Honey Mustard Chicken Salad

Those of you who know me, know that I am really not a fan of salads as of late, especially in the cooler weather (you’ll notice this as a theme around here, so I can probably stop telling you that). They don’t satisfy me, fill me up, or give me that feeling of completion like a nice bowl of chili will. However, Follicular Phase is a great salad phase. You can make hundreds of delicious combinations during this time. I’ve combined an old favorite meal of mine with some other things in this phase, and it was the perfect night-before dinner for my half marathon.

**Runner’s side note: for those of my supporters out there, it was so great seeing your faces, running beside you, and getting the nice notes before and after! It was a successful run, tracking a 7:45 minute miles, finishing at 1:41:29. Those who tell you to carb load the night before, I strongly discourage this; Fat the night before, carbs maybe for breakfast the day before, and two nights before that. You do not want to feel like you’re running with a brick in your stomach**

This is another recipe that combines a Lauren Conrad favorite of mine, Honey Mustard Chicken and some of my other favorites like kale, cooked carrots, and of course… avocados!

Ingredients for the Chicken:
1 Chicken Breast (I usually make these three or four at a time – if you’re already working in the oven, might as well make a batch!)
1 T honey
1 T Dijon Spicy Mustard (or some other flavorful mustard, not plain yellow!)
Garlic powder, sea salt, and pepper

Directions for Chicken:
Preheat oven to 375*. Line a baking sheet with foil to prevent the chicken from sticking. Rinse your trimmed chicken breasts and pat dry and place in pan.

First rub the mustard coating the top side of the chicken, then drizzle the honey on top. Finally, season with your garlic, salt, and pepper. Place in the oven for 30 minutes (if using two or more chicken breasts – 25 minutes if only one). Depending on how hot your oven gets, check the chicken breast and make sure that it is fully cooked (no pink!).

Salad Ingredients:
3 hearts of Romain Lettuce
½ C cooked carrots (recipe HERE)
1 C sautéed kale
1 Avocado, pitted and sliced in 1 inch pieces
4 sprays (1T of balsamic Vinegar)
1 serving of the Honey Mustard Chicken Breast

Directions:
Layer lettuce, then kale and carrots, sliced chicken breast, and avocado. Spray or drizzle on your balsamic. I like to add the chicken, kale and carrots when they’re still a little warm to give it a heartier feel. Here is four hours later and I do still not need a snack!

Seasoned Carrot Fries

I’m not sure what it is, but in the last couple of years my love for raw baby carrots has subsided, and again, I like an excuse for a warm seasonal snack that is cost effective and waistline friendly. Sitting at my desk in the afternoon, I want something sweet or salty. Usually I’m not even really hungry… so chowing down on trail mix is not helping any part of that equation (and isn’t usually good for you for several other reasons when it comes out of a prepackaged container).

My local grocery store, Rainbow Foods, has those gigantic bags of carrots. You know, the 5-lb. bags that are only about $3? What a steal! So I buy those, because it takes forever for them to go bad. You can make them with just about any seasonings you like, but for the afternoon itch for sweet potato fries I combine cinnamon with garlic sea salt (Trader Joe's giners - $1.99) and pepper. Sounds strange, I know! But they are delicious!

**what you need: a vegetable peeler.**

Ingredients:

2 lbs Carrots (not baby carrots, the big roots)
Cinnamon, Garlic Sea Salt, Pepper
Olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375*. Rinse the carrots, cut off the ends of both sides and peel. Cut the sticks in half, and quarter the halves so they are about the size of French Fries. Lay these flat in a baking pan and drizzle about 2 T of olive oil over them. Sprinkle your seasonings on top (try not to use TOO much salt, it’s not needed), and stir the carrot sticks so all of them have oil and seasonings on.

Place in the oven for 30-40 minutes depending on how hot your oven is (and how cooked you want them) and remove. They are delicious hot or cold, and you don’t feel like you’re going to give yourself a tooth ache from the hard, raw carrots. I use these to top salads, add to quinoa bowls, or just to eat as a snack.

Easy Gluten Free Oatmeal

This breakfast staple of mine has now taken on many different variations. It started with Lauren Conrad’s Overnight Oats, cold oatmeal with berries, oats, and almond milk (among other things). But it is winter, I live in Minnesota, and let’s be honest – the last thing you want in the morning is a COLD breakfast. One morning I brought my overnight cold oats to work, and sat with my scarf on until about noon. I thought, can you microwave oatmeal that isn’t “instant” oatmeal? It turns out… you CAN! I make this for my boyfriend all the time – he is terrible at planning food for work, so this is a frequent request by him (add protein powder, the guy will eat anything).

