Archive for the ‘Detoxing’ Category

Cilantro-Lime Roast Chicken with Rice

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

I’m a big old quitter.

Yup, I went out and I ate cheese and some toast a day early.  It was just too nice to snub a drink with friends.  Sorry detox, but sitting outside and eating are my two favorite things.  I caved in and got a quality beer, a couple slices of cheese, and a four slices of tiny toast.

Mm… I’m okay with quitting earlier than planned.  It’s barely a day and the last thing I want to do is go into some sort of coma after stuffing my face at the Bellagio buffet.  I didn’t eat anything super greasy or bad, and for that I’m proud of.  I didn’t realize I would make it this far, but 48 cupcakes and four loaves of bread later, I am free of some of my food dependence.

Now, I have a few more detox meals to post and this is one of them.  Yeaaah, it’s Mexican which I’m finding can be very flavorful without being high sugar and fats.  If you’re looking for an easy crowd pleaser, this is definitely a go to recipe.  IT’s even easy clean up– ONE pan!  One pan!

Cilantro-Lime Roasted Chicken
serves 4 | 5 minutes prep and 40 minutes cooking time

1 chicken (about three pounds) cut into six pieces, defrosted and deskinned
2 T of olive oil
1t of chile powder
1t of ground cumin
zest of 1 lime
juice of 1 lime
1t of salt
1t of black pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c of fresh cilantro, chopped
8  shallots, halved

Preheat the the oven to 425.

Chop the chicken and remove skin.  Place in a baking pan that fits everything in one layer snuggly (I used a 9×13 pan)  Add everything into the pan toss, coating everything well.  Toss the pan into oven, it’s okay if the oven is not completely pre-heated.  Cook the chicken for about twenty minutes, turn the chicken around and leave it in the oven for twenty more minutes.  Once chicken is done, turn off the oven and serve!

Lime-Cilantro Rice

I used a rice cooker, so when I made the rice, I put the juice of a lime in with the cooking water.  Once done, throw in a quarter cup of fresh cilantro and a couple pinches of salt and pepper!

Posted in Chicken, Cooking, Detoxing, Recipes, Rice | 1 Comment »

Ginger Sweet Potato Puree

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

HELLO WORLD, the weather in Philadelphia is finally warm.  Oh warmer, warmer weather.  I celebrated at ten degrees warmer.  Now, it’s up to a lovely 50 degrees and walking outside is not only bearable it’s lovely lovely lovely!  John held a BBQ at his house in honor of the weather.  Since I’m still on my detox, I knew I had to grab a few things for myself.  With the nice weather, we went to the farmers’ market and for once, I did a few laps rather than jet in and out.  The vendors even ran out of items and my usual herb shopping was put off until next week.

The funny thing is, having visited the farmers’ market for the past few weeks, the farmers have begun to recognize me.  As I was talking over the potatoes (still off limits for the detox) with a farmer, his friend came over excitedly and said, “I’ve seen you here at the market, I’m so excited you’re buying from us today.”  It made me blush and I knew I had no choice but to grab four pounds of delicious sweet potatoes.  The lady farmer said, “well, one will make you an entire pie.”

“Oh no, I have much bigger plans.”

We ended up grilling more food than anyone has ever needed.  Lots of burgers, hot dogs, chicken, and Korean bulgogi was had.  I stuck pretty well to my diet (I may have eaten more meat than I’m supposed to.) and managed to eat my weight in grilled vegetables and pineapple.  I didn’t even eat my latest batch of cupcakes.  That was tough, since I hung out with all of my boys.  Each of which had at least two cupcakes or more.  (There was no competition, but Tim won.  He at six.)

And damn, those cupcakes look gooooooood.

With my four pounds of potatoes in hand, I played with some of my favorite flavors to make detox-friendly side dish.  This can be made into a soup, but I’m kind of a fan of purees, it saves a few calories for a great consistency.  Additionally, if you’re reading this Jeff, it is a great side dish especially with the kick of ginger.


Ginger Sweet Potato Puree

serves six | prep time about ten minutes and takes about forty minutes overall

One T or glug of EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil)
Three cloves of garlic, chopped
Two medium onions, chopped
A chunk of ginger (about an inch long, sliced in three pieces as pictured and crushed with the end of the knife to give flavor)
Three pounds of sweet potatoes cut into two inch pieces
Five cups of water or chicken broth
One teaspoon of pumpkin pie seasoning (or a little of cinnamon, nutmeg, and all spice)
Salt and pepper TT
One T of honey (optional)
A few T of brown sugar (optional)

In a large pot and over medium-high heat, throw in a glug of EVOO.  Let heat for a minute or two then add the chopped onions. Once translucent, add garlic and heat for another minute or so.

Add sweet potatoes, ginger, and water/broth (it should cover the sweet potatoes, if it doesn’t add more– I really eyeballed it.) and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down to medium low and boil water until sweet potatoes are soft about twenty to thirty minutes (like mashed potatoes.)  Drain the ‘taters.

Remove the ginger chunks and toss.  Blend the mix, if you use a food processor for this part, careful since it’s hot it will expand and might explode.  Once pureed well, add pumpkin pie seasoning, salt, pepper and (if you choose, it’s not detox friendly, but adds a sweetness, the honey and brown sugar.)  Serve.

