Coconut Chicken and Veggie Polenta Bake

I've been quite the lil Chef Boyardee here lately.  Last night we had one of my favorite people over for dinner and a good long chatfest.  She loves food more than me, so I thought I'd try out this Coconut Chicken recipe I found from Chef Eric Ripert.  I'm a super duper Top Chef fan, and bottom line - this looked like something even I could handle!  Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 4 (8-oz.) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

• Salt & pepper

• ½ cup cilantro leaves

• 1 lime, sliced into 8 rounds and 1 lime to squeeze

• 2 cups coconut milk (This equals 1 can of the Coconut milk you find in the Indian/Asian section)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut 4 (20x8-in.) pieces of aluminum foil; fold each piece in half crosswise. Place foil sheets on ungreased baking sheet.

2. Place breasts on each sheet. Season with salt and pepper; top with several cilantro leaves and 2 slices of lime.  I also squeeze lime juice into the packets because I love lime!

3. Pull edges of foil over chicken, creating a pouch. Pour ½ cup of milk into each packet; crimp remaining edges to seal.

4. Bake packets 12 to 15 minutes or until they’re puffed. Cut an opening in top of each; fold back edges and serve.

People.  This recipe was legit!  I'd maybe salt and pepper a little heavier than I did, but it was by far the juiciest chicken I've had in a long time!  I cubed sweet potatoes, tossed them in EVOO and S&P and baked them in the oven, too.  Paired with a Sauvignon Blanc, I'd say it was a really nice meal (and even nicer company, Melly!  We love you!)

Another recipe I made today is Zucchini Squash Polenta Bake.  This was almost as easy, it just required a little more prep time with cutting up the veggies.  Here are the details:

2 zucchini

2 squash

1 tube of Polenta from Trader Joe's (Gluten Free)

1 jar of Marinara from Trader Joe's (Gluten Free)

A big bag of Mozzerella, shreaded (or if you like have spare time - shred your own.)

Parmesan Cheese

*I sliced the veggies into long strips, but you could probably dice them so they are easier to eat (especially if you have kiddos)

Oven Temp: 375 degrees

1st - place sliced veggies (about 1/2 of them) on bottom of glass dish.  Salt and Pepper

2nd - pour 1/2 of your sauce on top.

3rd - make a good layer of cheese 

4th - layer your thinly sliced rings of polenta on top

5th - place remainder of veggies.  Salt and Pepper again!!! (I didn't.  You will need to.  Italian seasoning would be good, too)

6th - dump rest of your sauce

7th - top with another good layer of cheese, using the Parmesan on top so it will give it a nice crust.

Pop that bad boy into the oven for about 25 minutes and then serve.  

~Afterthoughts: this would be good with spinach, carrots, green beans - basically make it veggie overload.  I'll have to play with this more.

Both of these recipes are Husband Approved.  I figure that is good enough for me.  Sawyer ate both, but he was not in the best of moods so it wasn't by choice.  Too bad, brother.  

I need to get better about taking Food Glamour Shots.  The chicken totally deserved it - the presentation in the foil was pretty cool and my sweet potatoes were diced to perfection.

With all of that said, I'm off to watch Top Chef and stare at food I would never even dream of making myself.  Cheers!

ME

What can I say?  I was cute and I obviously NEVER missed a bottle.

See?  Bottle.

I actually remember playing in this doghouse.  It smelled like wet dog.  I guess I ended up smelling like wet dog, too.  Sorry about that, Mom and Dad!  Kinda gross.

Here is me, meeting my parents for the first time!  If you think they may be a little dressed up for the hospital, these were actually taken a few weeks after I was born at the courthouse where they picked me up at.  Can you believe it, a perfectly good baby was just left there?  Just kidding, I'm pretty sure there was an adoption agency person or someone facilitating the whole thing.  Cute babies like me need an entourage at all times.  

The calm before the storm

Hi friends.

I went in for my pre-op appointment, and guess what?!  I'm ready for surgery and not pregnant.  I consider this a win/win, people!  Let's get this party started.

My friend (and then about 6 others in the last few days) asked me how I felt about surgery, if I was nervous, etc.  I started to give my regular "I'm so ready, blah blah" speech when I stopped and was like...dude, I'm freakin out.

