The incredible, edible, coconut!

Tonight, I wanted soup again. But this time, I was craving a creamy, rich soup. I was going to try something with cream cheese…..but then I looked at the ingredients in cream cheese….and I was SHOCKED! There is so much more in cream cheese than milk. Check it out sometime. So I turned to coconut milk to acheive the creamy I was craving, and i’m so glad I did!

Here is the soup:

I’ll call it….

Creamy Dreamy Chicken Soup

1/2 stick grass-fed butter
2c. Sliced mushrooms
1 can of organic diced tomatoes
1.5 pounds chicken (the REAL kind) cut into bite-size pieces
1, 10oz bag of fresh spinach
1 pack of Good Seasons Zesty Italian Seasoning mix
1 can of coconut milk ( I used just the thick top and discarded the water in the bottom of the can to acheieve ultimate creaminess)

Melt butter over med-high heat, saute mushrooms til tender. Add tomatoes, chicken, and seasoning. When chicken is just about done, add entire bag of spinach, cover with lid. Stir occasionally. When spinach is all wilted, remove lid, let it reduce to desired creaminess, serve in a big bowl, then eat it with great pleasure! This made enough for me, two kids, and PLENTY of leftovers.

Happy eating!!

Back in action! …….again….

So after a 10 day hiatus…take or add a few…..im back. The holidays were tougher than I expected, and there were some definitely “un-paleo” foods on my plate. But the past is the past! So lets move on, shall we?

Tonight I made my own version of Chicken Cacciatore!

Mmm, yummy. Here’s the recipe:

Chicken Cacciatore

2T Coconut Oil
1 each red, yellow, orange bell pepper, sliced thin
1 med red onion, sliced thin
2 large tomatoes, juice squeezed out, and chopped
1T garlic powder
1tsp basil
1tsp oregano
4-5 chicken breasts, sliced lengthwise, fairly thin

Heat oil over med-high heat, add onion, peppers, and tomatoes. Add garlic, basil, oregano. Stir. Cover, reduce to simmer. Simmer until it reduces to be fairly thick. Add chicken, continue to simmer until chicken in cooked through. Remove cover, increase to med-high heat, stir fry until all excess liquid is cooked off. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve!!!

I served this up with some sauteed kale!

Now, lets get back to my un-paleo choices. I have taken with me a few,lessons. 1) The waterfall effect is sooooo true…why do I keep forgetting. Cheating is like the Pringles jingle, “once you pop, you cant stop”, or its like that for me. Soo, once again, it aint worth it. 2) My emotions and my shitty-eating choices are linked very closely. Sugary, carby foods make me feel good emotionally, at first, then I feel sick physically, then feel bad emotionally….seriously?! What an awful cycle, I got to fix that. Im going to, once again, try journaling. Maybe that will help me dig up some roots. 3)I totally must have a gluten intolerance…lets not get into detail, but really, I must….4) Boredom and/or lack of prep equals poor food choices. So, I will prep better anf find better ways to relieve boredom! And 5), did I mention carbs and sugar make me feel like CRAP?!

Tomorrow morning, I have a date with my Amazon Cloud Player and my tennis shoes. So here I go!

Oh and for you Facebookers, check this chick out, she is a rockstar and currently serving as my newest inspiration. I dont know if she is a paloer, but she sure is awe inspiring!

Ashlee Hendry Fitness

Until tomorrow, night all!

Chicken X 2

Who doesn’t enjoy a tasty yard nU bird?! I for one do! My favorite part of a chicken, is the thighs. I think breast meat is way overrated! I have enjoyed two delicious chicken dinners the past couple of nights. The recipes are as follows:

Asparagus Chicken Bake
(by Mark Sisson)

Preheat oven to broil

3T butter
1/3c olive oil
6 cloves of garlic, chopped well
Zest of 1 lemon
6 anchovie fillets
2, 14oz cans of quartered artichoke hearts, well drained
2 pounds of chicken, cut into pieces

In a large skillet, heat oil and butter over med-high heat. Add anchovies and use a wooden spoon to mash them until they’re mostly dissolved. Remove pan from heat, add garlic and lemon zest, stir well. In a large glass baking dish, add chicken and artichokes. Pour butter sauce on top and use tongs to thoroughly coat chicken and artichokes. Place under broiler, stirring frequently, until chicken is cooked, artichokes will begin to brown on edges. Remove from oven, enjoy!

That dish was so delicious! I was hesitant about the anchovies. I’ve NEVER cooked with them before, but, wow, the flavors could not have been tastier!

The next night, I made my own chicken salad concoction. My kids have been sick, I was feeling pretty tired, so I bought a rotisserie chicken….probably NOT free-range, but….in a pinch….

Chicken Salad

Roughly 2-3 cups of shredded chicken
2 ripe avacados, pitted, peelef, chopped
1/2 med yellow onion, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in food processor, pulse til well blended. Serve on romaine leaves!

Not too bad for a quicky supper!

