Tomato Pesto Chicken & Bacon Brussel Sprouts
Getting off work late and thankfully having already WOD’ed, I was determined to actually cook a meal instead of picking something up or having something quick and sad. Here is what I came up with.
What You Need:
Boneless Chicken Thighs (Free Range if you can)
Ground Cumin
Trader Joe’s 21 Salute
Tomato Pesto Basil Paste (check ingredients for no sugars or funky chemicals)
Coconut Oil
Brussel Sprouts
Uncured Nitrate-Free Bacon
What You Do:
Season the chicken with the ground cumin (I loooooove cumin) and TJ’s 21 Salute. Heat up a bit of coco oil in a pan, and cook your chicken over medium heat. After about 10-15 minutes and when chicken is nearly completely cooked, add the tomato pesto basil paste and turn over as needed to coat thighs with paste.
I cheated and my mom had given me steamed brussel sprouts already made, so while my chicken was cooking I baked couple uncured bacon strips in my little oven. Coat brussel sprouts with a little bit of coco oil. Then cut up the bacon into pieces, sprinkle on top of brussel sprouts and bake at 350ºF for just about 10 minutes.
Verdict? NOM and very satisfying.
Did I Forget to Mention?
That I’ve pressed play again on this journey of mine?
If you’re on my blog and you see my “Progress” page, there are “before” and the current (at the time) pictures, but I was always careful to not say “after” because wasn’t done. I more so pressed pause and maintained. I have been back and forth between roughly 5-10lbs give or take within this past year.
I had been eating fairly well, sticking to primal/paleo nutrition (the occasional small cheats), but not so much watching portions as carefully. I hadn’t been keeping a food log either. Overall, I did well on maintaining but I had started to feel myself getting a little fluffier than I was comfortable with. So the day after Thanksgiving I decided, I need to press play again and proceed with my journey that I never finished.
If you’ve been following me since back when I was full on this journey, then you know that I never had a goal weight. Mostly going by how I feel and look until I get to where I am happy. If I had to pick a number it would probably be about 130lbs. I have no intention to be a stick figure. I don’t even think my body frame would allow that. I want to be lean and fit.
Another thing that kept me in journey limbo was me feeling so down about working so far away and not making it on time to CrossFit. Anytime that traffic was a big bitch or when I’d get off work late, I would get so pissed off that I wouldn’t make it on time to CrossFit. And I get it. I know I could just do a WOD at home, and I would at times. But it’s just not the same. Going from always being at CrossFit, with the people, that energy, that intensity, to lonely WODs at home? Not my cup of tea.
Needless to say, I was feeling down overall. But then, moving closer to where my box is, Redondo Beach, I made the decision to begin going to 6 a.m. classes, dash home, get showered and clean, then head to work. And I have been doing that for the last month. And down 7lbs since I decided to keep going on this journey.
My contribution to the family gathering: Beef and Chicken meatballs mixed with mozzarella, Parmesan and secret seasonings. Slightly coated with coconut flour.
Recipe to come soon.
Really can’t go wrong with avocado and meat. A lovely primal marriage in my quirky book!
It’s like an optical illusion! Is it a little bit of chicken or a giant avocado? Giant florida avocado!
If you know me, that’s like me finding a unicorn.
My solution to not eating late tonight? Eat cold rotisserie from tupperware during my long ass commute home.
Side note: WOD-blockage happened tonight. Makes me want to flip a table.
10 Things to Wrap in Bacon
Need I say more? You all know my love for bacon (uncured and nitrate-free thank you very much), so head on over to Steve’s Original for a post by Liz Wolfe on things to wrap in bacon, which would be my heaven. Add a corgi to play “No Rep” with, and I’d be a happy camper.
Nuked sweet potato with bit of kerrygold butter and steak strips. This was yummy but I need to lay off the sweet potatoes a bit. I flock to them because they’re easy to nuke and travel well, but they’re a fairly starchy root that I should probably only have post WOD.
Stacked: Food Well Built
The new chain Stacked: Food Well Built has opened its first of three locations in Del Amo Mall in Torrance, CA (my hometown and only about 10 minutes from where I live now). This place aims to change the way we all order food by having an iPad at every single table and at the beer and wine bar tops.
I’d walk by this location many times as I perused the mall and always wondered “what the heck is Stacked?” Even Googling wasn’t much help, because for a long time their website was not very informative. I assumed it would be another Counter just by the sounds of it (“food well built”).
This place offers customized burgers, pizzas, salads, sausages, ice cream cookie sandwiches, and shakes. Talk about overwhelming! A couple friends and I decided to share sweet potato fries, Chris got the Bleu Cheese Burger, and Shan and I shared the BBQ Carnitas Pizza (with a gluten-free crust) - yes, I went non-paleo! Then I got a little ice cream sandwich where I picked a snickerdoodle cookie, vanilla ice cream, and an oatmeal cookie (think Diddy Reese style). Needless to say, I went in light on my feet and I left with a food baby.
