Giving back and getting healthy can go hand in hand.
Disney announced its annual support for Feeding America on Thursday, which directly benefits food pantries like New York-based City Harvest, with a donation that will provide 3 million pounds of fresh produce to half a million people.
Chef Michael Chernow, who is an ambassador for the food rescue nonprofit based in New York City that receives support from Feeding America, joined "Good Morning America" in tandem with the donation to share nutritious and easy recipes that help stretch pantry and grocery staples.
"Food prices are rising faster than ever before, and so anybody who's been underwater for a time, even pre-pandemic, is really suffering now with inflation. So these donations mean the world. Truly, the world," Chernow said.
He said City Harvest had "rescued 300 million pounds of food throughout the pandemic."
"The amount of money I save by prepping food on Sunday and having food for the week for at least four, five lunches and two dinners is probably one of the most efficient ways to use the food, especially with fresh produce," he said.
Chernow said it starts with preparing ingredients.
Ingredients
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Bunch of asparagus
Head of broccoli
Head of cauliflower
2 zucchinis
2-3 sweet potatoes
Spray coconut or avocado oil
Kosher salt
Pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Chop all of the vegetables. Zucchini should be cut into half-inch thick discs on the bias. Asparagus, cut off the bottoms and then cut spears in half. For the sweet potato, leave the skin on and cut into 1-inch cubes. Cut the broccoli and cauliflower into medium florets all the same size.
On a different cutting board for meat, cut the chicken into 1 1/2-inch wide strips, the long way of the breast.
Season all vegetables separately in a large mixing bowl with oil, salt and pepper.
Line half sheet baking trays with parchment and place each vegetable on its own tray along with the chicken. Spread evenly. Cover the trays with foil.
Place the sheet trays in the oven for 25 minutes. The asparagus and zucchini will be the done first, you can pull them out at 25 minutes, then take the foil off the broccoli and cauliflower and let roast for another 5-10 minutes uncovered. Sweet potato, chicken, broccoli and cauliflower will all be done together after about 35 minutes in the oven.
Let everything cool for 20-30 minutes before putting in the fridge.
Ingredients
5 egg whites
2 whole eggs
2 ounces chicken breasts, prepped from above and chopped into small 1/2-inch cubes
2 ounces asparagus - half spears
2 ounces zucchini - 1/2-inch discs
2 ounces cauliflower - Cut florets to smaller pieces
1 cup leafy greens
Spray coconut or avocado oil
Kosher salt
Hot sauce of choice
Directions
Whisk egg whites and whole eggs together in a bowl until incorporated.
Over medium heat: Spray oil to cover the surface of a saute pan, warm up all the prepped veggies in the saute pan, 3-4 minutes.
Once veggies are warm, throw in greens, mix into the pan with a wooden spoon -- let wilt just a bit, 1-2 minutes.
Add eggs evenly to the pan, making sure the eggs cover the whole pan bottom and there are no holes in the egg mixture -- season with salt.
Cover the pan over low-medium heat until the eggs are cooked and have puffed up.
Plate, add hot sauce if you'd like and serve.
Serves: 2 people
Ingredients
6 ounces roasted chicken - chopped in 1-inch cubes
3 ounces roasted broccoli - chopped
3 ounces roasted asparagus - chopped
3 ounces roasted sweet potato
3 ounces roasted cauliflower - chopped
1.5 cups cooked white or brown rice
2-3 tables spoons teriyaki sauce
Spray coconut or avocado oil
Directions
Place a large saute pan or wok over medium heat, spray with oil to coat the bottom of the pan.
Add in all vegetables and chicken to warm up
Once vegetables and chicken have warmed up about 3-4 minutes, add in rice and sauce.
Let cook for another 5 minutes or so in the sauce, stirring occasionally.
Plate and serve.
Serves: 2
Ingredients
Whatever vegetables you have left over in the fridge - chopped into small pieces
6 tortillas
2 ripe avocados
2 limes
1 small red onion
Bunch of fresh cilantro (optional)
Kosher salt
Spray coconut or avocado oil
Directions
For the guacamole:
Cut open both avocados, remove pit. Cut half the onion into small 1/4-inch pieces. Place avocado and onion into a medium mixing bowl.
Spray with a bit of oil. Squeeze 1 lime into the bowl.
Mix everything with a fork until smooth with just a few chunks.
Season with salt to taste.
For the tacos: Place saute pan over medium heat to, spray bottom of the pan with oil to evenly coat, place all the vegetables into the pan to heat them up.
Season to taste with salt or add any type of Mexican inspired sauce or seasoning to the mixture.
Warm up the tortillas over a burner on very low heat, just until soft.
Once everything is ready, place 3 tortillas on each plate, put a nice bed of guacamole as the base of the taco, then put a heaping scoop of the warm vegetables on top of the guacamole, serve with a lime wedge for each taco and garnish with a bit of fresh cilantro and serve.
Disney is the parent company of ABC News and "Good Morning America."
