who wears short shorts? i guess i do...

so despite the incredible efforts put forth by myself and my amazing trainer Christian i seem to have hit a bit of a plateau.  this means 2 things for me: 1) i'm off starchy-carbs again (sigh) and 2) i'm freaking out a little.

well, i was at first, but i think all of my working out and whatnot has improved my confidence or something.  you see, for the first time, i am able to look on this bright side that everyone's always talking about.

it's kind of a silly story but i think the moral of it is pretty good:

the other day i was heading off to a long day on set in what was going to be 90 degree weather.  i knew it was way too hot for jeans and my favorite pair of shorts were dirty.  i took a moment to review my options and knew i didn't really have any.

you see, for many, many years, i refused to wear shorts.  my self confidence was so low that i would have rather overheated, than have my legs exposed.  i would wear these knee length fake-shorts things and pretend i wasn't way too hot.

anyway, back to my nothing to wear to work drama: i knew that i'd be way too hot in my fake-shorts so i decided to make some new ones.  it was about 4:30 in the morning and my house was pitch black so i couldn't really see what i was doing.  i made the shorts and drove out to set and only then did i notice how shorts these shorts i had just made actually were.  after a momentary panic about how little clothing i was wearing i realized that everything was just fine.

i wasn't overheating, i wasn't naked and honestly, i looked pretty good!

so maybe my progress has slowed down a little lately, but ya know what? that's ok.

i've come so far even if my body isn't where i want it to be eventually.  and anyway, the ability to feel good about myself regardless of what i look like, is worth so much more.

besides, i have no doubt Christian will come up with some new ways to kick my ass post haste and get things back on track!

so in the spirit of giving ourselves credit where credit's due, here's a little visual representation of my journey thus far:

2 years ago, pretending not to be hot

now, hot in a different way!

don't think, just do

so, my delightful A.R.T. Method trainer Christian is a bit of a hippie.

i'm sure if he heard me say this he would disagree and tell me that most of his ideologies come from Eastern schools of thought, and "the hippie" is a decidedly Western idea... however, for the sake of simplicity, i'm gonna call him a hippie.

whenever i'm working with him he's always telling me things like "stop thinking about what you're doing so much", and "the only thing stopping you from being able to do [whatever thing i'm struggling with] is mental", and "if you believe you can do it, you can" etc... 

now, if you know me, you'll know that i'm a bit of a pessimist/skeptic.  so whenever people say things about how i'm getting in my own way, and if i just believed in myself i could do anything at all, my first instinct is to roll my eyes.  how on earth could my mindset have any outcome at all on the world around me?  either i can do something or i can't, the way i feel about it isn't going to change anything right?

well the truth of the matter is, i have no idea.  i have no idea how different my life could be if i could just turn my brain off for a little while!  i have always been "in my head" and what makes it even worse is that the inside of my head is apparently a very negative place.

but clearly, it's not making any of this any easier so i'm going to work on changing that.

i could get the most bangin' bod in the world but if i'm still the kind of person whose mind is full of self doubt and negative thoughts, i'll still be miserable.

so from now on, i'm going to start giving myself the silent treatment.  i don't think i'll ever be the kind of person who believes in herself strictly on blind faith, but the least i can do is not listen to the negative BS.

so the next time Christian tells me that someday very soon i'll be doing 20 pushups on my hands and feet (no knees) i'm not going to indulge the part of my brain that wants to think about how that's too many and it's too much weight and i'm gonna hurt my back and i'll never be able to do that.  i'm just gonna give it my best shot.

after all, how bad can it be?  have you ever seen a miserable hippie? i certainly haven't...

-V

summer soup

so, i love soup.  regardless of season or climate, i want soup.

i have this rule, i think spicy soups are for summer and heavier/richer soups and stews are for fall/winter.  maybe it doesn't make any sense but that's my soup rule and i'm sticking to it!

so with that in mind, i present to you Summer Chicken & White Bean Chili.  it's for summer because it's made with white beans, and you wear white after Memorial Day, or something.

i clearly have no idea what i'm talking about but i do know that this soup is delicious and you should make some, even if you don't think soup is for summertime.