Tonight, I tried to re-create a pasta dish I LOVE, by replacing the pasta with spaghetti squash. Well lets just say tonight was a culinary FAIL! Numero uno: canned asparagus is nasty and should be illegal. Truly, it ruined the entire meal, but “want not, waste not”, we begrudgingly ate it anyway. Next time, I avoid shortcuts, lessons learned. Here is the real recipe:

Lemony Asparagus and Shrimp “Pasta”

2T butter
2T olive oil
1 bunch of FRESH asparagus, tough ends removed
1/4c chicken stock
Juice of 1 lemon
6 cloves of garlic chopped.
1 pound of shrimp
1 spaghetti squash

Bake/microwave your spsghetti squash, remove seeds, scrape the “meat” out with a fork.
Set aside.
Melt butter in oil, in a large frying pan over med heat. Add all ingredients but shrimp and squash, bring to a simmer, and cover. Let asparagus cook until tender-crisp. Remove lid, let sauce reduce until its slightly thickened, then toss in shrimp. Remove from heat as soon as shrimp is done. Toss with spaghetti squash, salt and pepper to taste!!

“This is how we do it..”

This morning, I exercised. Being a child of the mid-late 80’s and early 90’s, I decided to mix up my morning walk to make it more exciting. I drew inspiration from Baby, in Dirty Dancing, and started out with a little walk-dancing:

Then inspired by Kevin Bacon, starring as Ren, in Footloose, I punched it out!

Nothing like a good punch-dance to let it all out! I didn’t have a beer or a cigarette though, but that’s probably for the best.

I further mixed up my routine by spontaneous outburts of doing the “roger rabbit” to Montell Jordans hit, “This is how we do it” & thought to myself, “self, he’s right, THIS IS HOW WE DO IT!” I also incorporated 6, short but fiesty, uphill sprints, and 2 sets each of 10 incline push-ups and squats. In the end, I was breathless, sweaty, had listened to everything fron TLC, to Dave Matthews and Alanis Morrisette, and my legs were shakey. Must’ve done something right……?

I then proceeded to get cleaned up for work and made the most delicious smoothie known to man! I shall give you the recipe!!

Most Amazing Smoothie Known to Man, Smoothie (MASKTMS)

Serves, 1

1/2c frozen berries (i used straw and blue)
1/4 can of coconut milk
1/4c water…roughly
1 scoop strawberry whey isolate
Some ice

Blend well in a bullet or blender, drink, enjoy, wipe smoothie mustache off face prior to entering in to the public eye….or don’t.

This smoothie kept me going for a solid 6 hours! Not bad. Next time, I may even add spinach!

Lunch was leftover Butter Chicken and steamed kale, and supper will be wild rabbit that the hubby killed yesterday! How’s that for Paleo?! Im kinda hardcore like that….and I live in the woods….

Happy Trails!!

Stronger than I thought!

The mind never ceases to amaze me. Today, I faced a challenge and walked away VICTORIOUS!! I have often equated obesity…or the habits which cause obesity…to drug addiction. We eat when we’re sad, we eat when we’re happy, we eat to be social, and sometimes we eat simply because it feels sooo good to stuff our round faces with high sugar foods that rush our brains with endorphins! And next thing you know, we’re requiring more, and more food to get the same effects. Yep, sounds like drug addiction. Today, I stared one of my addictions square in the eye!
My son had a field trip today which included a stop at a local pizza place. My son E., of course, asked me to meet him at said pizza joint for lunch. And, of course I said, “Yes.” Now, I LOVE(D) PIZZA. The crust, the cheese, the toppings, the smell, and just everything about it! So, I prepared to meet my demon head on! I planned out EXACTLY what I would consume: an unsuspecting salad bar. And, thats exactly what I did. I got a spring mix green salad with eggs, red onions, and lotsa o broccoli, and never looked back! And I am proud,of myself. I have FINALLY realized that if I “cheat” it causes a snowball effect in my food choices. Every bite following a “cheat” becomes a rationalization as to why its ok to put crap in my mouth that shouldnt be there. Also, and I know this isn’t brain surgery, but I have realized in the past couple of weeks that the more I resist temptation, the easier resisting becomes. Everyday I’m telling myself that I am NOT on a diet, I AM CHANGING MY LIFE! Because that is how you lose weight and keep it off, right?! And thats where I have failed myself time and time again; I’ve always just “gone on a diet”, and never really changed anything. I’m also proud to see that I am stronger than I have given myself credit for!

Ok, blah blah, enough touchy feely for one day. Supper kicked ass tonight, thanks to….you guessed it, Sarah Fragoso!!! Or, St. Mother Paleo, as I have renamed her. Tonight I cooked up her recipe for Butter Chicken, I served it over fresh, steamed Kale (she used red chard) and it was simply exquisite! And of course, there’s a pic!

Seriously, If I haven’t convinced you yet, you gotta go get Everyday Paleo, im yet to make something that I don’t find really tasty.

So all in all, its been another good day! And what more can a girl ask for?!

Good night all!!