Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ok, so I lied yesterday when I said all the korma was gone. There was this tiny bit left (that I thought Matt would have finished) so I ate it for breakfast with half an avocado.

Breakfast:  Korma & 1/2 an avocado.

Lunch: Made a salad with the left over rib meat from last night's bulgogi with some mixed greens, cucumbers, a cutie and homemade sesame dressing.

Matt went to the store today while I was working to pick up some ingredients for dinner. The recipe for the Brussels sprouts can be found under the recipe tab.

Matt reinvented this classic dish to make it Paleo friendly, nor breading and frying. ;)

First: pound chicken so it is flat, (Matt used a hammer and covered the chicken with saran wrap). Coat one side of chicken with garlic powder, sea salt and black pepper then put sliced ham on top of each piece of chicken. Then put 1 slice of cheese (we used swiss) on top of the ham slices. Roll it all up so it looks like the picture. After you make the rolls, coat them with sea salt, paprika, black pepper, garlic powder, basil, oregano, thyme, parsley, rosemary and onion powder. Next, coat a flat pan with olive oil and pour some olive oil over chicken. Last, put in over on 350 until chicken is cooked through.

 Paleo Chicken Cordon Bleu

I was hesitant at first because I have never had this dish, not even at a restaurant. When you go out it is usually made with chicken breast which I dont' like so Matt made it with dark meat....and it was chicken cheesy deliciousness!

Have you reinvented any dish at home that normally isn't so healthy? What is it??

Bulgogi Recipe

I finally ate the last of the Korma. I thought it was never going to be gone!! Although I will say, I never got tired of it. So. Good. Have to make again!

Breakfast/Lunch: Korma

 I kept trying to take a picture of my avocado but, as usual, Chester either wants to be famous...or to eat my food. Every time I have food this kid shows up. It never fails.

Snack: 1/2 an avocado.

Ok, recipe time! (We also made something else yummy that won't be ready to eat for a few more weeks. I may post that tomorrow.) Matt decided he wanted to make Bulgogi which is Korean bbq. You can use any cut of beef but we used short ribs. 

First marinade the ribs and the carrots. The ribs were allowed to marinade over night. The carrots for about 15 minutes. The marinade consists of: rice wine vinegar, olive oil, sesame oil, garlic powder, chili flakes, honey, tamari, ginger paste, onion powder and Sriracha. (The sriracha does have sugar but only 1 gram for the amount used.)

Pan sear the ribs, then do the same with the carrots adding garlic cloves, then add honey and allow to reduce.

Put the ribs in a baking dish (we got the awesome crimson one from my friend Sara as a wedding gift) and dust with black pepper. Add carrots and bake at 275 for about 2.5 hours. When the ribs are almost done, cook baby bok choy in a pan with ginger paste, tamari, rice wine vinegar, water, garlic powder, onion powder, honey and sesame oil. This bok choy was grown right down the street from us.

 Short Rib Bulgogi & Baby Bok Choy 

I set the table :) The food was incredible and just the right amount of spice. It paired really well with the Shiraz. 

I absolutely love foods from other countries/cultures. (Hence the Indian food I seem to be eating every 5 seconds!) What country makes your favorite cuisine? 

My Drunk Kitchen

I'm not going to post my food today because I ate the same things as yesterday (I'll have a new recipe Monday). But I did want to share a couple things.

1. I have updated my recipe tab and it is much more user friendly now. I'll continue to add recipes as we make them. :)

2. We did buy some stuff at the Apple Market today so hopefully making a yummy paleo dish tonight or Sunday! Recipe to follow soon.

3. If you have never seen Hannah Hart in "My Drunk Kitchen" you've been missing out. Here is one of my favorite ones:



Ok...this one is pretty awesome too:



Check her out on YouTube @MyHarto.

My Cat Is A Ninja

My cat Chester thinks he is a ninja. I was trying to eat my breakfast and he came up all causal like he was just gunna hang out..

Breakfast: 2 cheese eggs and 2 slices bacon.

I turn my back for a second and he had made this sneaky ninja move...

1/2 a grapefruit.

We are going to Disney World next week so I have to finish all the korma before then!

Lunch: Korma! The recipe is under the recipe tab.

Snack: 2 celery stalks with almond butter.

Dinner: Salad with cucumbers, carrots, mixed greens and homemade sesame dressing. Also had another bowl of korma.

We are going to the farmers market tomorrow so I am super excited to see what all they have, especially the meat!