Summer Chicken & White Bean Chili
serves: 2
points plus value per serving: 10

7oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
15oz can great northern beans
1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
2 small poblano peppers, finely diced
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 jalapeno, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tsp olive oil
kosher salt
black pepper
adobe seasoning
cumin
cayenne pepper

place chicken in a bowl and season with salt, pepper and adobo seasoning.  let sit while you prep the rest of your ingredients.

heat olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat, add in chicken and brown on all sides, remove from pot.

add onion, peppers and garlic and cook until slightly wilted.  add canned beans and season with salt, pepper, cumin & cayenne.  return chicken to pot, add chicken stock and cook until soup is thickened.  check for seasoning once more before serving.

clearly i ate this with a mess of avocado on top which only increased its summery taste and overall deliciousness.

so next time you're looking for an easy summer dinner, try this one out, i promise you won't be dissapointed!  and i promise your stove won't even be on long enough to heat up your house!

-V

bread coma

so the other night i was lazing about with my roommate Emily watching Indiana Jones (Raiders of the Last Ark if you're curious, the best of the series in my humble opinion), and we were both very hungry, but we were also both feeling incredibly lazy.  so delivery it was.

sadly neither of us were in any position to make a responsible decision about what to eat, so we settled on ordering pizza.  i know, i know, pizza fits nowhere into my ART Method Portion Control & Meal Management, but that's what i did. 

so we're sitting around, eating pizza and watching the movie and then something crazy started happening.  my body was literally shutting down.  i was so tired and lethargic that sitting up straight on the couch was more than i could handle.  about 20 minutes after my last bite of pizza i was slumped over, head on the arm of the couch, body half on the floor in a deep, deep bread coma.

at one point Emily shouted some words of warning to Indy (he was being dragged behind a humvee, it was very scary) and i nearly fell off the couch from being so startled out of my near comatose state.

this might not sound like anything of note to you, but i don't just fall asleep.  i fall asleep in pitch black soundless rooms and if there are any errant noises (including John Williams scores or shouting roommates), i will not fall asleep. 

you see, it's been so long since i've eaten that many carbs in one sitting that my body basically crashed when it tried to digest them.

now i've never argued against the fact that the best way to lost weight is to eat fewer carbs, but i have never so acutely felt their negative effects. 

so once again, i have to give Terri a big thank you.  a life without pizza (well, maybe not forever) may not be an easy thing to accept, but a life without ever passing out like that again is something i can look forward to!

-V

mind over matter

so yesterday was not a good day for me.  i was feeling really down on myself, and i was in such a fragile mental state that when i was flipping through the channels on the radio, the song Firework by Katy Perry actually caused me to burst into tears.

like i said, i was not doing well.

anyway, the last thing i wanted to do when i was feeling like this was go work out.  but i had an appointment at A.R.T, which i had already paid for, so i went.

the session was hard but i was really proud of myself because even though i hadn't been in for a week, i was making advancements.  we kicked the resistance on the eliptical up a couple notches and i'm doing the exercises with heavier weights and fewer props.

and then it was over and something miraculous had happened, i felt fine.

i'm not gonna exaggerate and say that i wasn't still worried about the things that i was worried about, but i wasn't crying and i just felt more stable.

i guess everybody was right when they said that working out when you're depressed is a lot more likely to turn it around than drinking a bunch and passing out... who knew!

so i guess what i'm trying to say is thanks for turning my day around Christian (and Terri of course), apparently i needed that!

-V

A.R.T. Method - i drank the kool-aid

so, Saturday was my last training session with A.R.T., well, it was supposed to be anyway...

let's backtrack a bit shall we?

during my Thursday session i had a bit of a breakthrough.  it was still hard and i still don't like working out, but it's working and for the first time i could feel it.

i felt stronger, i felt less jiggly, and most importantly, i felt hopeful.  like i actually had the ability to be in great shape, like i could actually have the body i want someday.

so, it is with this in mind that i happily eat my words and say that i'm going to keep training with A.R.T.

let me tell you about the things that happened to by body in the 2 weeks i worked out with Terri, Christian, Alisun & Helen:

- i lost 7 pounds

- i lost 17.25 inches (7.5 of them off of my waist!)

