Slow Carb "Sloppy Joe" Chicken and Lentils Casserole

Slow Carb can be tasty and fun which is why I created/ modified a recipe I found in a google search.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find the recipe again when I went to make my version, but I think it's far off enough and common enough to not necessarily credit the idea for the recipe.

The idea for this recipe was to make a slow-carb and completely different version of a favorite Martha Stewart recipe found here.  Obviously, this recipe is not slow-carb friendly so instead of using orzo (my favorite) I used red split lentils. I left out the cheese entirely and added completely different spices to make this slightly reminiscent of sloppy joes.

I cooked the lentils and the chicken ahead of time, but just until barely done. I only baked for about 15 minutes just to finish cooking the lentils and chicken and to allow the flavors to come together in a nice saucy bath in the oven.

Slow Carb "Sloppy Joe" Chicken and Lentils Casserole

1 cup red split lentils
2 1/4 cup chicken broth, or beef broth or water or a combination of all 3
1 tbsp olive oil (or coconut if you wish)
1 onion diced
1 clove garlic minced
3 chicken breast cut in bite-sized pieces
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp mustard
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 400F

Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan.  Saute the onion and garlic over low heat until soft (about 10 minutes).  Add the chicken and spices and allow to cook together until almost cooked through (about 15 minutes).  Add the ketchup, maple syrup, mustard and balsamic vinegar and mix through until a sauce comes together.

At the same time, cook the lentils according to the package.  Cook the lentils until almost all the liquid is absorbed.  Pour the nearly cooked lentils into a baking dish and set to the side.

Once the chicken has nearly finished cooking and the sauce ingredients are mixed, pour over the lentils and place into the oven.  Bake for about 15 minutes. Take out, let cool and enjoy!

Slow Carb Chili, or just my standard chili

Chili
1 tsp olive oil
1 onion diced
3 stalks celery diced
1 bell pepper diced
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 jalapeno diced
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinammon
salt pepper
1 tsp or more of cayenne
1 can black beans
1 can pinto (or red)
1 pound 85/15 organic ground beef
1 jar of tomato sauce (I used ragu)

Heat the olive oil in a medium to large size pot over medium low heat.  Add the onion, celery and pepper and cook until soften, about ten minutes.  Add the garlic and jalapeno and allow to cook for about two minutes.  Add the spices and allow to cook for about a minute.  Add the beef and let it cook all the way through, about ten minutes.  Add the beans.  Allow the vegetables, beef and beans mingle for about 5 minutes.  Add the jar of tomato sauce.  You can allow this to simmer for as long or as little as you want. I haven't noticed the flavor change much by allowing it to sit longer or now.  If you're not slow carb, serve with tortilla chips. If you are slow carb, serve with avocado and tomato. Enjoy!

Cheat Day and Post Cheat Day

As possibly predicted, the Cheat Day was hard! I went all out on breakfast with biscuits, bread, eggs and a muffin.  I felt awful! I felt slightly lightheaded and it didn't taste as good as I imagined it would.  The thought of eating more food throughout the day seemed to be way too much to handle!

I continued on though and eventually became hungry and had pasta for basically the rest of the day.  I think having a cheat meal, might make more sense, but we'll see how it goes this week.

The post cheat day, I did not wake up hungry and so only had a "detox" raspberry smoothie for breakfast and lunch, supplemented with fruit and carrots.  I thought that having all of those yummy nutritious snacks would benefit my body. It may have, but I was very hungry all day!

Dinner was good, but not quite according to the diet since I had some dairy, but other than that I followed the diet! 

Day 6 on Slow Carb

I still feel amazing on this diet!  I've had some hunger pangs at work, but I remedied that with water and an apple. I know fruit isn't allowed, but it's my life and if I want an apple (or banana), I'll have an apple!

In terms of willpower, I've done very well! We had sandwiches at work and I respectfully declined and ate my own West Indies chicken leftovers.  I'm not really "craving" anything, so I feel that this is a very sustainable diet.  I am looking forward to my cheat day tomorrow because I have a feeling it's going to be a huge eye opener.  The apple (and bananas) I've had this week have tasted incredibly sweet and I actually understand what an apple and banana are supposed to taste like.