This little breakfast is filling, PACKED with protein, fiber, and will definitely keep you high energy until lunch time. I will alter the amount of oats that I use depending on how my carbohydrate and/or workout situation is looking for the day. If I work out in the morning, I know I’ll be starving and use a full ½ C of oats in the recipe. Days like today, where I think I ate all weekend, I only needed ¼ C. Total prep time: 1 minute. Total cook time, 2 minutes.

Ingredients:
¼- ½ C Gluten Free Oats from Trader Joes
1 C unsweetened Almond Milk or Coconut Milk (Silk or Almond Breeze are my favorites), if you are AIP use coconut
1 scoop of protein powder (Isolate Protein is my favorite, any flavor you’d like)
1 T Flaxseed (Bob’s Redmill is great)
1 t cinnamon
½ C Blueberries, apple slices, pomegranate seeds, pumpkin (frozen or fresh) **Optional**

Directions:
Stir all ingredients together in your microwaveable Tupperware or a bowl getting the protein powder clumps out. If you prep this the night before, place in the refrigerator covered overnight. In the morning, it will be the right consistency to eat cold.
If you want the warm oatmeal, place in microwave (uncovered) for 1 minute on high. Stir, and place back in for another minute. You want it to start bubbling up, so be sure to watch it, and stir when it looks like it’s going to boil over the edge. Check the consistency. You want it thick, but take out when the consistency is right for you. If you are putting fruit in this, I like heating the fruit with it, because cooked fruit is great. But you can top at the end with fruit if you prefer cold.

Enjoy!

Nutritional Facts (1/4 C oats)Calories: 248
Carbs: 20g
Fat: 9g
Protein: 23g
Sugar: 3g
Fiber 4g

Pork Stir Fry

It’s so tricky to work with things when you’re in your Menstrual Phase. Nothing sounds appetizing except greasy pizza, or cozy soup. Well, pizza is out (take out, that is), and the Luteal Phase was when all of the delicious fall and winter soups were happening. What’s not out? Chinese food… when you make it yourself.

The ingredients listed were not exactly ones that got me jumping through the roof with enthusiasm, however, now that I’ve made it and eaten it, I can tell you it is definitely a spot hitter (and gotten me through lunch this week!). When I was doing AIP, spicy food for the most part was out. I missed curry so, so much. So I brought it back. While I was a Trader Joes perusing the isles for the fixings, they were sampling their new Miso Soup. I snagged a sample, sipping cautiously (soup in a Dixie cup – not appetizing)… let’s just say, I grabbed a couple boxes to use at home. Notice that “Miso Soup” is on your list this week!

So looking at the list, knowing very well I wanted a stir fry and needed pork, I grabbed some thinly sliced pork sirloins, canned beets, kale, onion and was on my way. If you’re not a believer in beets, I’m telling you they are great. They have the consistency of a potato, a slightly earthy taste, but they also absorb any flavors you put with them. I will utilize beets more in the future. The colors that form are beautiful in this dish, giving you a nice fall soup or dish. Wild Rice is also an addition here, but due to my carb overload in the last few weeks, I went without.

Ingredients:

1.5lbs of thinly sliced pork sirloin (the package at Rainbow Foods even stated “for stir fry”)
¾ bag of Trader Joe’s Kale (pre cut/washed)
1 small yellow onion (cut in 1-inch pieces)
2 8oz cans of sliced beets (drained and cut in large pieces)
1 box of mushrooms (cut in halves or quarters)
¼ C Trader Joe’s Thai Yellow Curry Sauce
2T Curry powder
¼ C Gluten Free Soy Sauce
1 T Crushed ginger
2 T Crushed garlic
2T olive oil


Directions:

Place all uncooked ingredients into a large wok. Turn on to 400* F, stirring occasionally. Make sure the pork is thoroughly cooked through (not pink). When all ingredients have thoroughly cooked, it’s done!

Clearly, the hardest part is chopping up the vegetables. Total it makes 5-6 large servings.

Calories per serving: 292
Carbs: 20g
Fat: 13g
Protein: 23g
Sugar: 10g
Fiber: 4g

Back on track with The Code

After getting the results of my food sensitivities, I was a little frustrated. There are zero things that I have an IgG or IgA sensitivity to. If it’s not food that affects my digestion, what is it?! How can I fix a feeling? Fortunately, my nutritionist understands my frustration and provided me with some answers. The primary cause of everything is my stress and adrenals. I never really understood just how much stress can really impact every part of your life. It’s not that I have more or less stress than anyone else (I volunteer, I know what real stress looks like, and my life is a complete blessing), but it’s that I do not manage it well.

