Chicken & Kale Stoup

On a cold, rainy day in January I couldn't think of a better way to end our day. For women eating dark, leafy greens are essential. I started educating myself a little on the benefits of kale, spinach, collard greens, turnip greens, etc. and found some interesting facts from The Weston Price Foundation.

Weston Price states that poor nutrition is often the cause of PMS and irregular cycles. Leafy green veggies provide Vitamin A. In 1 cup of Kale, 10,000 IU can be given to your body! To aid in PMS relief, it's important to have around 50,000 IU per day so that is a great amount! These healthy greens also provide magnesium which is a necessary mineral to help regulate hormones.

We, as Americans, simply do not eat enough nutritious foods. Most of my life I have eaten for taste rather than nutrition. Learning about the types of foods that help, rather than hurt my body, assists me to truly understand the importance of eating foods that nutritionally support my body.

So, this healthy soup has some great fat content and some great PMS reducing qualities. :) As I was telling Sam about my new discoveries, he suggested nicely that I should cook these things MUCH MORE OFTEN! :)

3-4 Bone In Chicken Breast
2 Sausage Links (Any Kind - Kielbasa, Italian or Cajun)
1 Bunch of Kale, organic
1 Frozen Bag of Spinach, organic
1 Can Artichoke Hearts, organic
1 Onion
4 Garlic Cloves, whole
1 can fire-roasted tomatoes, organic
1 tablespoon Basil
1 tablespoon thyme or oregano
salt & pepper to taste
1-2 celery stalk & leaves
opt: Parmesan to top

Place the frozen chicken in the crock pot. Add the onion, garlic, tomatoes, basil, thyme, garlic, celery, sausage links, salt and pepper. Add water to cover. Later in the day, if you can wait, add the rest of the veggies. If you must do it in the morning that is fine.

Let this cook all day and then serve with my cauliflower "rice" or brown rice. Or just by itself.

The leftovers are EVEN BETTER!!!! :)

Cauliflower "Rice"

I LOVE... I mean LOVE rice. I made a wonderful discovery today. Cauliflower can be shredded to look & feel like rice. I made some wonderful Tacos & instead of just eating the taco meat as usual, I piled my plate with my wonderful cauliflower "rice" and enjoyed every low carb and paleo-friendly bite.

I don't have a picture, but there is a great blog that you can go to, to see where I got my idea from - www.elanaspantry.com.

1/4 head of cauliflower, shredded in the food processor until the size of rice
salt/pepper
butter or coconut oil to saute
1 garlic clove (opt)

Basically, shred the cauliflower in a food processor. Melt the butter or coconut oil in a frying pan. Add salt & pepper as you prefer. Saute the "rice" until soft.

You can add ANY seasoning you would like - for example I shredded 1/4 cup of green bell pepper & onion with the cauliflower. This went nicely with the taco meat. If you were having an Asian type meal, add some ginger.

Rainy Day Pizza

Okay! Before you decide if this is good or not PLEASE try it. I admit I was skeptical too, but once I tried it tonight - I'm sold. Pizza is one of my favorite foods & I need to stay away even from an almond meal pizza crust if I want to loose weight so I decided to see if I could make an egg "crust". I referred to my "Everyday Paleo" book for some tips, but then I made it my own.

5 eggs
No sugar added & GF Pizza Sauce - Classico (or make your own)
Any toppings & cheese that you prefer to add
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. salt/pepper
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 garlic clove

Heat oven proof skillet (I use a pyrex dish, I don't know if this is okay, but I did it.) with coconut oil. Whisk the eggs until well blended. Add all the seasonings to the egg mixture. When the skillet is warm, pour the eggs into the skillet and cover. When the eggs are firm half way through, transfer the eggs to a preheated 400 degree oven. DO NOT TOUCH THE EGGS IN THE SKILLET! Then, allow to cook until firm in the oven. When firm put the sauce, toppings, and cheese as preferred. Put back into the oven until cheese is melted and the "crust" is slightly browned on the outside.

That's it. :) I believe you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Week 2: Renew a Right Spirit

Over the weekend, I ate some delicious muffins I made with almond meal. In order to loose weight I have to stay away from high-caloric foods like nuts, but they were simply delicious. I had to make a decision whether I would beat myself up for eating a really good muffin. I felt the Lord prompt me this morning that I need my Spirit to be renewed.

