What is better food, better health?

Am I a paleo blogger? No. Do I believe health starts with nutrition? Absolutely. If you're looking for a manifesto on clean eating and arguments in favor of a paleo lifestyle, you won't find it here. Check out The Whole9. In fact even if you're not looking for something radical check that site out anyway. It's a great starting point. It's got links and articles and a whole bunch of science - data - about nutrition and how our bodies use macronutrients. I'm not a licensed expert but I listen to experts who back up their claims with real compelling data. And I've tried a few different things to "eat healthier" over the years - Weight Watchers, Zone, starvation (that was a brilliant one) to name a few. Nothing has been better for me and yielded better results than eating low glycemic with a paleo foundation (it's actually similar to Zone too, but with less precision). I have a busy schedule, a two year old, a husband, a full time job, I work out and I have a closet for a kitchen. I figure there must be a few people out there who can relate to some of that. I used to think eating healthy and making time for regular meaningful exercise was "hard." It really just takes some guidance, awareness, and enthusiasm. So here's a start - here's what I cook and eat (and sometimes what I read).

Saturday, March 30, 2013

"Almost-Ranch" Simmered Chicken

We are crazy about ranch flavor, and really it's not ranch-y without buttermilk, and I didn't have any thyme which kind of threw this off, but cooking in real life for a real family when you have a real job is all about improvising. Also my kitchen is hilariously small - one day I'll take a photo and you can see what kind of space I'm working with (which is none - no space).

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, cubed
1/2 to 3/4 cups almond milk
2 tsp dried parsley
1.5 tsp ground black pepper
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp rosemary
Juice of 1/2 small lemon (optional)

Supplies:
Quart sized ziplock bag
Small/medium saucepan or pot

Serves: 3-4

Measure out the herbs and spices into the ziplock, add the almond milk, lemon juice if you're using it, then the chicken cubes last, and zip the bag letting out the air first. The amount of milk should be just enough to ensure that all the chicken is able to evenly marinate. Marinate for 30-60 minutes.

Pour contents into the saucepan/pot and bring to a medium boil, covered. Stir occasionally. Once the chicken reaches a boil, turn heat down to simmer. Simmer covered until chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally. Simmer longer for moister, more fork-tender chicken pieces. Once chicken is cooked as desired, remove cover, remove chicken, and turn heat back up to medium- high to reduce the almond milk gravy. Thicken with flour if you're not eating paleo.

Replace the rosemary with thyme for a more ranch-accurate spice combination. (I just didn't have any in the cupboard.)

Serve with vegetables.









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