I’ve been an insomniac for as long as I can remember, I need to plan a very detailed plan farther in advance than anyone would need, I overexert myself expecting perfection. It’s easy to see why I would drain myself, and those around me. So where do I go from here? Sure she can tell me to take Rhodiola to have a more positive and healthy response to stress, or Isagenix supplements to help with energy, brain function, and alertness, which also help the adrenals. But what I really need to do is something only I can do for myself.

I’ve spent oodles of time researching the concept of “stress management” and how different people react, symptoms, causes, etc. Somehow, all signs have pointed me back to what I first sought out to do in the first place, which was follow The Woman Code. Planning out intense dietary restrictions was not only stressful because of the time commitment and remembering to plan ahead, but the financial stress of it was more overwhelming than I ever imagined. Though the AIP diet was supported by my nutritionist, it also was not her main concern. I can go back and try that later, but for the time being, focusing peace of mind and relaxing are where I need to begin.

As soon as my half-marathon training is over (SATURDAY!), exercise will ease up a bit. So some main things I need to start incorporating are yoga, walks instead of high-intensity running, sleeping, more of listening to my body when it needs a break, and eating the “OK” foods on the nutrition page. I followed Alisa’s plan for over a month and everything was functioning great and I was feeling a constant happy for the first time in as long as I could remember. As soon as I tried something more intense, during a rough period, it caused more of an opposite reaction. When I decided to quit the AIP, I gave myself permission to enjoy the foods that I had been without for so long. Not the way to go, my friends!

Going from eating VERY clean to very Unclean is detrimental! I have now had to restart at all and feel quite a bit at the beginning. That’s okay with me, because I gave myself a break. This is crucial to starting over, and crucial to success. Alisa is very understanding that sometimes we’ll have that bite of cake, or a cookie, or a piece of cheese. But the overall goal is to follow the Woman Code in as much of your everyday life as you can. I have started this back up for a few days now, and already can feel my body so much happier. Has it been hard to go back to healthy eating after I had created these unhealthy habits? Absolutely. But remembering how good I had felt is important to my success – it’s worth it to me to get back there. So let’s get back to recipes that enjoy the finer things in life – tomatoes, eggs, and beans!

Remember, having support is key to anything, but sometimes what you have to listen to above all else is yourself. If your body isn’t reacting positively, it’s probably not right for you. If you aren’t noticing positive changes, it might not be the right time. No one else can tell you, you have to be able to listen to your gut (pun intended… but really, your gut affects everything, and everything affects your gut! It’s important!).

Chicken Carrot "Chili"

I do no not get to indulge in my favorite fall food right now… CHILI. I love everything about it- mostly that it never has to be (or realistically CAN be) made the same way twice. I spruce it up with different beans, chunky tomatoes, chicken vs. beef, spicy seasonings and flavors. Are you drooling yet?

So we can’t have that here on the AIP Paleo 30 day test… or possibly again for quite a while. So let’s quit the whines (myself included) and find a replacement. I saw somewhere the recipe to make faux ketchup with carrots. I have not given that a whirl yet, but I figure maybe I can make carrots take on the chunky texture of beans or tomatoes from a chili. Since there are no grain or legumes involved, we need to find other ways to get a stew-like soup. You really can use as many vegetables as you want, but since peas are A-OK, I use them, along with others, for bean-like texture.

Just like chili, you add what you like. This means this soup can take on as many forms as you like. Remember the Crockpot Chicken recipe I posted last week? That is relevant here!

You need: blender wand or potato masher (or a really good whisking arm), large pot, sauté pan.

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts (crock pot, shredded)
1 lb of carrot sticks (or baby carrots), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 C Chicken broth
1 C water
1 C coconut milk (optional, but I like that it gives a creamier texture)
½ Large yellow onion, diced
3 C green sweet peas (frozen works great here!)
2 C chopped broccoli
½ head of cauliflower
1 T coconut oil
1 T minced garlic (or 5 cloves of fresh- peeled & diced)
2 T Cumin (more if you like the heat)
Sea Salt, Pepper (peppercorn medley from Trader Joe’s in my favorite), basil, a dash of cinnamon (very optional, but I think it warms up the flavor), anything else that is AIP friendly!

Directions:
In a large stew pot, throw in your chopped carrot sticks, chicken broth, and water. Bring this to a boil and reduce to medium heat, covered, until carrots are soft.

