Clean Eating Day 12

(This post includes recipe for Curried Coconut Chicken)

 

Well it’s Valentine’s Day and I have to let you know – I allowed myself a cheat today! I mean, what is valentine’s without chocolate!! But, I found the darkest chocolate I could – which didn’t have much sugar in it – and then I actually didn’t end up eating much of it.  But I’m very proud to say this is the first REAL and intentional cheat I’ve done. I think I could have easily have made it another 2 days without any chocolate or sugar, I wasn’t really craving it, but we thought we’d have a nice chocolate fondue…and obviously you need chocolate for that!

So other than that…here is the rest of the day

BREAKFAST: Homemade Granola & Yoghurt

LUNCH: Leftover Butternut Squash Lasagna Roll-Ups.

These were just as good reheated. I chose to reheat them in the oven so that the crispy bits stayed crispy (as in the cheese that gets crispy while cooking).

DINNER: Curried Coconut Chicken

I definitely played with this recipe. The original is from Bless This Mess, but due to personal taste…and forgetting to get a few things in…I adapted! I think it tasted brilliant, the only thing I would have to adjust is that it ended up a little runnier, so I would need to add in bits to thicken in up a bit!

Curried Coconut Chicken

Ingredients
-3 Tbsp oil (peanut, olive, coconut)
-2 Tbsp curry powder
-1 Tbsp, plus 1 tsp garam masala, divided (didn’t have this so, but would try to find it next time)
-1/2 tsp onion powder
-1/2 tsp garlic powder
-2 chicken breasts cut into bit sized pieces
-1 14oz can coconut milk
-1/2 cup tomato passata
-1 cup chicken broth
-1/2 tsp salt

Directions
1. In a large dutch oven or stock pot (although I only used a skillet), heat the oil and curry powder and 1 Tbsp garam masala over a medium heat.  Cook for 5 minutes. If it starts to stick to the pan, add in a bit more oil, you do not want it to burn. Add the onion and garlic powder and cook for an additional 5 minutes – if it starts to stick, add a bit of oil.
2. Add the chicken and cook until it is no longer pink in the centre.
3 Add the coconut milk, passata, broth and salt. Stir it all in to combine is evenly.
4. Cook at a low simmer until the mixture thickens – about 45 minutes to an hour. 5 minutes before serving stir in the last tsp of garam masala.
5. Serve over hot rice

Notes
-The original uses a can of diced tomatoes rather than passata, as well it adds in squash pieces and cherries.  I didn’t have any of these…but I don’t like tomatoes anyway..so I improvised.
-Because there was nothing to help absorb some of the liquid, I added in about 2 tsp of cornflour to help thicken it slightly.
-Curry flavours get better the longer they have to cook, so simmer it as long as possible! And reheating left overs the next day will have even better flavours.

Clean Eating Day 10

(This post contents recipes for BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad, and Butternut Squash Lasagne Roll-Ups)

The BBQ Ranch chicken salad was supposed to be last night’s dinner. However I wasn’t home and James only have Chicken on Salad. So I made the dressing this morning to use for my lunch, so I’ll include that recipe here instead of last nights blog.

BREAKFAST: Homemade Granola and Milk

Just can’t go wrong with this at the moment! I just LOVE it! And I’ve made more Yoghurt as well, so I will be adding that again!

SNACK: Fruit Smoothie

Making healthy…or more healthy…by using spinach and chia seeds in it as well!

LUNCH: BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad

This was top!! It was so good! I will definitely have this again and even just make the dressing on it’s own again as well! This recipe was originally on Bless This Mess and she does it a little different and adds a few other things as well…why not check her out if you’re looking for a bit more. I also halved the recipe for just the two of us…but the dressing will probably last for about a week, it makes tons!

BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad

BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad

Ingredients
For the Dressing
-1/4 cup sour cream
-1/4 cup mayonnaise (can be substituted for plan yoghurt – especially your homemade stuff!)
-1/8 cup buttermilk
-1/6 cup barbecue sauce
-1/8 tsp garlic powder
-1/8 tsp onion powder
-1/4 tsp dried dill
For Salad
-2 hearts Romaine lettuce (we used baby spinach)
-1 Cucumber, diced
-1/2 green pepper, chopped
-2 chicken breasts, bbq’d from night before

Directions
Dressing: add all ingredients together and whisk together until smooth
Salad: add veggie together in a bowl and toss. Add chopped chicken on top. Dress lightly just before serving.

DINNER: Butternut Squash Lasagne Roll-Ups

This was so good! I’ve never been much of a squash fan (other than a good ol’pumpkin pie!) so I was a bit skeptical but gave it a go anyway, and it turned out delish! This recipe is also from Bless This Mess. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of this one!

Butternut Squash Lasagna Roll-Ups

Ingredients
-3 Tbsp butter
-1/4c whole wheat flour
-2 cups whole milk
-dash nutmeg
-salt to taste
-2 cups finely pureed cooked butternut squash, well salted
-9-12 lasagna noodles, cooked
-1/3 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese
-1 cup shredded mozzarella

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375F and grease a baking dish
2.In a medium sauce pan melt the butter over medium heat.  Once the butter melts add in the flour and stir until it’s all combined. Let the butter and flour cook for about 30 seconds. Then slowly whisk in the milk. Add a dash of nutmeg and the salt to taste. Whisk over medium heat and allow just to start bubbling. Cook another 2 minutes then remove from heat.
3.To assemble the roll-ups, lay out the cooked lasagna noodles on a counter top. Spread about 2 Tbsps of the Squash puree over the top of each then sprinkle with the Parmesan Cheese. Start at one end and roll the noodle. Place the rolled noodle, seam side down, on to a greased baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.
4. Once all the noodles are in the dish, pour the sauce over top. Sprinkle the mozzarella evenly over the top then bake for 20-30 minutes until the cheese is melted and everything is hot and bubbly. Allow the dish to rest for 5 minutes before serving up.

Notes
We decided to make our sauce a cheese sauce, which we think was a brilliant idea.  Make the sauce as directed, then just add in some grated cheese and allow to melt.
Also, we didn’t have mozzarella, but cheddar cheese worked just as nicely!