- i lost 6.72% body fat

think about that for a minute.  i've been thinking about it for 2 days and it still feels awesome.

now none of this is to say that what i've been doing in the past hasn't produced great results.  it totally has and i intend to keep working with Claire and Marina because I still love them and I still love pilates.  however, i think i've realized if i just do the stuff i love, i won't get the results i want.  i have to push myself, i have to do things that make me uncomfortable, i have to do resistance training, and (hardest of all for me to swallow) i have to do cardio.

that's the amazing thing about A.R.T. though, i'm doing these things i usually hate, but it's totally manageable.  i'm in there for one hour and i get in everything i need.  i do my cardio, i do my resistance training and then i'm out and on my way.  and unlike every other personal trainer i've ever dealt with, they're smart!  they know how to work with you and push you to your limits without asking you to do things that will compromise the health/safety of your body, which is super important to me.

so i'm gonna keep working out at A.R.T. and you'll be hearing all about it!  for the first time, i don't need y'all to wish me luck because i already know how great this will be for me!

-V

keep on keepin' on

well hello there!

so i've been working with that trainer since the 29th of April and while i would love to say that it's changed my life and i love working out now, you should all know better than to expect that...

i've had 8 sessions so far and let me tell you something, they are hard!

the other night i had to do 2 sets of 2 minute wall sits and by the end of each set, i was basically in tears.  on the other end of the spectrum, i did 30 push ups tonight so... that's huge!  i've lost like 6 inches off my waist which is nuts and generally, i feel super strong.

the only thing i'm not totally on board with is the eating plan that goes with their training method.

it's definitely been a good thing for me to cut down on my carbs, but i'm simply not willing to give up my afternoon snack.  WW has been pretty good to me so far so i think i'm gonna stick with it on the eating front.

my last session is this coming Saturday so maybe i'll post a picture showing my progress or something.

i couldn't afford to keep going with the training even if i wanted to, but i definitely think i'll take some good lessons from this with me when i get back to my regular fitness schedule.

-V

this sucks

i will not tell a lie, this diet the trainer has put me on blows.

i love food and it is making me hate food.

i don't want to eat any more protein.

boo.

-V

possibly losing my mind

so i was all set to write a post about this plateau i seem to be in the midst of and then, well, i had something bigger to write about. 

you see, my very good friend, the lovely and talented stylist Natalie Decleve found herself in possession of some personal training sessions that she had no need for, so she very generously gave them to me.  today i had my consultation/assessment with the trainer and let's just say i'm in for some changes...

just a brief run-down of what i have agreed to do for the next 2 weeks:

no drinking anything other than water
no snacking
no carbs
work out every day

i'm trying to stay positive about this, i mean people pay a lot of money to work out with this woman and follow her plan and i've got the opportunity to do it for free!  so i'm trying to keep that in mind as i imagine my Saturday night without alcohol and try to figure out what i might eat at brunch tomorrow... 

i'm gonna do it though and i'm not gonna half-ass it.  the way i see it the next 2 weeks of my life will happen regardless of what i do, so i might as well do this plan and hopefully have something great to show for it.

i'm not gonna delude myself into thinking this is actually something i'd be interesting in doing for all time, but i'm hoping these 2 weeks will be some kind of jump-start to keep me motivated on my much longer journey.  i've been feeling a little stagnant lately and things haven't been progressing at the rate i'd like them to, so maybe this will get me going again.

anyway, i might be crazy, this might be beyond anything i can (or actually want to) handle but we never know until we try right?!

wish me luck!

-V

Asian Night

so, while i recognize that i am a pretty good cook, i can also recognize that i can really only cook like, 5 types of food.  they are as follows: American/Southern, French, Italian, Mexican-ish and Asian-ish.  this recipe obviously falls in the "Asian-ish" category and i probably make it about 3 times a month. 

it's a really good one for making a bunch and then keeping it because the chicken gets more flavorful the longer it sits.  it's also super easy for an after work meal because if you can get it together to marinate the chicken in the morning, there's really only about a half hour of actual cooking required.

