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Food

This Spicy Paleo Chicken Recipe Won't Ruin Your Diet

Green Chicken, as it happens, will change your life for the better—just open your mind to the idea of green meat as a friend rather than a foe.

When it comes to food, green is generally good. We talk at length about the need to munch on kale and spinach for vitality, or note the lovely color of a drizzle of parsley oil in our soup.

But then there's the whole mold thing, the difference between the green and crunchy and the green and fuzzy. Or mention green meat, and the association is not one of freshness and nutrients, but of that bad piece of chicken that came in your stir-fry from the corner joint, or a beyond-grayed piece of pork that will murder you from the inside out.

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Michelle Tam of Nom Nom Paleo will change all of that, though. Green Chicken, as it happens, will change your life for the better—once you can get over the color associations, that is.

RECIPE: Fiona's Green Chicken

Per the Paleo philosophy, Michelle is keen on eating high-quality, sustainable meats, and plenty of fresh vegetables. And while her own blog and its accompanying cookbook are tremendously popular, she turned to her sister Fiona, who is a professional chef, to perfect this dish. Meaty drumsticks are slathered in a notably emerald marinade of cilantro, basil, and mint, made even more aromatic and spicy with garlic, lime zest, Aleppo pepper, and fish sauce. Then they're roasted or grilled to super-juicy perfection.

Plus, once they're cooked, they're crispy and browned, just as you'd expect a fabulous plate of grilled meat to be. Sometimes you've got to face your fears to get the big flavor you deserve.

And did we mention that yes, these drumsticks are actually good for you? Getting your protein can taste so much better than a sugary, pasty bar from a foil wrapper.

As kids, we begged our parents to make us green eggs and ham. Looks like we can certainly cozy up to green chicken, too.