I don’t even feel guilty for my food choices because these are a rarity for me. For my first visit to Stacked I wanted to indulge, while my future visits (because there are so many choices and customizations) will be healthier and primal.
This is what’s replacing the ancient food pyramid? Okay…better, but not great. Suggesting making quarter of your plate grains? And to increase your intake of fat-free or low-fat milk (a.k.a. processed dairy)? They do emphasize to increase veggie intake, which I like. But is protein now lumped with fats? Don’t fear the fat people!
Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!
This year I decided to be a good girl and just head home straight after work. Allergies have been acting a fool also.
Went straight home to make this delicious taco salad of grassfed ground beef, spinach, tomatoes, bit of cheese, a dollop of plain fage, and of course avocado. Lovely mountain of nom.
“Don’t you ever miss Big Macs?!”
5hundreddaysofabigail asked:
After seeing all your food posts and the things you buy at the store, I’m fascinated by how different our taste buds are. I think I would gag eating raw almonds, raw unsalted almond butter, radishes, cauliflower?! I feel like those are the kinds of foods kids feed to their dogs under the table and the dog doesn’t even want it! Hahaha! No offense is meant at all, I’m just curious to know if you actually enjoy eating those foods or simply do so because they are healthy. Don’t you ever miss big macs?!
Our taste buds are clearly verrry different. I’m not offended by your comments or questions, so don’t worry. I actually LOVE eating healthy foods, but believe it or not it’s because they taste delicious not because they are healthy.Because I don’t eat fake sugars, sugar-laden foods or fast food of any kind, my taste buds are not… well… for a better word… “numbed” to natural tastes. Especially because I eat mostly organic foods, I find the flavors very noticeable, delicious and varied.
I noticed you wrote you “think” you would gag eating those foods. Have you ever tried them? Raw almond butter with apples is seriously one of my favorite flavors combos ever. EVER, I tell you! So good! I know not everyone likes radishes or cauliflowers, even “healthy” eaters, but I do. In fact, I love most veggies. If you don’t like those ones - simply stick with the ones you know you do like. :)
And do I ever miss Big Macs? FUCK NO. Those are so disgusting to me - you have no idea. All I see when I look at them is a huge pile of chemicals, hormones, mistreatment of animals, fillers and corporate greed. I don’t even think they taste good - it’s like salty cardboard.
However, that does not mean I don’t eat hamburgers. I LOVE a great hamburger, but for me a great hamburger is organic ground beef, organic cheese, organic mushrooms, organic buns and organic lettuce… you seeing a pattern here? :) Alll organic.
I think the misconception of “healthy eating” that really irks me is that we healthy eaters don’t “get” to eat delicious food. That could not be further from the truth.
I’m a huge foodie!
The taste of organic foods are scrumptious but above all the ingredients are not hurting my body and that’s why I eat them.
xxx,
M
Healthiereveryday, you rock my world. Your response is exactly what I would have said. That is probably the biggest misconception out there. That people who eat healthy don’t eat delicious food.
I love all the food I eat! People get the impression that healthy eating is eating a pile of dry vegetables all day. There are tons of different ways to eat said vegetables. And I’m a huge carnivore! But do I go for a Big Mac? Not at all. I prefer quality over quantity (in amount) and over price (junk food is obviously cheaper).
And cauliflower, is a common disliked veggie, but have you tried cauliflower “rice” or mashed cauliflower? Um, heaven. Foodies, unite.
Savage Lunch Nom
Ah, another of those days when I get to order a half rotisserie chicken at work. I try to be a lady (kind of) and eat it with a fork, but who am I kidding? I always end up tearing at it, holding a leg, biting into it, and pray that no one steps into my office mid-massacre. Poor chicken didn’t see it coming.
Oh and that was my makeshift salad on the side. The chicken comes with only spinach (and dressing I don’t use), so I added grapes and mozzarella bits to it, and drizzled bit of balsamic vinegar on it. NOM.
Oh, hello morning in-a-rush breakfast!
Whole avocado in my car with a plastic spoon and napkin….I definitely got some looks as I scooped in at red lights. Bunch of judgers everywhere.
Dinner Nom
Mmmm….last night I was kind of in the mood for spaghetti squash/ground turkey/vodka sauce, but I got home way too late to make the spaghetti squash, so I went ahead without it! This is ground turkey (seasoned with ground cumin, onion powder, and garlic powder), onions and vodka sauce, then sprinkled with a bit of fresh shaven parmesan. Definitely hit the spot. And I have leftovers, yay!
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