its vegetables and sauce, over the brown rice or quinoa and serve garnished with green onions.

This is a forgiving recipe – you can add more or less of what you like or don’t like. And as my neighbor says all of the time, “I only measure medication – I leave the food to taste…” 

Now go load up on some crushed garlic…I promise I will pretend not to notice your breath!

Kim Maes is the creator of the Cook It Allergy Free iPhone and iPad Apps, which customize recipes to meet multiple food allergy needs. She also writes the recipe blog Cook It Allergy Free, where she shares her passion for teaching others how easy and delicious it can be to eat whole, pure allergy-friendly meals that the entire family will enjoy. Kim went back to receive a Master’s Degree in Holistic Nutrition after her son and her husband were diagnosed with Celiac Disease and other food sensitivities.