Friday afternoon was the hardest because typically, the end of the work-week means pig out time!  That adjustment has been difficult, but remembering what the goal is and having will-power and self-control is the key.

Since my last post, I've joined pinterest and am now obsessed with that.  There are a lot of good ideas for anything on there!  

I've made a few recipes including an easy, steak, spinach, black bean, steak, avocado and tomato salad. Breakfast was a black bean, tomato and avocado egg/egg white omelette.

Workouts have been going well too, so I definitely think this is a sustainable life style; at least as of day 6 it is!  Hard to believe, I've kept up 6 days on one diet! Let's do this!

West Indies Chicken and Red Split Lentils

After google searching recipes with "chicken and red split lentils" I noticed that a lot of recipes were soup or curry. I did not want soup and I did not have all the ingredients for curry so I decided to make my own West Indies Inspired meal.

It starts with celery, red pepper and onion sauteed until soft in coconut oil.  Coconut oil is a healthy fat and I wanted to use something that was not olive oil.  I added a pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne for some subtle, "what's that in the background?" taste.  Curry was to make it a little West Indies and peas was to add more green veggies.

West Indies Chicken and Red Split Lentils
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 onion diced
2 celery stalks diced
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 red pepper diced
pinch cinnamon and cayenne
1 tsp curry
3 chicken breasts chopped into bite size pieces
salt and pepper
1 cup peas
1/2 cup chicken broth

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion, celery garlic and red pepper.  Cook until soft (about 10 or so minutes).  Add the spices and allow to cook for about one minute.  Add the chicken and cook until done (about 10 or so minutes).   Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil and boil for about 5 minutes. Voila! You're finished!

Lentils
1/2 cup lentils
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 tsp curry powder

Add lentils to a pot, our chicken broth on top and add the curry powder. Cook until all the liquid is absorbed (about 15 minutes).

I added an avocado and tomato salad for additional vegetables.

 (this is about 1/2 way through the recipe)

Eggs Baked in Tomato Sauce with Peas and Avocado

For dinner tonight, I thought it would be fun to have eggs! I had roast chicken for lunch and really didn't want to have chicken again.  I wanted to try baking the eggs in tomato sauce because that just sounded really good and I've seen it around before.  My version of Eggs Baked in Tomato Sauce includes peas (to keep it Slow Carb friendly) and pinto beans. I would've preferred black, but already had eaten those this week and wanted to change it up.  I chose to serve with avocado because the homage to Mexican flavors screamed for a perfectly ripen avocado.  I thought the avocado would also add a nice (healthy)  richness to the dish. I decided to double dip on this recipe and added boneless skinless chicken thighs for lunch tomorrow.  Double Duty!   So here is my Slow Carb version of eggs baked in tomato sauce!

Eggs Baked in Tomato Sauce

(adapted from Closet Cooking)

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 an onion diced

2 cloves of garlic

1 tsp of cumin

Cayenne, Salt and Pepper to taste

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup tomato sauce

2 eggs and 2 chicken thighs

1 cup frozen peas

Heat oil in a pot or skillet over medium-low heat.   Add diced onion and cook for about 10 minutes, until nice and soft.  Add the garlic and spices and cook for about 1 minute.  Turn the heat up to about medium/medium high. Add the chicken thighs and allow to sear on both sides.  Add the tomato sauce and chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, turn the heat down and simmer for about 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and put the peas in. 

In one small baking dish, put the chicken thighs in it and enough of the sauce to cover them.  In another small baking dish put sauce in it and crack two eggs over the sauce.  Make sure you cover the egg whites! Covering the egg whites allows them to cook in the same amount of time as the eggs.  Place the two dishes into a preheated 350 oven.  Cook the chicken thighs for about 30 minutes and cook the eggs for about 20-25 minutes until the egg whites are set, or until a white cloud has passed over the yolks.  Serve with sliced avocado and enjoy!

I think this recipe would've been better with a can of crushed tomato, but overall this was quite delicious. I thought the peas would be weird too, but it added some nice variety and went well with the beans. Next time though, will definitely be using crushed tomatoes.

