One of my New Year's resolutions was to devote more time to the blog and to do it in a way that would allow me the best use of both my time and my words. One of my favorite things about the blog was my decision last year to do a "Foodie Friday" post. However, I found that writing a recipe post every Friday was too time consuming. My solution has been to post a Foodie Friday on the 3rd Friday of every month. Hopefully this will work out and I will have more success sharing recipes from my family's table!
I love to cook. I love going to Farmer's Markets and picking out fresh meats and produce. I like trying new things and using new tools. Do they always work out favorably? No. Absolutely not. But that is part of the fun of experimenting in the kitchen! This year my husband and I are both devoted to taking better care of ourselves physically. We believe whole heartily the saying that you can't out work a bad diet. If we don't decide to be more conscientious of our food, then we will never be successful in this endeavor.
We decided to adopt a 75% Paleo lifestyle. Paleo is pretty hard core, so I believe that we can transition well if we don't start off by shooting ourselves in the foot. Therefore, we will be eating Paleo, but we are allowing ourselves Quinoa, Greek yogurt, 1 or 2% milk occasionally, and shredded cheese only when sprinkled on salads. We also are allowed to eat sprouted grain bread, or Ezekiel bread. For the most part, our diet consists of fresh meats and whole vegetables. One night a week, typically on a Saturday date night, we are allowed a cheat meal.
Since deciding to change our eating plan, I have been experimenting more with spices and cooking techniques. Let's face it...no one wants to eat baked chicken and vegetables every night.
We received a wok as a wedding gift...and I absolutely love it! I made the following chicken stir fry using our wok and while it turned out pretty well, there are a few things I would change.
We tend to buy meat when we find it on sale, so we are buying larger portions than I would typically use when I am just cooking for the two of us. Therefore, when I get home from the market, I try to portion out the different meats and label them, so that I am not having to defrost eight chicken breasts, when I only need two. It may make for a longer afternoon, but it is totally worth it.
For this recipe I simply cubed two chicken breasts, and sliced thin several zucchini and an onion. These were the veggies I had on hand, so that is what went into the stir fry. I used a tablespoon of cold pressed coconut oil. (If you are using any other oil, you should stop right now! It is so good and really good for you.) I allowed it to melt in the wok and then added several different spices, fresh garlic, Liquid Aminos (like a vegan soy sauce), and the chicken. I allowed the chicken to brown and cook through, then added the veggies to stir fry together. While the chicken was going, I added a cup of dry quinoa to a pot with two cups of organic chicken stock. You can make quinoa with water, but it is so much better when you use a stock as your liquid. Bring that to a boil, turn down, and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Once the liquid has left the pot of quinoa, simply use a fork to fluff it and you are ready to go!
Once everything is finished, simply layer the quinoa on a small plate (helps with portion control) and spoon your stir fry on top.
Now, my only regret is that I started the quinoa late, therefore I left the veggies in the wok too long, so they got too soft. I prefer them to be crispy and more in tact...but I will just alter my methods the next time! All in all, we got a really filling meal, that cost us around 250-300 calories.
Hopefully, this time around, I will be more successful with my posting and give recipes that can encourage readers to gather together around the dinner table and share meals that are not only delicious, but good for you as well!
As for tonight, my husband made a delicious frittata...I may just make him the star of my next Foodie Friday blog!
