Southwestern 2 Bean Chicken

Here is another great recipe I found.  I can't wait to try this also.  I am really in a southwestern mood.

Southwestern 2 bean chicken

CLEAN EATING SLOW COOKER SOUTHWESTERN 2 BEAN CHICKEN

(Makes approximately 10 cups)

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 raw, boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 8 oz. each)
• 1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans (rinsed and drained) or 1 1/3 cup home cooked beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans (rinsed and drained) or 1 1/3 cup home cooked beans
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice, low sodium is best
• 1 pound frozen and thawed organic corn (organic to avoid GMO corn)
• 1 (12 ounce) jar of your favorite salsa, no sugar added

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place the chicken breasts on the bottom of your slow cooker. Pour the tomatoes and salsa over that and then layer on the beans and corn.
2. Cook on low for 5-7 hours, or until the chicken easily falls apart when the pot is stirred.

Nutritional Content:
(Data is for 1 cup)

NOTE: This data does not include salsa. Also, this was figured using home cooked beans without salt. Be careful when purchasing salsa and canned beans as the sodium content can really add up.

Calories: 292
Total Fat: 5 gm
Saturated Fats: 1 gm
Trans Fats: 0 gm
Cholesterol: 42 mg
Sodium: 54 mg
Carbohydrates: 33 gm
Dietary fiber: 9 gm
Sugars: 3 gm
Protein: 30 gm

Southwestern Quinoa Salad

So I know it has been a while since I last posted here.  I figured it was time to start updating my blog again.  Here is a great new recipe that I want to try.  I think I will make this for lunch. I found it here

SOUTHWEST QUINOA SALAD

2 cups quinoa, rinsed well (soak for a few minutes, then drain in a fine strainer)

4 cups water

2 cans black beans, rinsed well

4 medium tomatoes, diced

8 green onions, chopped (including most of the green part)

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

DRESSING:

1 heaping Tbsp. grated lime zest

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

6 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp. maple syrup

1 tsp. sea salt (best: Original Crystal Himalayan Salt)

1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Whisk together the lime zest and juice, olive oil, maple syrup, salt, and pepper in a serving bowl. Simmer the quinoa in water uncovered for about 10 min. Turn off the heat, cover, and let stand 10 min. Strain any excess water. Add quinoa to dressing and toss well, then stir in remaining ingredients (beans, tomatoes, scallions, cilantro).

Almond Joyful Fudge

I got this recipe courtesy of the green smoothie girl from her 12 steps to whole foods.  If you divide the pan in to 24 squares it ends up being about 370 calories a piece.  It isn't a low cal treat but it does have a lot of Omega 3 fatty acids with the coconut oil and coconut.  The sugar is raw agave so it has 1/3rd the effect on your insulin levels.  The ingredients are much healthier than traditional fudge.

Almond Joyful Fudge
2C Agave
2 C Coconut oil (melted if it is solid)

Put both ingredients in a high powered blender and add:
1 C unsweetened Cocoa.
Blend well then pour into a bowl and stir in:

2 C shredded coconut
2 C chopped almonds

Pour mixture into a 9x13 pan, chill two hours, and cut into squares to serve.

Favorite resources for healthy eating

Most people know that I have made a transition to a whole foods plant based lifestyle in the last year.  What that basically means is I avoid processed food and refined sugars like the plague.  My rule is if the ingredient list has unpronounceable names or anything I can't recognize I do not touch it.  I also avoid dairy for the most part and eat limited amounts of meat.  I try to eat 60-80% raw.  I eat a lot vegan and vegetarian but don't classify myself as either since I eat meat once or twice a week and do use eggs for cooking and have cheese and yogurt occasionally. I am basically a whole foodie. I am not perfect by any means in this lifestyle but I try my hardest.  I figure if I am trying to eat this way 100% of the time, and I end up breaking the rules a few times which is unavoidable when you live in the real world, then I will still be eating this way 90% of the time and I will still be really healthy.  So that is basically my philosophy.  I base a lot of the way I eat by trying to follow my religions Word of Wisdom  listed in the Doctrine and Covenants.