Slow Carb Black Beans and Steak

This is a super easy and quick meal; perfect for when you need to quickly get something on the table.  This is also super satisfying and compliant with the Slow Carb diet. I used a small portion of steak to make the steak I bought last longer.  I can't remember what I bought, but it was a nice, very lean slab at about $3.50 for the whole thing.  It was pretty tasty, but could've used a bit of a marinade for tenderizing.  I chopped my steak because then I wouldn't have to cut it later :)

Black Beans and Steak
1/2 can black bean rinsed and drained
Steak- a decent serving.  I probably had about 4 oz, maybe less. 
Salt & Pepper to taste
Cayenne Pepper to taste
Splash of lemon juice (if you'd like) 
Baby Spinach

Heat a skillet over medium heat and add the cut pieces of steak.  Let the steak cook for a few and add the black beans.  Smash a few of the black bean to make them easier to grab. Add the spices and let everything mix together. Splash some lemon juice and serve over baby spinach.

I didn't take a picture, because it wasn't that exciting to look at.  To repurpose for another day I added 1/2 bell pepper. That will likely be breakfast for tomorrow.

Approaching Day 3 on Slow Carb

Days 1 and 2 have felt amazing on the Slow Carb diet. I'm so full and have not felt hungry one bit!  

Day 2 was my first day on the diet while at work.  Lately there have been many temptations at work (cookies and doughnuts mostly) so I was expecting the worst. I didn't see any temptations, but I really didn't want them anyway.  The idea of waiting for one special day to savor all of those delicious and unhealthy foods makes you want to hold off, or at least makes me want to hold off. 

I went to the gym as well and chose to walk/ jog the 1.5 mile round trip to the gym. I lifted weights and I never felt that my energy levels or low or that I needed more food. I even went to the grocery store afterwards and still wasn't hungry!  This diet is an amazing approach to eating. You don't have to eat calories and you just eat until you're full.  Lentils and beans are so filling!

At the store, I did purchase some bananas and chocolate almond milk to blend into a post-workout smoothie, because it should be allowed after a workout to refuel the muscles. I'm going to investigate if chocolate almond milk has the same benefits as dairy chocolate milk for post-lift refuel.  

So, this diet is pretty amazing so far. At the end of the day, do I want to lose weight? Of course, but having such a regimented way of eating is also really nice! It's sort of reassuring that you have to follow a structure and not have to worry about the plethora of "stuff" in the store.

We'll see how day 3 goes and onward!

Braised Chicken Thighs with Roasted Broccoli served over Lentils

I wanted something that sounded luxurious for dinner so I opted for braised chicken thighs with roasted broccoli. I adapted a recipe I found online because I could easily omit the butter from it and many other recipes called for flour to thicken a sauce.  This recipe is fairly easy, but it makes for a better weekend meal rather than weekday, just because it takes a bit of time to cook the thighs.

Braised Chicken Thighs
(adapted from Stella Culinary)

1 tbsp olive oil
4 chicken boneless skinless chicken thighs
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves
1 cup chicken broth

Preheat oven to 400F

Heat olive oil in a skilled.  Add the thighs and sear until golden brown and season to taste. Once seared, remove the thighs and place on a plate.  Add balsamic vinegar and reduce by 1/2.  Add the garlic cloves and the thighs to the pan.  Once the liquid comes to a simmer, turn off the heat and place the pan in the oven to finish cooking for about 30 minutes.

When the thighs have braised, pull the pan out of the oven and remove the chicken thighs setting them aside for later.

Place the  pan back on the stove top and turn your burner to medium-high heat and allow the braising liquid to reduce by about 3/4 or until it becomes thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Roasted Broccoli
3 bunches of broccoli- chopped into bite size pieces
1/4 cup balsamic
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, spread onto a baking sheet and throw in the oven along with the chicken.  Roast for about 20 minutes or until you can see some browned bits on the broccoli.

Lentils
Cook the Lentils according to the package.

Serve the chicken and broccoli over the lentils, or you can make three sections on the plate.  Drizzle the braising liquid over the chicken.

Red Split Lentils and Steak over Baby Spinach "Nachos"

For lunch, I decided to try Red Split Lentils.  I had these lentils sitting in my cabinet for awhile and thought that this new diet would be a perfect use for them.  I adapted the recipe that was on the back of the bag and served over baby spinach. I added my remaining 1/2 tomato from breakfast to add more vegetables.   I think 1/2 cup lentils is too much for one person, so be prepared for leftovers!  

