Super Simple Chicken and Zoodles with a lemon pepper vinaigrette

Sometimes you just want dinner to be easy.  But easy and on plan don't always go together, unless you plan ahead a little bit.

My planning for tonight was two step.

First, our grocery store had rotisserie chickens on special, buy 2 for a special price.  SO I bought 2.  We had one for dinner over the weekend and the other I picked the meat off to have for lunches or whatever through out the week.

Step 2, when I make zoodles I make a lot  ... I mean like 3 or 4 zucchinis worth.  That way I get my veg and can save some for lunches later in the week.

So 2 of the elements of tonight's dinner were already well in hand.  All I needed was some sauce/spice to go with it and I would be set.  I made up a batch of a lemon vinaigrette I learned how to make in my first cooking class and drizzled it over the chicken and zoodles after I'd warmed them in the microwave (make sure to drain/pat dry the zoodles after you warm them because they will still release a bit of water when they are rewarmed)

Here's the recipe from Against all grain I use for zoodles.

Here is the vinaigrette recipe.  This is the same one I used for this sauteed asparagus and pasta dish from a while back.  I included the original (balsamic) version since I'm going to be back in Maintenance in a week or so (after my January reset).  The balsamic version is for Phase 4 only.  The Apple cider vinegar version is Phase 1 friendly

Lemon Pepper Vinaigrette
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest (optional)
1/4 shallot, diced

To make the Phase 4 version: use 2 tsp aged balsamic vinegar and 1 tsp red wine vinegar
To make the Phase 1 version : use 2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients.  Drizzle about 1  to 1.5 TBSP over chicken and zoodles.

Kung Pao Chicken with Zoodles from SkinnyTaste

I love Chinese food.  Even better when I can make it at home.  Even better than that when its a healthy version.

I love SkinnyTaste.com for this reason.  So far I have loved every dish I've made from the website and cookbook.  This Kung Pao chicken was a bit of a stretch because I am kind of sensitive when it comes to spicy food.  Ironic that I married a man who loves Indian food and thinks most things I make are mild (even when I'm choking because my face is on fire:)  So I thought  - OK I'l try kung pao chicken,  That's kinda spicy right, so the hubs ought to like it ... and it was spicy and he did like it.  It was just on the edge of what I can eat but boy was it good.  And now I have another recipe that uses zoodles ... I love me some zoodles.  I feel like I'm eating pasta but its zucchini :)  Win win in my book!

This is a Phase 4 recipe.  I'm not sure I could make it Phase 1 and still have it taste as good so I left it alone.  I may try some swaps (splenda for sugar is easy, its the Balsamic I'm worried about ...maybe apple cider vinegar.  And possibly a thin cauliflower puree to replace the cornstarch to thicken the sauce).  If I get to trying that I'll update this post or make a new one with the Phase 1 recipe on it.  For now just look forward to it when you hit maintenance!

Here is the kung pao with zoodles as eaten for dinner tonight

Here's a link to the recipe: kung pao chicken with zoodles

Stuffed Pepper Soup from SkinnyTaste

In the winter I'm very into soups.  I love the warmness that you get from them.  They just feel like a comfort food when its so cold outside.

I've also been thinking about trying stuffed peppers, because I've never made them (although my hubs says I have so maybe its better to say I don't remember ever making them :) )

And lo and behold but this stuffed pepper soup recipe popped up in my Facebook news feed from SkinnyTaste.  I've tried several of Gina's recipes, from both her website and cookbook and I've been extremely happy with both how easy most of them were, the taste and the healthy aspects.  You really can eat healthy and enjoy it - especially with others out there first leading the way and sharing what they know!!

The only change I made was to replace the brown rice with cauliflower rice and to use diced tomatoes with chilies to give it a little bit of zip.   The brown rice is fine for Phase 4, but the cauli-rice makes this friendly for all phases.

Stuffed Pepper Soup adapted from www.SkinnyTaste.com

Ingredients:

• 3 cauliflower rice  (or 3 c cooked brown rice for Phase 4)
• 1 lb 95% lean ground beef or turkey
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1 cup finely diced onion
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 cans (14.5 oz each) cans petite diced tomatoes 
• 1 3/4 cups tomato sauce
• 2 cups reduced sodium, fat-free chicken broth
• 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
• salt and fresh pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large pot or dutch oven, brown ground meat on high heat and season with salt.Drain fat if any, reduce heat to medium-low, then add peppers, onions and garlic.Cook about 5 minutes on low heat.

Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, marjoram and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. Serve about 1 1/3 cups of soup in each bowl and top with 1/2 cup cooked cauliflower rice.

Makes about 9 1/2 cups.

Nutrition Facts from MyFitnessPal.com

Servings 6.0

Amount Per Serving

calories 218

Total Fat 6 g           

Saturated Fat 3 g     

Monounsaturated Fat 2 g

Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g

Trans Fat 0 g

Cholesterol 67 mg  

Sodium 1114 mg     

Potassium 940 mg  

Total Carbohydrate 15 g     

Dietary Fiber 2 g    

Sugars 9 g               

Protein 24 g

Crock Pot Cabbage Rolls

I'm not a chef.  I'm an engineer.  And a recipe hound.  I don't make up very many recipes - only about 3 of the ones on the blog are ones I've created myself.  I'm OK with that.  Because I find the search for new recipes just as exciting as making them up myself.   And the heavy lifting has already been done.  It just comes down to is it something I want to make versus how do I combine flavors and textures to make an appealing dish.  I like being a recipe hound ... its a catchy name.  Maybe I'll rename my blog someday if I can figure out how without blowing links up all across the internet.

Enough about me.  On to the food.
I've been hearing about cabbage rolls for a long time.  Now that I'm much more experimental in the food department I thought it was high time I tried them.  I found this crock pot recipe (that is also paleo and totally Phase 1 friendly - mind the restricted tomatoes) and thought I'd give it a whirl.
Oh my head, am I glad I did!!!
While the directions (listed below) took a little time (especially boiling the cabbage to start with) these really are pretty easy to make.  And with both crockpot and oven directions, you have options
These smelled fabulous while they cooked and the taste did not disappoint! Now since I've never had cabbage rolls of any kind before I really don't have a basis for comparison, but these were really good (even the hubs thought so :) )And it makes 12 rolls (a serving is 2) so there is plenty to feed an army (or be lunch for a few days to make a busy week go a little easier).
From a Phase 1 standpoint each serving is about 5-6 oz of protein and only about 1/8 c vegetable.

Ingredients for Paleo Cabbage Rolls from www.StupidEasyPaleo.com

serves 6
1 large head of green cabbage
1 pound (454 g) grassfed ground beef
1 pound (454 g) lean ground pork1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 white onion, diced finely
1-1/2 cups of riced or grated cauliflower
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
8 oz (235 mL) crushed tomatoes
4 oz (118 mL) tomato sauce

Directions for Paleo Cabbage Rolls

1. Rice or grate the cauliflower using box grater or food processor.  Save 1-1/2 cups for this recipe and the rest for something else. It’s tasty fried up in this side dish.

2. In a large bowl, mix the beef, pork, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

3. Put a large pot of water on the stove over high heat. To prepare the cabbage for rolling, you’ll lightly boil it whole and peel the leaves off a few at a time. Cut the core out of the cabbage and place in the pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. As the leaves soften, you can peel them off with a spoon. Take care not to rip them in half. The whole process usually takes about 15 minutes. Alternatively, you can throw the whole cabbage in and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. The outermost leaves will become very soft but still usable. In either case, peel as many of the leaves off as you can and let cool a bit.

4. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add a tablespoon of coconut oil or your fat of choice. Add the onion and grated cauliflower and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes until the onion is translucent and the cauliflower is softened. Turn off the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

5. Combine the onion and cauliflower with the meat, and mix by hand to incorporate all the ingredients.

6. Roll the golumbki by holding a cabbage leaf, concave side up with the stem toward you, and placing a large spoonful of the meat mixture at the stem end. Then roll forward, fold the sides in and end with the seam down.

7. Mix the crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce in a bowl. Put ~1 cup in the bottom of the crockpot (or casserole dish). Lay the golumbki in with the seam side down. Cover with the remaining tomato mixture once the crock is full.

8. For a crockpot, cook on low for 5 hours. If using the oven, cover the top of the dish with foil and bake for 90 minutes at 350°F (175°C).