In a sauté pan cook the onions, garlic, and cauliflower in your coconut oil until soft and browned. Season with S&P to taste.

Using a blender wand, blend the soft cooked carrots in the liquid until you reach a desired texture. I do not mind it thick, but if it’s too thick to be appealing to you, add more water (1/4 C at a time) and blend (repeat until desired texture). Reduce heat to low. Add your peas, broccoli, and the sautéed onion/cauliflower/garlic mix – including the extra oil. Add your spices and seasonings to the mix, and keep on low heat for about 30 minutes stirring occasionally. Taste along the way to check your spiciness – get creative and add more of what you think it needs. Add your shredded chicken for another 10 minutes.

Serve:
I like to serve this with half an avocado chopped up and some cilantro with an additional shake of the sea salt. It makes it feel more like chili to me. Since tortilla chips aren’t going to be on your food list, try some sweet potato chips or plantain chips in advance, so they’re easily attainable to dip into your “chili”.

This feast will be giant. You can probably get 6-7 large servings out of this. Feedback or other recommendations are always welcome!

The Honest Truth about AIP. The good, bad, and ugly.

Hi readers,

Today is a tough day to write. I’ve not fallen away from this diet, but with a heavier work load than normal and more extracurricular, it hasn’t been the most exciting meal planning for me. I am so thankful to other bloggers who have discussed their experiences with AIP Paleo, and express genuine emotion of what they’re going through. Let’s be honest: it’s really hard, you have to be committed 100%, and it takes more time (that most of us do not have) to plan, purchase, and prep all of this food.

By this last weekend, I was on another trip to another wedding. Longer drives, little sleep, it’s all taxing for anyone, not just people on this diet. You reach a point of pure exhaustion and you no longer think logical. So I began to think, is this just me? Why am I responding this way? Isn’t this supposed to be a hormone re-start? And to be completely honest, I was feeling lower than low and not dealing or reacting as a sane human being. In the week or two leading up to the weekend, I could feel in my gut (seriously, my gut hurt) that I was drained and my adrenals were less than pleased with me. I began having the opposite reaction that I’m supposed to and began to feel like this has all been for nothing.

I decided to take a personal day to get in order several things in my life, but also to read and spend a little more time learning from the blogs that my fellow AIP-ers have out there. What an amazing community. Others felt by week 3 completely drained, low energy, losing so much weight they do not know what to do, digestive issues flaring up again, and full ranges of depression. When you stop and think about why, it might seem like a no-brainer, but not when you’re the person in it. Think about it: you’ve completely shocked your system. You have removed entire food groups you once had, your hormones are so out of whack from being high, then low, then high again, you do not know if something as spilling your water will make you shed tears, and more than anything, you feel alone. Your coworkers have parties with cupcakes and dips and chips that you once would have divulged in, but now the reality is setting in that you might never indulge in those things anymore. It’s easy to spin this completely out of control and get yourself into a pit so deep you forgot what color the sky is. I would know. That was me for the last few days, even week.

You need to stop, breath, and reboot. Remember this is a positive thing you’re doing for yourself. You are certainly not alone, even if you do not actually know anyone that is doing this. Stress management is my biggest issue, and it is only worsened when I’m tired and having adrenal failures (just like anyone). Throw some hormone confusion into the mix and you’re got a fiesta of crazy. I had to take a day off yesterday. Sleeping was still hard as my mind was racing, but I found some helpful tools that I’d like to implement going forward. My advice to you is know that there is an end in sight for your struggles. If the sickness you FEEL is your struggle, then knowing that this is going to do nothing but make you feel better. It’s a daunting task to make the decision to change your life. Change is scary. Life is scary. But feeling like you have control of it can make things feel a little lighter.

I do not know about you, but my cravings hit hard this week. Week 3 is no joke. I came across a blogger that listed AIP-Paleo 30 days as a relationship by week. “Week 1: honeymoon… this is do-able and going to be easy. Week 2: reality sets in. The dishes aren’t put away correctly but it’s still ok. Week 3: The fighting begins and stress takes over. We do not play nice, and though we know better, it’s still hard to do so. Week 4: There’s a light at the end of the tunnel. You do not fight it anymore, you know there’s a reason and you reach a more optimistic view of the life ahead of you.” I haven’t experienced week 4, but I sure as heck am looking forward to that feeling. Telling yourself the thoughts of week 4 a week early probably isn’t a bad idea either.

So, to your criers, worriers, stressed-out, high-strung people that need to learn serenity, peace, and a touch of hopeful… believe me, I feel you. I am you. I’m struggling, but I’m grateful that this was proposed to me. It can only get better.