Ginger Garlic Chicken with Asian Green Rice

Ginger Garlic Chicken
serves: 1
points plus value per serving: 6

1 chicken leg (with skin & bone)
fresh cilantro
garlic, 3 cloves
fresh ginger, 2 inches
1 dried red chile
1tsp olive oil
1 tsp soy sauce
juice of 1/2 a lime
1 tsp honey
kosher salt

several hours before cooking place chicken leg in a plastic bag with: cilantro (roughly chopped), 2 cloves of garlic (smashed), ginger (roughly chopped), red chile (crushed), lime juice, soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon olive oil and salt. shake the bag around so the chicken is coated in the marinade.  let sit for at least an hour, overnight if possible.

preheat oven to 375 degrees.

heat a skillet (cast iron or stainless) over medium high heat.  remove chicken from marinade and pat dry with a paper towel making sure no pieces of garlic or ginger are left on the chicken, otherwise they will burn when you cook the chicken and you will be sad.

add remaining 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil to pan and brown chicken on both sides.  transfer chicken to a wire rack on a baking sheet and place in the oven for about 45 minutes.  while chicken is cooking grate remaining clove of garlic into 1 teaspoon of honey, add a few drops of water to thin out honey a bit.  about 15 minutes before chicken finishes cooking brush on honey-garlic glaze.

remove chicken from oven and let rest for about 10 minutes before eating.

Green Asian Rice
serves: 3
points plus value per serving: 4

1/2 cup brown rice
1/2 cup frozen edamame pods
1 cup broccoli florets
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno, seeds & ribs removed, very finely chopped
2 tbsp ginger, grated
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp olive oil
kosher salt

bring about 6 cups of water to a boil in a large sauce pan, season heavily with salt.  add brown rice and cook for about 45 minutes, add edamame and cook for another 10 minutes,  add broccoli and cook for another 5 minutes.  drain rice, edamame & broccoli and return to pan, place lid on and let sit for about 10 minutes.

while rice mixture is steaming mix together olive oil, vinegar, scallions, jalapeno and ginger.  pour over rice mixture, season with salt and pepper and mix well.  serve.

so there it is, i suggest you try it soon, i bet it'll become a regular in your rotation too!

-V

Learning to Leave Myself Alone

i have recently realized that i am a bit of a bully.  not to others (well, maybe sometimes to others), but to myself.

at this point, i should be pretty pleased with myself, right?  sure, i've had some help.  i never could have done any of this without my amazing pilates teachers (thanks Marina & Claire! - seriously, if you have ever even thought about doing pilates call these ladies, it will change your life), and obviously the Weight Watchers program is basically the key to my success. but these things are just tools.  i'm still the one doing the work.

even though i recognize all of this on an intellectual level, i find it hard to give myself credit.  when i'm alone, it's fine, but as soon as i've got someone to compare myself to, all of my proud feelings go out the window.

i was noticing this last night in this exercise class i've been taking.  it's this suspension training system called TRX that was developed by Marines or something... anyway, it's hard.

so i'm in this class, struggling to do these exercises where i've got to lift all of my body weight with just my biceps, and i start to look around at these girls who are half my size and twice as strong, and i get super discouraged.  now, i know suspension training is easier when you weigh less because there's less weight to lift, but my typically literal and logical mind can't seem to remember that when i'm in a room full of people, trying as hard as i can and still occasionally failing.

now logically, i realize this is dumb.  everyone's body is unique and we're all at different levels and the only thing that matter is how you feel and you and me are free to be you and me etc... so, from now on, i'm gonna stop picking on myself.

so what if that girl over there can do push-ups in a split only using her pinkie!  i'm not her and that's ok!  right?

i suspect it will take more than just a blog entry and some sarcasm to get over a habit 20 years in the making, but this is a start and hopefully the beginning of a new way of looking at myself... and not so much at others!