Korma Obsession & Lactose Issues

You guys have got to check out this post today from Warren Caterson @ Table for Two Cookbooks called: Diets I Have Tried That Really Do Work. I realize that sounds serious, but trust me, this post is hilarious! Actually, you should probably just read everything he writes because the guy is just plain funny.

This blog post is not too exciting...haha. sorry. I say that because I ate the same thing for lunch and dinner again. And let's be honest...I'm probably doing this again until the korma has been licked clean from the 3 gallon pot. What can I say, It's just that darn good.

Breakfast: omelet that I totally destroyed made with 3 eggs, 2 slices bacon, and 2 whole mushrooms, cooked in 1 1/2 tbsp butter.

Now on a nutrition side note: I have noticed that since Matt made korma (both recipes) I have been feeling really bloated and kind ick. I wasn't positive what was going on at first but after making the second recipe I realized it was probably the heavy cream (even though there was only 1 cup in a 1.5 gallon thing of it). I've always been lactose intolerant but for some reason I just didn't think of it. I know, that sounds crazy. I just figured it wouldn't bother me in a smaller amount. Well...I was wrong! Last night I took 2 lactaid pills with my dinner to test it out, and of course now I feel fine! Now I don't want to keep taking them because I'd much rather just avoid the issue all together...but like I said..this korma is amazing and there is no way I'm not eating it. So, until it's alllllll gone, I'll be packing lactaid pills with my lunch (and dinner).

Lunch & Dinner: Obviously I ate more korma for lunch...and again for dinner tonight.  And it was fantastic. Most likely I'm going to eat it again tomorrow for lunch...and dinner..

If you aren't familiar with Green & Black's Chocolate...you should be. ;) I will say however, if you get any less than the 85% cocoa, there are some ingredients you probably don't want to put in your body. I always stick with this one:

Dessert: clearly my obsession, a couple squares from my Green & Black's Organic Dark Chocolate bar, yum! & 8 oz red wine.

What I Ate Wednesday

Before I get started with my eats, check out the new paleo children's book Paleo Pals by Sarah @ Everyday Paleo.

It's Wednesday again and I love linking up to Jenn's blog @Peas & Crayons  for her weekly What I Ate Wednesday party. There are always so many awesome food bloggers with great recipes and eats.

Breakfast: 3 cheese eggs, slices bacon & half a grapefruit.

I got all my salad stuff together last night and this morning cooked the ham and bacon to go on top. 

Lunch: salad with organic mixed greens, carrot, cucumber, walnuts, ham & bacon, dressing made with sesame oil, olive oil, white wine vinegar & raw honey. 

Matt had to teach a late class tonight and didn't get home till late. He started working on dinner before he left but it had to cook a looooong time so I snacked on some walnuts while I waited for him to come home.  

Snack: walnuts.

 Ok. so I was getting REALLY hungry and ate another "snack".

Snack: collard greens.

This is what happens when I have to wait to eat dinner! I eat chocolate and wine...

Pre Dinner dessert: (is that a real thing?) a couple squares of chocolate and 10 oz red wine.

This isn't looking good for me...

Matt finally got home and finished cooking! I would have done it but he told me not to. My job was to stir it every 15 minutes...oh well I didn't mind because it turned out so yummy!!! This is another Korma dish Matt made with some different ingredients than this one.

Spices: garam masala, red curry powder, ground coriander, red pepper, paprika, onion powder, bay leaves, chili powder, ground turmeric, ground cinnamon, raw honey, salt, chili flakes, olive oil.

Since I wasn't home today while he was cooking, I didn't get to take any pictures, but you can see pictures from the other korma recipe because the prep is very similar to this one. Except this time it was made in a 3 gallon pot!!!

I think it's safe to say we are on a serious Indian food kick right now! I can't get enough of it. With this huge portion we made it's going to last forever! Well...maybe not forever, but for a while. Is there any food that you love so much you could eat it everyday for an entire week? I think most any Indian dish would be it for me!



Dinner: chicken korma made with green beans, carrots, cauliflower, yellow raisins, butternut squash, cashews,  onions, raw garlic, ginger, the chicken was marinated in 2 cups of full fat yogurt, used 2 cans coconut milk and about 1 cup heavy cream.

I'm also linking up with THE cutest pregnant girl ever- Savannah @ Rolled Up Pretty:

Leftovers & New Recipe Tab

I literally ate all the same meals today that I did yesterday. Some things are just so good they are worth repeating. :)

Breakfast: 2 eggs, 1/2 an avocado & 2 slices bacon.

 This picture is the evidence of my laziness... I ate the exact same thing for dinner as I did for lunch and not only did I only take 1 picture...but I stuck it all in one bowl so I wouldn't have another dish to wash.. dont't judge me!