I know (most of) y'all don't even know what is going on, and again - THIS IS FOR YOUR BEST INTEREST.  However, let's just put it this way.  If next Friday does not go well, it will be bad news bears.  Now, do I really feel like things will go south?  Not reeeallly, but then I watch Grey's Anatomy and all that freaky crazy stuff happens and my mind goes to places I do not like to visit.  I do know that this is a very important procedure and I feel very confident in my surgeon choice, so there is that.  It will be fine, just surgery of any kind is way scarier than I like to deal with.  Honestly, I wish I were getting something fun done like new boobs or a tummy tuck, if I'm being honest.  For the amount of money this is costing, I could probably have had both done with cash to spare.  Alas, no one will get to see what my tiny fortune has fixed, but at least I will be good as new and ready to rock n' roll.

I'm so ready to work out.  I really wish personal training was financially feasible, but since I had to spend what little money I had stashed (and a whole lot I don't) looks like I'll be doing this reboot all on m'own.  I'm ok with that, I just really like having someone help me do proper exercises and most of all keep me accountable and safe while in the gym.  I really want to get my A-game back quickly and even possibly be bathing suit(ish) ready by June.  Running will have to come slowly again, but hopefully the ole size 10 feet don't start killing me again like they did the first time around and that muscle memory is an actual thing.  I've been toying around with buying a workout video (a la Jillian Michaels or Insanity) to do, too.  Does anyone have great success with these?  So many things I want to do, so little time.

Oh, and a personal note to myself.  You are not a size 20 anymore.  Quit buying clothes so damn big.  I know people don't want to hear this, but I can not wrap my head around the fact that I am no longer able to fit into anything in the Women's department.  I seriously keep buying clothes that are 1-2 sizes bigger (and not trying anything on, because i hate dressing rooms) and have them fall off of me after 10 minutes of wearing them.  I think I might need to see someone about this.  I honestly think I'm the smallest I've been since before children (whhhaaa??!?  Seriously.  That is a crazy town thought.), and if I'm not I just look a hell of a lot better than I did then anyway.  I've dug up some old pictures for your viewing pleasure.  I really think I've found my calling as a brunette...

Here is me, in Cancun, for my graduation trip in 2004.  I think I'm about the same size here as I am now, weight-wise, but I think I look totally different.  I also have no idea why I'm wearing that outfit.

This is our graduation weekend, December 2004.  Sean looks 12.  I look bloated from too much drinking the night before.  

Me and Sean, again in Cancun (this time for a wedding) in 2008.  I was one year post-partum from having Sawyer.  I was starting to lose some weight again for Amanda's wedding, but I was eating like CRAP and also working long hours.  It really didn't do me any favors...

This was Mandy's bachelorette party, August 2008.  I'd dropped to about 215 or so - the least amount I weighed since I had given birth to Sawyer.  I looked pretty good, but still carried the baby belly.  It's truly the bain of my existence. 

I don't have any recent pictures of me....maybe I should do a Whole 7 and then take some!  haha  I had a few bites of Sawyer's birthday cake yesterday and that was a bad idea.  All this Valentine's Day candy hanging around isn't helping, either...

I earned my Whole 30 badge today!

I did it!  I wasn't perfect, there were a few slips, but I have completed my FIRST WHOLE 30!!  Man, it feels so good to say that.  This was such a crazy, ridiculous, expensive month it is nice to have at least this to feel proud about.  I have found something that I'm really passionate about, and I hope that I may have inspired some of my village along the way, too.

So, for the good stuff, right?  I lost a grand total of eight pounds in the past 30 days!  That is incredible for so many reasons.   I haven't been able to work out this entire month.  That means, on diet alone (where I wasn't perfect, we all know about those latte's I had to have) I dropped more lbs in one month than I have ever before in this whole "Don't be a fat-ass" adventure I began in September.  I wish I had been able to combine Whole 30 with working out, but that just wasn't in the cards.  I was in indescribable pain the first 18 days into W30, and in recovery for the remainder.  The doctor has been so impressed with my recovery that I was able to get my surgery scheduled a few weeks earlier than expected.  I contribute a lot of that to my clean diet that has proven to reduce swelling, which has been crucial in my situation.  I also looked up my old measurements and I have lost 2 inches from my biceps, 2 inches in my waist and 3.25 in my FUPA area.  That is insane, yall!  I knew, obviously, that things had changed, but seeing numbers like that is really uplifting.  Lil old PCOS-ridden me is really doing this!  I'm not counting calories, I'm not counting points, I'm not eating boxed foods, I'm not having cheat days or out of control binges - I don't need them!  It doesn't make sense to me to have cheat days when I feel fulfilled and not missing out on anything as is.  If I want a treat, I will give myself one.  I will have a glass (or three) of wine.  Crazily enough, when given the option of having chocolate again or my cinnamon apples, I went for the apples imeediately.  It just makes me feel better.  Creamer in my coffee tastes disgusting, and cheese seems like wasted calories.  I had always heard it takes three to four weeks to break a habit and create a new one, and that is really true.  As hard as it was to start running, I got better at it and even PRed in races.  As hard as it was to go Gluten free, I had to do it and feel better for it.  As hard as it was to cut my eating down to clean and organic as I did, it has changed my views on a life and how I want to fuel this body.   It's made my mommy heart happy that Sawyer has picked up some of the eating habits I have, and wants to eat spinach leaves, fruit salads and vegetables more than ever.  It's really cool.