-V

chicken pasta?

so i have some pretty strict rules when it comes to pasta dishes, they are as follows:

-chicken does not belong in pasta
-unless we're talking about macaroni & cheese, neither do most cheeses (other than parmesan or pecorino of course)
-don't put a bunch of crap in it
-it should not be flavored with things Italian people have never heard of

you see, part of the beauty of a great pasta dish is the way the flavors of the pasta itself combine with whatever sauce you've got.  that's why wafer thin linguine goes so nicely with the delicate flavors of seafood and a robust and chewy rigatoni goes so well with spicy boldly flavored sausage.

so for these reasons, i believe pasta dishes are at their best when kept extremely simple.  unless of course, we're talking about whole wheat pasta.  why?  because it sucks.  no, seriously, it does.  it tastes like dirty cardboard and when it's "al dente" you could cut your gums eating it.  so in my experience, whenever i've tried to just sub it out for semolina pasta, i was most disappointed.

so when i'm cooking with whole wheat pasta, i'm basically just trying to make a sauce flavorful enough to cover up that taste i don't like very much and all of my very serious pasta rules go out the window.  so that's how we've found ourselves here.  with a recipe for a dish that wouldn't seem out of place on a TGI Fridays menu (seriously, why would anyone ever want to eat buffalo chicken pasta??).

i know many of you will be skeptical and you probably should be.  gouda cheese? cream cheese?? i mean come on!  but i made this last night for my roommates and i think they would agree with me when i say, it was a hit.

Whole Wheat Pasta with Roasted Tomato Cream Sauce & Chicken
serves: 6
points plus value per serving: 10

2/3 pound whole wheat pasta (i like penne for this recipe, definitely not spaghetti)
2 cups cherry tomatoes
12.5 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast, cut in to bite sized chunks
5 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced
9oz baby spinach
1 medium sized shallot, finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp cream cheese
1/2 cup low sodium/salt free chicken stock
4oz gouda cheese, cut in to small cubes
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
3 tsp olive oil
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
kosher salt
black pepper
1 tsp paprika

preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.

place cherry tomatoes and 1 tsp olive oil on a baking sheet, season heavily with salt and pepper.  roast in oven till tomatoes have burst and reduced in size by about half (approx 30 mins).  set aside to use later.

boil large pot of heavily salted water and cook pasta until just-under done.  drain and set aside reserving some of the pasta water.

heat large non-stick sauce pan with 1 tsp olive oil over medium high heat.  add shallots & garlic and cook until wilted, being careful not to burn garlic.  add mushrooms and cook until wilted.  season with salt & pepper once mushrooms reach desired consistency.  add remaining tsp of olive oil & chicken and brown on all sides.  re-season with salt & pepper.  add worcestershire sauce and paprika.  add roasted tomatoes including any juices left in their roasting pan.  reduce heat to medium and add chicken stock and cream cheese.  cook over medium heat until cream cheese has melted and combined with all other liquids to create a sauce.  add cheese and cook until cheese melts into sauce.  add spinach and cook until wilted.  check for taste and re-season if necessary.

add cooked pasta to sauce pan and toss to combine.  add a couple ladles of pasta water, reduce heat to low and cook pasta and sauce for a couple minutes.

toss in parsley and serve.

so there's my pasta abomination.  sacrilegious and delicious!  maybe i should see if Chili's wants to buy the recipe off of me...

enjoy!

-V

some calm in a sea of chaos

hello friends!

i haven't been around for a while and that's because i've been working like a crazy person.  you should all be very pleased to know that i'm keeping up with everything during my time of insanity and i've lost nearly 40 pounds since this whole shebang started.

often when i'm working this much, making my own dinner is the first thing to go out the window.  however, when i do get the chance to do it i'm super thankful because it always calms me down. 

so even as i sit here waiting for contract revisions to come from some dude in LA to go to some other dude in Manhattan so i can use a parking lot in Greenpoint (don't ask), i forced myself to make some dinner.

now sometimes, when i'm trying to make a meal on the dregs of my fridge/cabinets, it comes out pretty weird.  (anyone remember this?)  but sometimes, when i'm forced to get creative, i get a little bit brilliant.  i think tonight was one of those instances...

 

behold... Chicken & Waffles!

yes, i made Chicken & Waffles for dinner tonight.  i took a little help from my freezer but ya know what? it was great.

Chicken & Waffles
serves: 1
points plus value per serving: 9

1 Eggo Nutrigrain waffle

1 breaded chicken cutlet** (see recipe below)

1 serving arugula salad with cherry jam** (see recipe below)

1 tsp maple syrup

to assemble:

toast waffle and place on a plate, drizzle with maple syrup.  top with chicken cutlet and place salad on top.  eat. 