As most of you know I am a green smoothie girl disciple. Ha ha.  I have learned so much from her blog and website about healthy eating.  She does a ton of research and is really well educated and forms her opinions based on science.  I have felt so much better and have lost 60lbs since I started eating the way she recommends. I bought her 12 steps to whole foods course and it really simplified transitioning to a whole foods lifestyle for me. There are a lot of great recipes in there that actually taste good along with being healthy.  Take a look around her website and read her blog if you want to learn more about important things such as good fats vs bad (healthy and unhealthy oils), refined vs unrefined sea salt or himilayen salts, animal vs vegetable protein, why we don't need dairy, and many other great topics.
www.greensmoothiegirl.com

The china study has really influenced me a ton in my eating. Watch the documentary Forks over knives to get in depth interviews with the doctors/researchers.  The study is the first of it's kind and is a large ongoing longitudinal study that has had tremendous findings. I learned that we really only need 5% animal protein in our diet and anything more than that has been linked to heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.  The evidence in this work is quite compelling. They have repeated the same study over and over again with animals and now with humans isolating the variables in different ways and keep coming up with the same results.  Those that eat 20% animal protein in their diet are increasingly unhealthy and have much higher rates of cardiovascular disease and cancers and die sooner than those who only eat 5% animal protein.  Anyway you can learn more here.

http://www.thechinastudy.com/the-china-study/about/


Here are my favorite recipe blogs. I will just add more to the list as I keep finding them.

http://www.amuse-your-bouche.com

http://www.gimmesomeoven.com

http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/

http://www.superhealthykids.com/

http://www.simplyquinoa.com/

http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/

Lentil Tacos and Taco Seasoning

Taco Seasoning

1 Tbsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp paprika

1&1/4 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. black pepper

Mix all together and store in a Tupperware container.  Great for any Mexican dishes.

Lentil Taco's

2 cups water

1 cup red lentils

1 Tbsp. taco seasoning

Combine above ingredients in a saucepan and cook uncovered for 20-30 min until water is absorbed and lentils are done.  

Add a couple large spoonfuls lentils to a heated sprouted corn tortilla shell and top with lettuce, tomatoes, olives, cheese, salsa, and anything else that sounds good on a taco. 

Serve with a side of rice and black beans.  Super delicious! 

I make these all the time, and my family loves them.  Everyone that I make them for is surprised how good they are and ask for the recipe.  Lentils are a great meat substitute and very healthy.  Great source of protein. 

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

I got this recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com.  Made this for thanksgiving and was so glad that everyone ate all the unhealthy stuff and left most of this for me.  I think I ate most of the bowl. Ha Ha! It was so good!

Ingredients:
2 cups no salt added chicken broth
1 clove garlic smashed
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 large chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
1 large red onion diced
1 large green bell pepper diced
1/2 cup kalamata olives (I don't love those so I use regular olives)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions
1. Bring chicken broth, pinch of sea salt, and garlic to boil in saucepan.  Stir in the quinoa and reduce heat to medium-low.  Cover and simer until the quinoa is tender and the water has been absorbed, 15-20 minutes. scrape the quinoa into a large bowl.
2. Gently stir in the chicken, onion, bell pepper, olives, cheese, parsley, chives, and salt into the quinoa.  Drizzle with the lemon juice, baslamic vinegar and olive oil.  Stir until evenly mixed.  serve war, or refrigerate and serve cold.

Kristen's Notes:  I usually leave out the chicken when I want to make this a vegetarian dish.  I only eat meat maybe once or twice a week so I rarely add the chicken.  But it is a nice option to have if you are wanting some animal protein.  I also add a pinch of sea salt to the chicken broth since it is no sodium added to give it a little more flavor.  I usually get no sodium added chicken broth because the refined salt is so damaging to our cells. I add the unrefined healthy sea salt myself so I can control my sodium intake but still have the flavor enhancement of salt.

Wendy's Veggie Chili

My mom made this for me a couple months ago when she was over visiting.  She randomly threw this together and it tasted so good we wrote it down.  The spice measurements are not exact and I have been eyeballing it.  The measurements for the spices below are my best guess so feel free to shift the spice ratios to taste.  After learning about how damaging refined salt is to our bodies and cells, I have been shifting to using no salt added beans, broth, and any other vegetable to my recipes. I just adjust for the reduced flavor that by adding a little more sea salt in the recipe since sea salt is unrefined and a lot better for you.

In a big pot combine:
2 cans low sodium vegetable broth
2 Cans no salt added Kidney Beans
4 Cans organic black Beans
2 Cans fire roasted tomatoes
2 Onions chopped
1 bunch of cilantro chopped finely
several mini peppers chopped (red, yellow, and orange)
1-2 Tbsp. Grill mates mesquite seasoning
1 tsp. Sea Salt
1 tsp. Black Pepper
1 tsp Dillweed
1 Tbsp. Smokey Paprika
2-3 tablespoons Fresh garlic
1 tsp. Cumin
2 Tbsp. Basil

Stir over medium heat on stove for 30-40 minutes then reduce heat stirring occasionally.  Total cooking time is one hour.  You can also put in crockpot on low for 4-6 hours.