The weight of eating healthy and ultimately the weight of desiring to conceive can feel overwhelming at times. In those times, I want to throw in the towel. If I don't exercise hard enough or eat a really delicious muffin, my thoughts tend to push me into "beat down" mode. As my Spirit is renewed, by the power or grace of God, I am challenged to allow the renewed Spirit with in to change my MIND or thoughts regarding my health or any situation I am in.

My surrender this week is "renewing a right spirit with in me" and ultimately my mind be renewed to the way Christ thinks about and in any situation. If I stop & think about how much He loves me and is walking with me through this journey, I realize that he is okay with the muffin I ate or the level of intensity in my exercise. He, ultimately, meets sperm & egg together to create life - Just like he placed His spirit with in me.

I have in idea what I am cooking tonight - I'll let you guys know tomorrow what, probably, occurs in the crock pot.

Chili & Homemade Chili Seasoning - GF

Chili is a staple in our house. I am a Queen of One-Pot Dinners. For 3 years, we didn't have a dishwasher, so my goal was to dirty as few pots & pans as possible while I was in Grad School & working full-time. Now, it's just habit to make my wonderful One-Pot Meals. As I started eating Gluten-Free we transitioned to this wonderful Chili Seasoning. I have played with this for a while; trying to perfect it. This chili is great for kids because it isn't too spicy, but I like to add some heat to my own bowl! It is smoky & has just enough spice to make it delicious. Give it a try & let me know what you think! By the way, there are no beans in my Chili due to the high carbohydrate content. If that bothers you, of course, just add the beans.

Approx. 2 1/2 pounds Ground Beef or Venison or a mixture of the two
1 can Tomato Sauce
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can med or mild rotel
2 tsp. chipotle in adobo SAUCE - do not use the actual pepper unless you want more spice.
1/4 cup of chili seasoning - you may need to play a little with the amount depending on you and you families' taste buds.
3 garlic clove
1 onion

1. Brown the meat & add onion & garlic to soften.
2. Add the sauce, tomatoes, adobo sauce and seasonings.
3. Simmer for at least 30 minutes - the longer the better. You can also put this in the crockpot.

That's it.

Chili Seasoning

1/2 cup chili powder
2 tbsp. Onion
2 tbsp. garlic powder
1/4 cup paprika
1 tbsp. cumin
1 tsp. coriander
2 tbsp. salt (optional)

Guacamole Tuna Salad

It's Friday! With all my running around today, I had a make a quick lunch to keep me going! Tuna is easy to digest & gives the liver a break from working so hard! Avocado is rich in those healthy fats we all need! I have a great recipe that will satisfy that guacamole & chip craving!

1/4 cup Organic Wholly Guacamole
1 can Albacore White Tuna
1 tsp. sour cream (or mayo)
Dash of Cayenne Pepper
Salt & Pepper as desired

Mix all the ingredients together and pile on top of a big green salad!

Crock Pot Agave Lime Chicken

I woke up to the sound of, "Kori, you overslept." Don't you hate that? So, the rest of the day was about 30 minutes behind. :) I'm so glad that I took the time to throw one of my favorite recipes in the crock pot this morning! For a rainy, cloudy day this Agave Lime Chicken will help your spirits brighten as well as help with weight loss. Limes aid with digestion, and many other things, but they contain almost 2 grams of fiber in 1 lime. That's pretty impressive for this small little fruit!

Make SURE you try this recipe.

1 whole chicken - preferably organic
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 large onion (or 2 med)
2 limes, juiced & put into the crock pot
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup Agave Nectar (or Honey)
1/2 cup water

1. Place the chicken in the crock pot.
2. Chop the celery, onion, and garlic. Put in the pot.
3. Juice 2 limes over the chicken and then place the limes in the pot.
4. Pour water into the pot.
5. Pour Agave Nectar over the chicken and salt & pepper the chicken.
6. Put the Crock Pot on Low if starting early in the day, Put on High if starting midday.
7. When you get home or right before dinner, place the chicken in a small pan under a hot broiler in the oven just the brown the top of the chicken.

The End.

Side Suggestion: Sweet Potato & Broccoli

I got this idea from Elana's Pantry, but I switched up a few things. This chicken was so tender that when I tried to pull the whole chicken out of the pot, it broke apart... The picture will tell all. :)

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