Lunch & Dinner: 1/2 navrathan korma & 1/2 tikka masala.

 I love this chocolate so much! I probably shouldn't eat it everyday...but I'm probably going to anyway! Whatever! It's one of the healthiest chocolate bars there is.

Dessert: 8 oz red wine and a couple squares of 85% organic dark chocolate.

I actually used to hate eating leftovers when I was younger but somehow as I have gotten older I purposely want to make bigger dishes so that I can eat them for days. My husband will eat leftover pizza cold which I think is almost the worst thing in the world! I know lots of people like that though. Do you guys like leftovers or would you rather make a new fresh dish?

Comfort Food & The Opera

We had a friend over this weekend so I made him and my husband their bacon and egg biscuits and grapefruit and I made me this delicious breakfast: I'm becoming obsessed with avocado. Actually...let's be honest, I'm becoming obsessed with every food in that bowl...

Breakfast: 2 eggs over easy, 2 slices bacon & half an avocado. 

I got to go watch Matt play in the Opera Madama Butterfly today! It was amazing!

Madama Butterfly waiting on Mr. Pinkerton to come home after 3 years.

 I thought I might get a little hungry at the opera so I brought a snack.

Snack: macadamia nuts & there were some walnuts in there but I hate them first. 

Dinner: mmmmmm! leftover tikka masala & Navrathan Korma. 

Everything I ate today feels like comfort food to me and it was HEALTHY!! That's a great feeling. What's your favorite comfort food?

21 Day Paleo Challenge: DAY 21! & Korma Recipe

Before I get started, I really wanted to share this blog post I read today called: Everything In Moderation: The Long Road To Nowhere. You should probably read this. ;)

Ok! It's day 21!!! I made it! Obviously I'm not excited at all. ;) I was remembering this morning about my sophomore year in college when I tried to be a vegetarian: worst (food) experience of my life. Uh! I always felt hungry and I was constantly sad that the person next to me was eating a juicy steak and I was eating rice & beans-no thank you! That being said, it's amazing how different this experience has been from that one. I look forward to every meal (and snack if I have one). I never feel bloated or weighed down or like I have to limit myself or worry, "am I eating too much?" I feel like my body has a new normal. I no longer have a desire to eat those "non-primal" foods. I look forward to things like avocados, lamb and bacon of course! Cutting out all those foods that aren't good for my body has forced me into eating more vegetables without me even realizing it. I say forced, but I mean that in a good way. I dropped a whopping 9 lbs in 3 weeks and I'm amazed because I truly never felt as though I was on a "diet" or even trying. The thing about "diets" is that they are never a good idea unless it is something you can sustain for life. And I now KNOW that living primaly and eating a paleo/primal diet is something I can sustain for the long haul. Frankly, at this point, the idea of eating a piece of bread makes me cringe. I'm not saying I don't like the taste, but knowing how it will affect my body makes me not even want to go near it. 

Even though my 21 day challenge is finished, my journey has just begun. I'm going to continue to challenge myself with food, fitness, and helping others who want to make a change in the right direction. I am looking forward to watching the changes in my mom and brother as they continue on their primal journeys as well. Maybe 6 months or a year down the road we can submit a family success story to Marks Daily Apple. I am so proud of myself, and my family and friends who have expressed interest in embracing this lifestyle. So until tomorrow, Grok on!

Breakfast: ham & mushroom omelet made with 3 eggs and bacon fat & 1/2 a grapefruit.

Lunch: leftover green beans with pesto butter shrimp scampi-find this recipe here.

Now for dinner and a Recipe: Navrathan Korma
I did not write down exact amounts of ingredients: but when my husband decides to get out of bed I will ask him and up date this post.

First peas, green beans & carrots were cooked in water until soft. In another pan Start with olive oil & diced sweet onion then add ginger paste, cashews & yellow raisins.

Then add a whole bunch of spices: ground turmeric, ground cinnamon, garam marsala, chili powder, red curry powder, ground coriander, ginger & chili paste.

Navrathan Korma

Next add coconut milk, mushrooms, 1/4 cup heavy cream, tomato paste & tomato puree.  Then add all the cooked veggies.

We also made more tikka masala tonight.

Dinner: a bowl of chicken tikka masala & a bowl of navrathan korma.

Snack: I got a new chocolate bar since I finally finished the last one-ate about 3 squares from this 85% cocoa organic chocolate bar. Also had about 10oz of red wine.

Day 1 Weight: 132 lbs,            Day 21 Weight: 123 lbs