To continue the great Health Debacle of 2013, my second and hopefully last surgery is scheduled for the 22nd.  Everything is looking great and I am healing up quiet nicely according to the good ole doc.  I was actually healing up so well that I was able to schedule my surgery a few weeks earlier than Dr. T had originally anticipated.  I am so excited to get this ridiculousness over with.  I won't be cleared to workout until the end of March, so I'm looking forward to April being my big return to beast mode at the gym.    I hope to get at least one race done before the heat of the summer kills us all, but following doctors orders I might not be able to attain that and I'm going to have to be ok with it.  Maybe this year will be the year I finally swim a lot?  I just have to be really careful and not undo all the handiwork I'm about to have done.  I will be starting over on my C25K to regain my stamina with running.  I really like that program because it really helps you pace yourself and not burn out too quickly.  

I guess that's it.  Whole 30, take 1 is a wrap.  I proved it to myself that I could do something hard even during trying times, I lost a ton of weight, and I feel really, really good.  I'm toying with the idea of doing another W30 in April when I'm cleared to work out to see how it would go.  I really, really like the Paleo lifestyle and really plan to maintain it.  For my insulin and hormonal issues, the lack of sugar really makes sense and obviously benefits me.  I also hope I can maybe make it the whole time without any damn lattes (even if they were made with soy).  If you are reading this and think "hey, maybe I should give this a try" - just DO. IT.  Seriously.  Take a few days, gather up some recipes, meal plan your little ass off and make it happen.  If you have family members not wanting to participate, tell them to fend for themselves if they don't want to ride the healthy train.  I cooked W30 and if the boys wanted something more or different (including Sean), they would add it to their plates themselves.  It was kind of harsh, but it wasn't like I was trying to be mean - I just knew if I started handling cheese/milk/desserts I would cave and cave quickly.  After a few weeks, it honestly became no big deal, but it was crucial the first week or so to not be around that stuff as much as possible.  Don't beat yourself up if you have a slip.  This isn't about making yourself feel bad, it's about making you be more aware of the choices you make when it comes to food.  Thank you to all my friends for all the support I received during my first W30.  You all made it a really fun and uplifting experience and I loved sharing it with you.  Cheers to another adventure in the books!

The day when my Cuisinart and I became one...

I'll take y'all back a few years with this one.  When Sean and I got married, we were kids with no idea what it would take to make a "house a home".  Registering for our wedding was so fun, and we made sure to make the most of this awesome blessing that are wedding presents.  I ran around Target and Macy's, scanning everything I "thought" a new bride would need. We didn't live with each other before saying "I do" (technically - Sean did stay at my parents house for like six months before the big day to save on apartment costs), and I had never lived on my own before so neither one of us was bringing much to the table.  Sean had the taco bed that when made, you could see the huge dent in the middle, a Korn poster and this touch lamp that lit up when you touched it.  This lamp would be a major point of contention for many years, but I digress.  I didn't have much else, so honestly we needed every single item our friends, family and my parents friends hooked us up with.  Sadly, no one ever bought us a food processor, but we were too busy eating nachos and drinking dollar beer to whip up anything too exciting, anyway.  Oh, the good ole days...

Fast forward a few years, to when my parents bought Sean a Cuisinart food processor.  I thought the thing was super cool, but I didn't have the slightest idea how to use it.  All I'd ever seen my parents use it for (I know, Mom, you use it more than this - I just can't remember what for) was Dad's salsa.  His salsa is pretty BA, but still...there is only so much salsa one person can make.

