Category: Meat

Organic Thai Red Curry Chicken

This is better than restaurant Thai food- especially because YOU control the ingredients.   It took me a total of about 25 minutes from start to finish so “no time” is not an excuse here.  You couldn’t even drive to a restaurant and back in 25 minutes!  This meal is perfectly acceptable on the advanced plan and makes wonderful leftovers.  You can control the spice by adding more or less curry paste.  You could also make this a veggie dish by excluding the chicken and adding more vegetables.

Put this up against your favorite Thai restaurant!

2 teaspoons coconut oil

1 pound organic, free range chicken breasts, sliced very thin with a sharp knife

1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste (you can make your own or purchase store-bought but check ingredients!  You don’t want any sugar hidden in there.  )

1 cup organic zucchini, sliced (remember, this is one of the Dirty Dozen- you need to go organic)

1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips (another dirty dozen veggie)

1/2 onion, chunked

1 can full fat coconut milk

1 avocado, cut into chunks

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro (optional)

Other optional add ins:  broccoli, mushrooms, small chunk of lemongrass, 1-2 kaffir leaves (I keep sliced lemongrass and kaffir leaves in my freezer to use in soups, Thai dishes, etc)

Heat the oil in a non-toxic skillet like cast iron or thermalon (GreenPan) and brown the chicken.

Add in the rest of the vegetables and cook until chicken is done and vegetables are slightly cooked but still firm.

Add the coconut milk and red curry paste and mix.

Simmer for a few minutes and discard kaffir leaves and lemongrass.

Top with avocado and add fresh cilantro if desired.  Serve and enjoy.

Kimberly RobertoLeave a comment

Teriyaki Meatballs

These quick and easy meatballs are great for appetizers or as a meal served with fresh vegetables and salad.  These are a kid-favorite that will appeal to even the pickiest eaters.

  • 3-4 slices Sprouted Grain Bread, lightly toasted OR 3/4 cup cooked quinoa
  • 1 pound ground turkey
  • 1/2 cup green onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 egg, slightly beaten
  • 3 tablespoons liquid aminos or tamari
  • 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, microplaned
  • 2-3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons red chile sauce (optional)
  • pineapple OR granny smith apple, grated or minced
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or silicone liner.
  2. Take crust off bread and break into pieces; place in blender or food processor and process until finely ground into crumbs.
  3. Combine turkey, bread crumbs, green onions, egg, tamari, ginger, garlic, pepper, chili sauce, and pineapple or apple in medium bowl. Divide turkey mixture into 36, 1-inch balls (mixture will be sticky)
  4. Brown in a little bit of coconut oil then transfer to the baking dish.
  5. Bake until cooked through.
  6. Serve with additional pineapple if desired.

Kimberly RobertoLeave a comment

Easy Coq Au Vin

This is a fancy dish that is a breeze to make.  Serve with a green salad and you have a very elegant meal.
4 Organic, Free Range Chicken Breasts
1 cup fresh mushrooms, any kind
1 cup carrots
1 cup red wine
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley or 1 tsp dried
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
3/4 tsp dried marjoram
3/4 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 cup organic chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 cups water
1/8 cup coconut flour

Cover the bottom of a large pot or dutch oven with grapeseed or coconut oil.  Sautee chicken over medium heat until browned on all sides (about 15 minutes)

Add the mushrooms, carrots, wine, onions, parsley, garlic, marjoram, thyme, chicken broth, pepper, bay leaf, and water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  Add more water if necessary- you want the liquid to almost cover the ingredients.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken, mushrooms, carrot, and onions to a platter discarding the bay leaf.  Cover to keep warm.

In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of the liquid from the pot with 1/8 cup of coconut flour.  Stir to mix, then cook until bubbly.

Pour broth over chicken and vegetables to serve or merely put everything  back into the pot.