**Breaded Chicken Cutlets

serves: 2

points plus value per serving: 3

2 - 2.5 ounce chicken cutlets, pounded thin
2 tbsp panko bread crumbs
1 tsp grated parmesan cheese
kosher salt
black pepper
ground mustard
dried thyme
paprika
1 tsp olive oil

season chicken cutlets on both sides with all spices.

place bread crumbs in a shallow dish and season those with all spices as well. mix in grated parmesan.  dredge the cutlets in the breadcrumb & spices mixture, coating both sides thoroughly.

heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, place chicken in pan and brown on both sides.

**Arugula Salad with Cherry Jam

serves: 1

points plus value per serving: 1
1 & 1/2 cups arugula
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp cherry jam

toss everything together in a bowl.

anyway, this was my dinner, it was awesome.  now i have to go to bed so i can get up at 5:30 in the morning and try to trick some people that i can speak polish... AWESOME!

-V

why yes, i am ready for some football!

so yesterday was the superbowl (duh) which happens to be one of my favorite things that happens all year.

i almost always have a party and because i can't ever leave well enough alone, i usually cook a lot of delicious (and terrible for you) snacks for it.

this year was no exception.  i made (from scratch) wings, spinach & onion dip and a chili cheese dip.  instead of my usual move of just putting out chips to go with the dips i put out a tray of veggies too and i am proud to report that i ate almost entirely vegetables at the party.

i'm not crazy, i had 2 wings and a small scoop of the chili cheese dip but i never told myself i wasn't gonna eat ANYTHING i made, that would just be cruel.  i am however, really proud that i was able to control myself and not just write the day off.

i won't lie to you and say i was happy to be eating baby carrots instead of chicken wings but the important thing is that i made a choice and i stuck to it and i still had a good time.

for that, i think i get a gold star.

anyway, overall things are going well.  i think my pilates teachers (both of them) are trying to kill me (death by inner thigh exercises?) but that might not be a bad thing because i swear to god, my butt got smaller and i don't think that's ever happened to me.  ever.

'til next time!

-V

Shloppy Joes

my dear friend Alexis came over recently for a relaxing (ie: lazy) night in and i thought that sloppy joes would be the perfect accompaniment for the trashy tv we were watching.  now i don't know about you but i don't usually have a can of Manwich in my pantry so i had to wing it and i think it turned out pretty great!  paired with oven baked sweet potato fries it was the perfect Saturday night supper.

Sloppy Joe Filling
serves: 3
points per serving: 4

8oz super lean ground beef
1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp worchestershire sauce
1/2 tbsp white sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
kosher salt
pepper

heat olive oil in nonstick skillet over medium heat.  add onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook until onions are translucent.  add ground beef, salt, pepper, chili powder, cayenne and paprika and cook until browned.  add tomato paste and cook for a minute to get rid of raw taste.  add ketchup, worchestershire sauce, sugar and chicken broth.  lower heat to and simmer until sauce is thick and coats the beef.

serve on whatever kind of bread you want (i like an english muffin because it's only 3 points) and enjoy!

from start to finish the entire meal took about a half hour so next time you're looking for some quick and tatsy comfort food give this one a shot!

-V

possibly the greatest stir-fry ever

i think the title of this post says all you need to know.

i happen to count chicken, broccoli and mushrooms in my top 10 favorite foods so of course a stir fry made of all of these things would be my favorite, but i think even if you're not as crazy about them as i am, you'll like this a lot.

Chicken Stir Fry with Oyster Mushrooms and Broccoli
Serves: 2
Points Per Serving: 6

6 oz boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
4.5 oz oyster mushrooms, cut into bite sized pieces (almost any mushroom will work though)
5 oz broccoli florets
1 inch piece of fresh ginger root minced
2 small cloves of garlic minced
2 tbsp + 1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp agave nectar
1 tsp sriracha
1 tbsp flour
ground ginger
chinese five spice
kosher salt
pepper

marinate chicken in 1 teaspoon soy sauce, sriracha, chinese five spice and ground ginger while you prep other ingredients, just before adding to pan toss with flour.

heat oil in nonstick skillet and saute fresh ginger and garlic being careful not to burn them. add broccoli florets and cook until bright green, add chicken and brown, add mushrooms and cook til slightly softened. once all ingredients reach desired state (vegetables should be soft but still crisp and chicken should be browned and cooked through) add soy sauce and agave, cook until sauce reduces a bit. adjust seasoning to taste.

serve with 1/2 cup of brown rice.

i recommend putting the rice over the stir-fry rather than vice versa because then you use much less rice.

i don't have a picture of this one because every time i make it i eat it before i can remember to take a picture but i promise you, it's great.

also, if you like spicy food add in a chopped up jalapeno when you put in the garlic and ginger and there's your spice!

so good, seriously.