Nutrition Information via MyFitnessPal.com

calories 312

Total Fat 12 g   

Saturated Fat 6 g

Monounsaturated Fat 0 g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g

Trans Fat 0 g

Total Carbohydrate 7 g

  Dietary Fiber 2 g

Protein 30 g      

Mashed Cauliflower

I like having things that feel "normal".  It keeps me aware that I'm not "on a diet", I'm living a healthy lifestyle.  That being said, I love mashed potatoes.  I could eat pounds of them.  And now that I've found a fantastic meatloaf recipe, I want meatloaf and mash for dinner.  A lot !  :)

So how do I get a good substitute for mashed potatoes and still stay Phase 1 friendly?  Mashed Cauliflower (or turnips, or a combination of the two - I'll have to try that and report back)

I've tried making mashed cauliflower before and the results were less than appetizing, but this mashed cauliflower recipe from Andover Diet Center is amazing!   Its creamy and fluffy like regular mashed potatoes, but its so much better for you.  I think there are 2 keys to its success - the milk (remember you get 1 oz of milk a day) and using the food processor to whip the snot out of them,

I made it with garlic powder and Butter Buds in addition to sea salt and pepper, and let me tell ya I could have eaten a lot more than my 2 c. :)  I don't say that very often about cauliflower, but I am learning the error of my ways with respect to this veg.  It has a lot of potential!

Roasted Chicken Galantine

So its January and I haven't blogged for a while.  Trip to Italy, holidays all that stuff kinda got in the way.  I will say that this is the first year in a great many that I haven't had "Lose Weight" or "Get Healthy" as a New Years Resolution.  "Stay Healthy" maybe, but not "Get".    Its kind of a nice feeling.

That being said I am doing a reset and doing Phase 1 again for the month of January.  The coaches at the clinic where I go have said its a good idea, especially if you got off track during the holidays.  Which I did.  I didn't' gain any weight (which is probably a first) but I did not lose the weight I gained in Italy or over Thanksgiving.  So I think a reset is a good idea.  Plus the fudge and Oreo ball diet says maybe its a good idea too.  I'm really not sure how I didn't gain weight, but I'll take it!!!

To start it off I made a Chicken Galantine - that's a de-boned chicken stuffed with spinach and onion and mushrooms and garlic. Totally phase 1 friendly and not all that hard to pull off - it looks really impressive too!!

I will state up front that I went to a cooking class (2 actually) that showed us how to de-bone a chicken.  In one of the classes we actually performed.  Its not too difficult really and this is a great YouTube video that shows exactly what we learned in class.  If you don't want to de-bone it just make the stuffing and stuff it.  Cooking times will be different though.

So start with a 2.5-3 lb whole chicken, thawed and ready to go.  De-bone or not, its up to you, although its super nice to just slice it up and have chicken meat surrounding the stuffing.  Go ahead give it a whirl.  No one will know how you did. (Maybe now is a good time to admit my first solo attempt at de-boning a chicken, I cut the wrong side for the first cut and so ended up with 2 halves of a deboned chicken.  I just snuggled the pieces up real close then stuffed and trussed.  It still tasted the same and next time I hope I'll remember which side goes first  :)

The other cool thing is if you want to attempt your own chicken stock, just throw all the bones in a crock pot with water (8 cups), carrots (2-3, peeled and rough chopped), onion (quartered), celery (2 stalks, rough chopped), a couple of bay leaves and some salt and pepper.  Cook for 6 hours on High and voila - chicken broth.  Here's my broth, about 2 qts worth.  It tastes pretty good too :)

For the stuffing you need an onion (diced), a couple cloves of garlic (also diced), a 16 oz bag of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed free of liquid, and a package of baby 'bello mushrooms, cleaned and stemmed and sliced.  If you aren't in Phase 1, I'd add some fresh mozzarella or ricotta cheese to it as well  :)  And if you want to attempt to make your own cheese here is a simple ricotta recipe - its easier than you think.  Go on, be adventurous!!

Saute the mushrooms for a few minutes over medium heat (add about 1 Tbsp olive oil to the pan too)  then add the the onions and some salt and pepper and cook til everything looks pretty done (maybe 5-8 minutes).  So long as the onions don't caramelize this is still Phase 1 friendly.  Add the spinach and garlic and mix it around.  Let it hang out another 5 minutes.  If you are adding the cheese do it now stir around for a minute or two then remove from heat.

If you haven't de-boned the chicken yet do that now ... its OK I'll wait.

Now stuff your bird ... again the video shows exactly what we did to stuff and truss it up so do all those things.

Here is my little chicky all stuffed and ready to go in the oven

Bake at 375 for about an hour and a half.  It should have an internal temp of 165 degrees.

This chicken is the finest I've ever tried.  We even rewarmed it (in the oven, not once but twice) and it was still juicy and tender and delicious.

To rewarm it, preheat oven to 350 degrees and cook the chicken for about 30 minutes till its all warmed up again.

Enjoy