The reason I added "nachos" to the end of the post title, is because oddly enough, this recipe reminds me of nachos! Don't call me crazy, but I mean it! The baby spinach adds a delightful crispness to the slightly mushy lentils, sort of like tortilla chips!  The spinach acts as a bed of crunchy tortilla chips, the lentils act as the heavy meat concoction that tops the chips. No, it really isn't nachos, but sort of a healthy tribute to nachos. 

Red Split Lentils
(adapted from Red Split Lentils recipe on back of bag from Trader Joe's)

1 tbsp oil
1/2 cup red lentils
1 1/4 cup beef broth
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes

Heat oil in pan; add lentils, toss to coat; about 1 minutes.  Add broth and seasoning.  Cover with a lid and simmer over low heat until tender and the liquids almost absorbed, about 12 minutes.

Steak
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb flank steak chopped
1/2 onion diced
1 green pepper diced
Pinch cayenne
Salt and Pepper
1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

Heat oil in skillet over low heat.  Add peppers and onions and allow to soften.  Add chopped steak and seasoning. Cook until steak is cooked through.  

For this meal I had about 1/2 cup steak leftover.  I added the leftover steak to the cooked lentils to heat through.

For the dish:

Serve steak and lentils over a bed of baby spinach and top with chopped tomato.  Enjoy!

Slow Carb Black Beans and Eggs

Good Morning!

For my first slow carb meal ever, I decided to try and keep it simple with a quick breakfast.  Today is a Sunday and I'd rather have pancakes or biscuits, but that's not going to be allowed on this diet unless it's a cheat day.  

I decided to go with eggs and black beans.  I like eggs and I like black beans! I thought black beans seemed more breakfast friendly than pinto.  I had some tomatoes that were very ripe and I wanted to include those too.  I took out the seeds, because I didn't want my eggs to get too wet.  Here it is, my super tasty black beans and eggs!

Slow Carb Breakfast Beans and Eggs
1/2 tomato diced
1/2 cup rinsed black beans.  (I used reduced sodium).
2 egg whites
2 whole eggs
Pinch cayenne (or more if you like it hotter)
1/2 tsp cumin
Salt and Pepper to taste

1) Add the tomato to a preheated non-stick skillet.  Let the tomato cook for about a minute or so, just to become even sweeter.  Add the black beans and let them warm up with the tomatoes.
2) Add the spices!  Add more cayenne if you'd like it hotter. 
3) Add the eggs and egg whites.
4) Scramble all of the ingredients until the eggs are cooked to your liking.  I prefer my scrambled eggs to be fully cooked.  Some like them a bit softer so it's up to you. 

Eat and Enjoy!

For next time, I will put this on a bed of spinach to get the vegetable portion of the diet in and a squeeze of lime juice would be really delicious. 

Slow Carb Time! or You CAN diet!

In an attempt to become healthier and take control of my eating, I decided to use May as a time to drop some pounds and gain some muscle with an ambitious diet.  What does this post have to do with making something at home? Everything! You CAN make diet food at home! You don't have to rely on pre-packaged frozen meals to make sure you eat correctly. 

After a google search of "lose 20 pounds in one month" I came across this website from the 4 hour workweek.  After reading the quick one page article about how you just mix and match foods from 3 categories, you can take control of your eating habits.   

The 3 categories are:
Proteins:

Egg whites with one whole egg for flavor
Chicken breast or thigh
Grass-fed organic beef
Pork ( I don't like pork though)
Fish

Legumes:
Lentils
Black beans
Pinto beans

Vegetables:
Spinach
Asparagus
Peas
Mixed vegetables (no corn! corn has too much sugar)
Cauliflower, Broccoli

It sounds so easy! Eat what you want, cheat one day and lose weight! You can't fail! At least, I hope you can't.  So for the month of May, I'm going to try this and see what happens.  I'm adding exercise as well, just for good measure.  My workout will include weight lifting and cardio (treadmill and stationary bike) with a 5k on May 11*.  Can I do it? Let's find out what happens!

*After jogging for the first time in months the Monday before the race, I decided that I wouldn't have a finishing time I was happy with and didn't feel like parting with $25 to find that out.