I am almost positive that we never used it before the Great Fire of 2011.  Oops.  I was melty and gross afterwards, so we put in for a replacement via the insurance claim.  I almost didn't buy one since we never used the one we had before, but in the need to make EVERYTHING just as it was (even though it wasn't) I bought one at Kohl's.  I think I even had a 30% off coupon!  And in the box it sat...until this Whole 30 business began.

I busted out the FP (food processor) early on in this adventure to make the "super easy and great tasting" cauliflower rice.  By the end of that debacle, I pretty much wanted to throw the cauliflower out of the window and stick my wrist into the churning blade.  Since that is not possible, with the 1478397 safety features on the FP, I shoved that baby back into the cupboard and swore I'd never use it again.

I made my roast again today (whaaat?  I like roast.  It looks like I really tried hard, but I didn't do shit!) and who doesn't want some taters with roast?  Well, actually, the thought of real taters kind of grosses me out but I wanted something LIKE taters in a bad way.  Krista cooked me some mashed cauliflower when I was pathetic and cracked out on pain pills, and I really liked them so I thought maybe I could try to make them, too.  I got onto the internets, and every.single.recipe required you to use a food processor.  OMG.  The pressure.  I almost said screw it, but I had this poor head of cauli that needed to be cooked.  It was now or never!  I found the easiest recipe I could find, almost chopped my finger off floretting the cauli and threw it into the steamer while I screwed with the FP.  Let me just tell you, these people are SERIOUS about you not losing a finger.  No matter what I do, it always takes me at least 10 minutes to get the bowl to attach to the base.  I really feel like Sawyer could probably handle this task better than me, but since there is a sharp blade involved I've decided that a good mother would never let her (almost) 6 year old touch it.  Right?   Mother of the Year 2013.  Crap...digressing again.  Anyway.  I get the damn bowl on the damn base and then it takes me another five minutes to attach the top of the bowl and latch it properly so the blade will actually turn on when I press GO.  I'm tired of typing about this, so you can imagine how tired I am already of this stupid machine.

My timer goes off on the steamer, and I get a nice facial when I lift the lid.  Cool, bonus!  I bring the cauli over to the FB and throw in a few florets, toss in a spoonful of minced garlic and let her rip (after properly attaching the lid, of course).  Holy crap, this puppy can liquidize food in seconds!  I was totally impressed, and I just kept adding floret by floret until they were all mashed up.  I stirred in some black pepper and salt and boom - done.  Best part was Sean cleaned up my mess!!  Score!  I have to say, this was a really good side dish.  Had I put cheese on top, honestly - I doubt I would've known the difference from real taters.

So, I'm proud to say I'm not scared of my FP anymore, and I actually thought it was cool using it.  I should find some more recipes that require it, and see what else this puppy can do!

Here is a quick sum up of mashed cauli:
1 head of cauli
cut into florets
place in steamer for 20 mins - I salted them in steamer
throw steamed cauli in FP, add minced garlic, salt and pepper to taste
pulverize them - and eat em up!

I'd like to steam them or maybe boil them in veggie stock, maybe give them extra flavor?  They would be great with shrimp and bacon bits, too...

The home stretch

Only five days remain in my Whole 30 challenge, and I honestly can't even believe the month has gone by so fast.  I did a few meal planning preparations today, and even made pumpkin chili again for lunch today.  I guess all I really need to do is coast through the next few days, call it complete, and crack open a bottle of wine to celebrate!  I know I shouldn't reward myself with wine, because that kind of defeats what Whole 30 is all about, but whatever.  I deserve it, dammit.

A few thoughts about the past few weeks:

I'm really, really, really glad I decided to do Whole 30, and I'm also really glad I started my year off with this challenge.  It has helped me in so many ways:

1.  I have lost all the weight (and still counting - I will hopefully have a great number to share on Friday!) I gained over the holidays.
2.  I have completely changed my eating habits and introduced a great number of new food items that I love.
3.  It provided me something I could "control" when my health issues went out of control.
4.  It has allowed me to heal faster than I would've on a normal diet.
5.  It has given me something to feel good about, when honestly I want to pout.
6.  It has made me want to make a permanent change in my eating and lifestyle.
7.  It makes me excited for when I can hit the pavement again and see how running goes when I'm lighter than I have been in YEARS.

