Rainbow Roast Chicken Meal

Traditional meals with my family are centered around the meat, and there is always lots of it. Then, in keeping with a strict shades of white and beige theme, there are piles of white flour buns, ground meat stuffing and mashed potatoes with a very small side of rather lackluster vegetables that get drowned in gravy. I know better than to mess with this formula on special holidays, but when I am putting on a family meal otherwise I like to transfer the emphasis to a rainbow of fruits and vegetables, with the meat as more of a side dish, and include some nuts and/or seeds any maybe whole grains like brown rice or quinoa. A meal like this will nourish everyone at the table and energize, rather than weigh them down. One of the simplest food philosophies was summarized by Michael Pollen when he said “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” It is something to keep in mind, even at family gatherings. Children can adopt a lifelong appreciation of nutrient rich foods (including vegetables) when it is a constant in their home, especially if they get to be involved in the prep. For the adults and elders preventing or fighting the many life affecting and potentially fatal dietary caused diseases, more plants can only help. In a time filled with short cuts, premade food products and busy schedules, coming together over a meal with fresh, real, whole food ingredients can be an integral part of finding balance and true wellness. If you are not used to working with whole birds it is easiest to get whole chickens butterflied- the backbone is removed and the chicken is opened like a book- there is no mess nor any organs to remove, although there will be no cavity for stuffing. Most whole chickens available are around 3 pounds and conventionally raised options cost around 10 dollars whereas free-range birds fed a natural diet and not injected with antibiotics, hormones or water cost around 25-30 dollars- a steep price incline reflecting how expensive and time, space and care intensive traditional farming (versus factory farming) is. The good news is that in large health food stores these higher quality birds go on sale for 10-15 dollars regularly, when this happens I get a few extra and store them in the freezer where they will last for a couple months. A great thing about cooking a whole bird is that the carcass can be used afterwards to make broth filled with important minerals. The free range birds that walked and hopped, and sometimes strutted, have stronger, more nutrient filled bones, caused by the constant impact from daily life (this happens in humans who exercise regularly too). Unfortunately, the bones are a storage site for chemicals and toxins so making broth from lower quality chickens will end up in less of the good stuff and an addition of some bad stuff. For bigger groups two chickens can be cooked at once, each in their own pan in the middle of the oven for the same length of time. To test for doneness make a small slit in the thickest part of a thigh and if the juices that run out are clear it is done and you are in the clear for salmonella, there should be no pink left anywhere in the meat but this requires larger cuts to determine. I like to cook the whole birds at a high heat first to crisp up the skin and seal in the juices then reduce the heat for the duration of cooking so it does not dry out. Generally the rule of thumb is to cook it for 20 minutes per pound, with an extra 20 minutes.