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Posted in Cooking, Detoxing, Recipes, Soup | No Comments »

Chicken Tortilla Soup (Minus Tortillas)

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

Hello dears,

It’s been a few days so you’re probably wondering if I’ve starved to death and/or fallen off the wagon.  I’m happy to report no to both.  I’m starting to get into the rhythm, finding things I can eat, and making smart choices.  I’ve already caught myself trying to nibble on things I’m not supposed to, but I’m going strong.  Here’s the status of my fruit bowl:

Ok, so most of those are limes and lemons, but I plan on cooking a bunch with them.  I’m going to make a fantastic meal tomorrow that will just knock your socks off.

Now, as you can see, I have the perfect ingredients for some delicious Mexican food.  In fact, I made some sloppy guacamole while cooking.

I would be lying if I did not admit that one of my favorite genres of food is Mexican food.  Though I’m pretty sensitive to spicy foods, I can navigate my way around any menu to find the exact craving I have.  After all, what isn’t to love about warm tortillas, heaping piles of cheese, and succulent shredded beef.  Now now now, I’m sure you’re going to tell me, “That isn’t REAL Mexican.”

Maybe, but I eat cilantro lime rice and black beans and a quesadilla at least once a week.  It’s a staple in my diet.  A lot of Mexican food is.  I blame it on the time I spent in Colorado, the late night dashes to the 24/7 drive-thrus or the warm tortillas you could buy from La Casita which were made on site.  They just fell into my diet.

And a lot of Mexican food is really off limits for my detox right now.  Stupid detox that’s going to help me for the better.

Flour.  Dairy.  White rice.  Just a few of the “no-no” foods.  At first, I was a little upset, but then I forgot about my favorite meal using Mexican flavors.

Now, I highly doubt tortilla soup is eaten in Mexico; however, it does combine the basics of Mexican cuisine– onions, tomatoes, and cilantro.  It has a nice kick and even without the tortillas, it gave me a great satisfaction.  You can add some things like cheese, rice and tortilla strips to this soup to give it a little extra somethin’ somethin’.

I apologize for the quality of this picture.  I was falling asleep while making this, I was just that tired for some reason:

Tortilla Soup
- serves 4 -
adapted from Serious Eats

Ingredients

For the soup:
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon for cooking the chicken
1/3 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tomatoes, diced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
6 cups chicken broth
12 ounces boneless skinless chicken, thigh or breast

For garnishes:
Small handful cilantro leaves, chopped
1 avocado, cut into chunks
1 cup chopped stemmed spinach

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat then sautee the onions until translucent.  Add the garlic and cook for about a minute longer.  Add tomatoes, salt, and oregano and cook for another minute.  Pour in chicken broth and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for about thirty minutes until the majority of the tomatoes are melted (I never got mine to fully melt, but I was kind of crazy in the ktichen.)

About fifteen minutes before the soup is done, heat the remaining olive oil over medium heat in a saucepan.  Sear the chicken on both sides until golden brown on both sides.  Don’t worry about if it’s completely cooked through as you will now add it ti the soup and for about three minutes.

Serve and garnish with avacado, spinach and cilantro leaves.

For an additional spice, you can toast chiles and add them or add some cayenne pepper.  be very careful when adding cayenne, as you don’t want to make it too spicy.

As pictured, I added some black beans in the soup.

Posted in Chicken, Detoxing, Recipes, Soup | 1 Comment »

March Madness

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

This year, I have a different kind of March Madness.  I’ve always been a big believer in “Don’t Start Something You Will Eventually Have to Quit.”  It’s why I don’t smoke and why I avoid forming new bad habits, because based on my nail biting situation.

Simply, I suck at quitting.

Granted, with the help of my friend Amanda (a former nail biter herself), I have made much better progress than in the past.  So I’ve stayed away from smoking, knocking over old people, and other things I’ve heard are terribly addictive, but I’ve noticed that’s not where my problem is.  My problem is a little more complicated.  It’s food.  More specifically. . . it’s these guys:


And let’s not forget my favorite. The ones I spend all Sunday with. . .

These are great foods to have in small doses, but as regular fixtures in my diet… not quite.   My sister was the one who pointed out to me the fact she was feeling unhealthy, our family’s serious medical history, and the forming of bad habits. I’m already stuck in a lot of my food habits, but since I am only in my twenties, it’s the perfect time to change the way I eat. So, sis and I are going to be doing a balanced-eating circle detox for the next twenty one days.

I will be foregoing my beloved breads, cheeses, and potatoes, the sugars, the caffiene, the eating out, the butter– oh the butter! – for three weeks and opt for eating lean proteins, healthy fats, high fiber foods and non-starchy veggies. They’re not the foods I generally reach for immediately, but I’m psyched. It’s a challenge, I’ll get to play with ingredients I’m not used to and I’m excited to do something with my sister since we live 2,700+ miles apart.

I can’t wait to show everyone the triumphs and disasters that come out of this “Project Healthy.”  Maybe I will find it in me to blog every day, but I definitely hope to post a handful of new recipes from it.

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