Tag: cooking

“One Step” Slow Cooker Chicken

AAx919j - Imgur.gif

Ok, so really it’s TWO steps.  Three if you count buying the chicken, and four if you count turning the knob on your slow cooker. Reasons why this recipe is awesome:

  • Simplicity/Affordability
    • Ridiculously simple;
    • Only takes TWO ingredients;
    • Perfect for people who can’t afford salt.
  • Deliciousness. Juiciness factor = high; A++
  • Appeal to Sadism. You get to bathe a chicken breast in its own broth.  And then you get to eat it.

BUT! Take heed: This dish is NOT pretty. In fact, it looks gross. Save something else for date night.

You’ll need:

  • A Slow Cooker
  • Chicken Breast (as a typical white person, I prefer Organic)
  • Chicken Broth (as a typical white person, I prefer Swanson)

Procedure:

1. Apply raw chicken breast to slow cooker. To avoid contracting Salmonella, ask an elderly neighbor to handle the chicken for you.

2. Apply broth to chicken. One cup broth per chicken breast = good, but you can probably get away with a little less.

3. Turn knob. Try not to hurt your wrist.

  • For juicy results: 7 to 8 hours on LOW is ideal.
    • 3.5 to 4 hours on HIGH works too.
  • Time Adjustments: Cook time assumes you’re cooking three lightly frozen chicken breasts in three cups of broth. Adjust up or down based on:
    • how many breasts you’re handling; AND
    • the frostiness of said breasts

Dinner is Served!

This chicken is PERFECT for shredding (imagine – salads/tacos) but also quite yummy whole. There’s no need to season or salt it, but if that is your most urgent desire, I’m not going to jump through your computer screen and stop you.

If you’re interested in experiencing heaven on earth, try it with a side of aromatic jasmine rice and greek yogurt.  It’s yummy, healthy, and (presumably) John Stamos approved.

john-stamos-yogurt.jpg

So good for you. 

Added bonus – your kitchen will smell awesome for hours.

Happy Slow Cooking 🙂

unspecified-7

If you love Fat Girls Fitness, subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter.
(We won’t spam you)

And/or keep in touch with Fat Girls Fitness on Facebook 🙂

Advertisement

Kimchi pancakes

IMG_20160203_183253

Being that I am Russian, I suppose loving anything pickled is in my blood. I also hate throwing away unused food… Which got me thinking, what can I do with a jar of almost expired kimchi other than serving it on the side of something?

My husband and I got a Groupon for a local Korean BBQ joint that served these delicious seafood pancakes, scallion pancakes, veggie pancakes and shrimp pancakes…so why not kimchi?

Guys, listen, if you’re not a fan of kimchi, you’re about to become one. Hubby said it tastes like veggie tempura except with a little kick to it.

Did you know that kimchi has health benefits? Basically what I am saying is pancakes = healthy. YOLO!

Kimchi is low cal, low carb, low sugar, low fat and high fiber. It has probiotic benefits similar to yogurt and other dairy products. It’s good for controlling appetite, controlling blood sugar levels, and cholesterol levels. The fiber in kimchi helps keep you fuller longer.

Here is a fun chart of Kimchi Benefits:

kimchiinfo.jpg

*Visit organicfacts.net for more info*

So, these pancakes were a last minute idea which is so not me… I am a meal planner. Charts and graphs and scribble everywhere! Imagine, “A Beautiful Mind”. I wonder what Russell Crowe’s thoughts are on playing a neurotic, food obsessed Jewish girl. Math and food, same thing, right? Anyway, I digress… sorry sorry sorry!

Kimchi pancakes:

Yields 4 medium size pancakes

Ingredients:

¼ cup kimchi drained and cut into itty bitty pieces

1 egg and 4 tablespoons egg whites

2-3 tablespoons kimchi juice (add more or less depending on spice preference)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

¼ cup chopped scallions

½ cup all purpose flour

2 tablespoons evoo

*Served with Thai Kitchen’s sweet red chili dipping sauce

Directions:

Heat pan with olive oil

Mix all ingredients together till it turns into a pancake-y batter

Drop ¼ cup of mixture onto frying pan and spread as thin as possible

Cook on each side for approx. 2 min or until golden brown

If this were planned, I would have made cauliflower fried rice and a sunny side up egg… alas, I did not have the necessary ingredients.

*You can make homemade sauce or use any store bought sauces. I imagine this would taste good with peanut or gyozo dipping sauce.

unspecified-8111111.png

 

How to get 8 Times More Beta-Carotene from Your Carrots

unnamed.jpg
cool as a carrot

I love carrots. So obviously I hulked out with rage and excitement when I learned these easy tricks to maximize their nutritional content. This comes from one of my favorite books, “Eating on the Wild Side,” by Jo Robinson.