I know I have been very vague about my recent health issue on this blog, and I will continue to be unfortunately.  Aside from a few trusted friends and family members, if I have told you anything it probably wasn't the whole truth.  I'm sorry for lying, but my awesome village has a hard time accepting the "it's a long story" line so I just kinda said something so people would quit asking.  I know it sounds harsh, and it sucks not being able to be like "Dude.  I have _____ and it really, really blows."  Honestly, before surgery, I didn't even really know 100% what it was, either. It just is so gnarly and ridiculous I'm doing you a favor by not telling you the nitty gritty hahaha!  I pride myself in being very forthcoming, honest, and open when I write but sometimes things are just better left unsaid.  What happened to me was scary, super painful and frustrating.  Having to have surgery was about the last thing I wanted to do, but after consulting with my wellness doctor and hearing her say she thought it might require surgery, I was a little more ok about it all.  I know Dr. Cindy would never suggest surgery without trying everything possible, and I know I did everything I could on the granola front to try and heal things naturally.  I finally found a specialist that got me on the right track, and I will having my follow up visit on Thursday.  We will schedule my second surgery then, which will be to repair a few things and have me good as new.  Personally, I'm praying that by sometime in April I will be able to start lightly working out again.  That sounds really far away, but I know it will be here before I know it.  I'm doing my best to be a good little patient, but we all know how terrible I am at it.  Sean has been wonderful, and has even embraced my Whole 30 lifestyle (for the most part) and helped cook me meals when I just didn't feel up to it.  The kids haven't really missed a beat, and for that I'm grateful that they are still little and think life is all about them.  It's been a crappy month, health-wise, but I am feeling better every day and that is all that matters!  Moving on.

I have to give a little random shout out to this great online boutique I have found.  It is called Kiki La'Rue, and if you havent checked them out - you should.  Becka just quit her high-paying, but super high stress job to run this dream of hers, and she is such a bad ass I want all my friends to support her and look good while doing so.  Besides her awesome customer service skills, she has a soft spot for the curvier woman, and purchases clothing at market to help us who aren't a size 4 look fab, too.  I've purchased a few things from her already, and follow her Instagram (@shopkikilarue) religiously.  She has been posting things she found for Spring, and seriously - I want it all.  I am so excited that I finally A. can wear boutique clothing and B. found a boutique as cool and well-rounded as KLR.  Do yourself a favor, and check it out! http://www.kikilarue.com/

I'll be back Friday with my final weigh in and my surgery plan.  Here's to a great week, friends!

Gotta finish, even if I limp across the line...

You know who just finished her 21st day in Whole 30??  That would be ME!!  Only 9 more days to go, but honestly I don't know how much I'll go back to once I'm finished.  I'm loving the way I feel and am so happy to eat what I like and not have to count calories, points, eat boxed foods, etc.  It's really freeing.  It's been really strange having my tastes change.  I've repeated a few dishes in the past 21 days, and how it tasted at the beginning compared to now is incredible!  I love the natural flavors I've found in clean eating, and discovering different spices has been fun, too.  I don't even really miss cheese!  It seems like such wasted calories to me now.  The hardest thing for me has been the sweet snacks.  I want chocolate.  I want it bad.  

I'm still down 6 lbs, and I won't lie - I am kinda bummed about that.  I kinda wondered if I would lose any since I already had cut grains out of my life, and that is usually the biggest "change" people deal with while doing Whole 30.  6 pounds is 6 pounds, but I wanted it to be 16.  Maybe if I didn't cheap with those lattes?  Just kidding...sort of.  

My biggest hurdle has been the inability to workout.  I never thought I would miss the gym, but I do.  Having my morning workout just clears my head, and gives me the energy to do what I need to do as a wife/mom/room mom at RJ.  I'm so thankful I had surgery, because I do feel a ton better.  I am looking at having procedure #2 in the next few weeks, and dread having to go through recovery all over again.  I hate being incapacitated and most of all I am terrible at asking for help.  I am just not good at it at all.  Thankfully, I have some friends who kinda don't mind my inability to ask for help and just take action.  Amanda and Krista hands down are the reason I was able to stay on my diet while dealing with surgery and the days after.  It was such a blessing to have meals ready to go, and it be food that the family could enjoy while I went in and out of a medicated coma.  My poor parents picked up the slack so much, too, and I am so glad they are close by.  Sean was a super star and let me sleep 20 hours a day.  It was a rough few days.  I hope the 2nd round won't be so bad.

That's all I have going for now...thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers during this crazy past few weeks.  I've been so blessed by it all!