Enjoy

Kimberly RobertoLeave a comment

On the Menu Tonight

On the menu tonight:  Grass fed beef meatloaf:  2 lbs grass fed ground beef, 1/2 – 3/4 cup quinoa (in place of breadcrumbs), 2 cage free organic eggs, parsley, carmelized onions, salt, & pepper; smashed sweet potatoes (chunked and boiled) with shredded granny smith apple, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter, coconut milk, and a tiny bit of stevia; fresh steamed broccoli with lemon juice & grated rind.  No recipe required- just adjust ingredients to your taste.

Kimberly RobertoLeave a comment

Weekly Meals

As part of our Lighten Up Weight Loss challenge, my husband and I promised to post what we eat daily.   Most of the people in the challenge are going with the Advanced Plan so that is what we are following so everything listed is approved fare.  Hopefully this will help people get additional meal ideas and to see how easy it is to apply to a busy life.    (F=Fred and K=Kim)

Wednesday Day 1 of the Weight Loss Challenge

Breakfast

F- 3 egg whites

K- Onions/spinach w/ fried eggs (I sauté the veggies and crack the eggs right in the pan with them.  I usually break the yolk but you can leave them sunny side up.

Lunch

F- Chicken over spinach salad with olives

K- Salmon with pesto cauliflower (I put it right in my vitamix and it comes out the consistency of risotto then add pesto sauce and salt)

Dinner

F&K- Grilled chicken with asparagus

Snacks

F-AM -Coconut Flakes, PM- Almonds

K-PM- Celery w/ Almond Butter

Thursday

Breakfast

F & K- Chocolate & Blueberry smoothie made with frozen blueberries, cocoa powder, chocolate NaturePro (available at the office soon or order from http://www.maximizedlivingdrroberto.com/), and coconut milk

Lunch

F & K – bowl of coconut soup and plate of stir fried vegetables w/ tamari

Dinner

F&K Grass fed steak with sautéed zucchini and green salad w/ olive & vinegar

Snacks

F- 2 hard boiled eggs

K- handful of almonds & walnuts

Friday

Breakfast

F&K- Blueberry chocolate smoothie

Lunch

F&K – grass fed steak fajitas w/ avocado – grassfed flank steak (purchased from http://www.whiteoakpastures.com/).  Marinated in apple cider vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, spike seasoning overnight.  Cooked on cast iron grill pan.  Sauteed sliced red bell pepper, onion, and celery in butter in a cast iron pan, added spinach at the last minute.

Dinner

F&K- Grilled Chicken Salad – organic chicken put between parchment and pounded to about ½” thickness.  Seasoned with organic seasoning mix, salt, and black pepper.  Grilled on cast iron grill pan.  Salad- red leaf lettuce, black olives, ½ tomato (tomatoes in moderation), cucumber, celery, onion, hearts of palm, slivered almonds with oil & vinegar.

Snacks

F – Almond Power Bar (recipe in boos), Coconut Flakes

K- green tea

Saturday

Breakfast

F&K – Berry smoothie

Lunch

F&K – at a wrestling tournament all day- packed leftover grilled chicken salad and almond power bars

Dinner

You CAN still eat out during your 30 day challenge,  you just have to be very careful what you order- here is what we did…

F- La Parrilla Mexican Restaurant – Monterrey Chicken Salad with no bacon, no cheese, no tortillas, salsa for dressing.  Chicken soup with no rice.  Unsweetened iced tea with stevia

K- Monterrey Chicken Salad, no bacon, no cheese, no tortillas, added extra avocado, salsa for dressing.  Unsweet tea

Snacks

F- handful almonds & cashews

K- almond power bar

Sunday

Breakfast

F- 3 scrambled eggs

K- Scrambled eggs with onions and mushrooms

Lunch

F- spinach/romaine salad w/ cucumbers, zucchini, black olives, oil&vinegar and 2 cups of chicken soup

K- romaine with cucumbers, zucchini, red onion, black olives, broccoli, celery, oil&vinegar and bowl of vegetable soup.