If you follow these steps, you can increase the nutritional value of your carrots by up to 800%. So do it!

  1. Choose mature carrots over baby carrots.

Baby carrots are not the same as human babies. They come from ugly looking mature carrots, with the outer parts cut off and thrown away. Come to think of it, they are kind of like human babies after all.

But here is why you have a problem. Like many fruits and veggies, the greatest concentration of anti-oxidants and nutrients in carrots can be found in the skin, as well as in the tissues immediately below the skin.

From an evolutionary standpoint, this makes sense. Anti-oxidants are needed in the outermost layers of the plant, so that it can best protect itself from pests and disease. And also from the growing influence of America’s far right.

Opt for regular mature carrots, and you will have access to the healthiest parts of the carrot.

2. Eat fresh rather than frozen carrots.

Unlike some other veggies, carrots lose much of their nutritional value when frozen or thawed. Opt for fresh carrots over frozen.

3. Steam or sauté your carrots rather than boiling them.

When you boil your carrot, some of the water soluble nutrients end up in the cooking water. Avoid this by steaming or sautéing your carrots.

You can also avoid some of this nutritional loss by cooking your carrots whole, and cutting them afterward.

4. Eat your carrots with fat.

A little bit of fat will help you absorb the most beta-carotene from your carrot. That’s because beta-carotene is fat soluble.

This makes me happy, because fat tastes like heaven.  Carrot flavored ice cream anyone?

Happy munching 🙂

unnamed.jpg

unspecified-7.png

If you love Fat Girls Fitness, subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter.
(We won’t spam you)

We’d love to hear about your progress.
Keep in touch with Fat Girls Fitness on Facebook 🙂

Caribbean Jerk Shrimp and Sweet Potato Avocado Mash

Shrimp.jpg
No offense to Paula Deen or my Russian ancestors, but we do not need to use butter in everything! “What do you mash with your potatoes to make them moist and flavorful?”
::insert heavy Russian accent::

 

Say hello to my little friend, Avocado.

20160123_092847.jpg

I promise I will get to the recipe in a second but first lets see the difference between avocado and buttah:
AvB.jpg

 

Ingredients for one serving:

  • 1 sweet potato
  • 1/2 avocado
  • Salt and pepper
  • Cayenne pepper optional
  • 1/2 onion chopped
  • 1 tbs minced garlic
  • 1 tbs evoo or coconut oil
  • Walkerswood Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
  • Lemon juice for the avocado and shrimp
  • 3 oz shrimp (I used Target’s Market Pantry small shrimp): 60 cal/13g protein

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 350 F
  • Pierce holes around sweet potato and bake for 45-1 hour or until soft or microwave for approx 10 min turning sides once
  • Soak shrimp in cold water for about 15 min
  • Once shrimp have defrosted place in ziploc bag and mix with jerk seasoning. Cook on pan for about 3-5 minutes or until translucent
  • Chop onion and garlic, saute for approx 3 to 4 minutes until translucent
  • Drizzle half avocado with lemon juice, salt and pepper
  • Mash baked potato and avocado together and mix in onions and garlic
  • Serve with cooked shrimped and lemon wedge

unspecified-811.png

Take a pizza my heart

Let me preface this by saying dinner was so easy to make and Hubby approved ::two thumbs up::

I introduce to you my cheat clean dinner for the week…drum roll please!!!!

*Tortilla pizza*

PhotoGrid_1453429892375

Be still our hearts… friends, our pizza days are not over…just modified.

As you get to know me, you’ll see I focus on high protein-low carb meals. Carbs have always been a big problem for me. Unfortunately they don’t go straight to my ass, more like my stomach and thighs 😦 Ok, less about me and more about this pizza.

One Mission tortilla= 6 carbs Trader Giotto’s Rustica sauce = 4 carbs per 1/2 cup (trust me, you won’t need to use that much for one slice) and zero carbs for cheese and Hormel turkey pepperoni. Max carbs for this meal is 10 grams.

Here’s what you got to do:

Preheat oven to 350 F

Spray your baking sheet with cooking spray

Lay your heavenly wrap on the sheet

Spread sauce, cheese, and pepperoni on top (remember, you can substitute with any topping or no topping at all…ain’t nothing wrong with the ol’ reliable cheese and sauce)

Pop it in the oven to desired crispiness. Personally, the crispier the better. I love the crunch! – This was about 10 min.

Serve with a side salad and I’d say you got yourself a gourmet Italian dinner 😉

unspecified-8.png