-V

fridge cleaning food

so, something y'all may not know about me is that in addition to cooking normal delightful food (which i happily share with you here), i also make some weird shit.  i think one of my greatest strengths as a cook is being able to open the fridge and make something that tastes good.  i can't promise you it'll be pretty but tasty i can pretty much guarantee.  the recipe i'm about to share with you is a prime example. 

i ALWAYS have sweet potatoes & onions on hand because those things are probably two of my favorite foods.  as for ketchup, ever since i stopped kidding around and started buying 64oz bottles of the stuff, i don't run out of that either.  same goes with tomato paste (i now buy it in these awesome tubes that you just keep in the fridge and then you're never out when you need it) and brown rice.  basically what i'm saying is that i almost always have everything to make this recipe except for the ground beef and the taco seasoning (i'll get to that in a minute).  so a few weeks ago when i had basically no food in the house and was running too low on cash for a full grocery shop, this is what i came up with.

Spicy Taco Beef with Roasted Sweet Potatoes
serves: 1
***points plus value per serving: 11

1/2 medium sized sweet potato, diced
5oz super lean (95% lean, 5% fat) ground beef
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 medium sized yellow onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp molasses
1 tbsp extra spicy taco seasoning
kosher salt
black pepper
water, if needed
cooking spray

preheat over to 375 degrees.  dice sweet potato into bite sized pieces and place on baking sheet.  spray with cooking spray, season with salt & pepper and roast until tender and browned on the outside.  (i recommend doing this while you're making the taco meat stuff)

heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat and spray with cooking spray.  add ground beef and cook until it begins to brown, add onions and cook until meat is cooked through and onions are translucent.  add taco seasoning and mix to combine.  add tomato paste, ketchup and molasses and cook until a thick sauce coats the meat and onions.  if the sauce gets too thick you can add a little water to thin it out.  check seasoning and adjust if necessary, you may not need to add any salt or pepper because the taco seasoning is pretty salty, i usually add a little though.  turn heat to low and add in cooked rice, allowing rice to heat through and get coated with the sauce.

place meat & rice mixture on the plate and top with sweet potatoes.  you can serve this with all kinds of toppings.  in this picture i've served it with some shredded cheese, avocado and a dollop of plain yogurt.  these things will add points though, obviously.  when i made it last night i just served it with a dollop of yogurt and it was awesome.

so that's it!  i know it sounds weird and kind of tacky (something about taco seasoning and ketchup is distinctly midwestern no?) but i promise you it's delicious and super flavorful.  it's kind of like a sloppy joe but taco-fied.  with sweet potatoes.  and no bun.  this isn't making it sound any less weird is it?  anyway, try it, you'll like it!

-V

***in December WW changed their system from Points to PointsPlus which is all very complicated and boring if you're not a WW member (or even if you are).  basically, most foods now have a higher points value and i get more points per day to use.  the point of this being on the old system 11 points was a lot but on the new one, it's a totally reasonable amount to spend on a filling dinner. 

happy new year!

well hello!

it has been exactly one month since i've posted , that's a bit too long isn't it?  i certainly think so...

anyway, it's a new year and if i'm to believe what Jennifer Hudson has been yelling at me through my television, it's a new dawn, it's a new day and i'm allegedly feeling good!

i am feeling good though!  to be honest, i had a bit of a rough holiday season.  with an unexpected death in the family followed by a moderately stressful (but wonderful all the same - hi mom & dad!) trip home for Christmas & New Years, i was borderline off the wagon.  i am proud to report though that as soon as Monday January 3rd rolled around i was right back in the game!

so welcome back, i hope you all had a lovely holiday and here's to 2011 being better than 2010 in every way, regardless of how you felt about 2010.

-V