Dinner

F & K- taco salad- grass fed ground beef (from Publix) + taco seasoning recipe from the book with shredded raw cheddar cheese (from Nature’s Corner Market), whole avocado, black olives, cucumbers, salsa for  dressing.

Snacks

F&K- chocolate bark (recipe in the book), almonds

Kimberly RobertoLeave a comment

Better than Take-Out: Chinese Make-In

Kung WOW Chicken and Egg Drop Soup

I always say that cooking at home is faster than takeout, which I still hold as true, but the main reason to do it is so that you control the ingredients.  Chinese food has been notorious for MSG in the past and many chinese joints now claim “MSG free” but guess what, when MSG comes out, other stuff goes in.  Namely added table salt and other miscellaneous flavorings.  Then of course, is the quality of the meat they use.  Do you think they are sourcing free range chickens?  Are they even sourcing quality meats at all?  What about the oils they are using.  Typically restaurants use vegetable oil or peanut oil- both of which are damaging to the human body.  In the recipe below, we start out with healthy coconut oil instead.

Tonight my 9 year old daughter was my sous chef, helping me gather ingredients, chop, and stir.  Don’t be afraid to get your kids in the kitchen with you.  It only took us 30 minutes to make everything.  Takeout isn’t even that speedy.  If you are too tired or busy during the week- make a couple of dinners on Sunday so that they are ready to go.  Always make a little extra to use for lunches the next day.

Here is what we threw together for dinner tonight.  Don’t let the list of ingredients scare you.  Most of them are staple items that you should have on hand- no special trips to the grocery store.  And the cool thing- no premade bottled sauces.  This is from scratch!

Kung-WOW Chicken

2 tablespoons coconut oil

2 lbs organic chicken – cut into 1″ cubes

1 organic red pepper (peppers are notoriously pesticide laden-go organic), chopped

1-2 teaspoons chili paste (check ingredients).  Spice it up to your liking.

5 large mushrooms (optional- I chop them into a fine dice to get them past my kids)

1 small can water chestnuts, cut in fourths

Fresh ginger, grated w/ a microplane (about 1″ of a piece of ginger that has been peeled) NOTE:  keep your hunk of ginger in the freezer in a ziploc bag.  It is easy to peel and grate and it will last almost forever!

2-3 cloves garlic, put through a garlic press or finely diced

1/2 – 1 cup organic chicken broth

1/2 cup tamari

1 tsp sesame oil

1/4 cup organic peanut butter

Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet (no teflon :)).  When hot add the chicken and the red peppers in the pan and DO NOT TOUCH.  Let it sit until it browns then stir.  Cook until chicken is cooked through and remove from the pan.

Add the chicken broth, chili paste, tamari, peanut butter, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil and stir to combine over low heat.

Add in the mushrooms and water chestnuts and stir to combine.

Egg-Drop Soup

2 cloves whole garlic

4 slices fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon white peppercorns

sliver of onion

5 1/2 cups (approx. 46 ounces) free-range chicken broth

1/3 cup brown rice vinegar + 1 teaspoon, divided

1 large free range egg

1 large free range egg white

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Ground white pepper and sea salt to taste

Smash the garlic cloves and ginger to release flavor with the side of a large knife.  Crush white peppercorns with a heavy pan on a cutting board.  Tuck the garlic, ginger, onion slice, and peppercorns into a tea infuser or cheesecloth bag and place it in a saucepan with the chicken broth and 1/3 cup brown rice vinegar.  Boil for about 15-20 minutes.

Whisk the egg, egg white and 1 teaspoon brown rice vinegar together in a small bowl.  Pour in a steady stream of the rice mixture into simmering soup while stirring.

Remove from heat and add in the sesame oil and ground pepper and salt.

I hope you enjoy this easy dinner that will rival any takeout!

Kimberly RobertoLeave a comment