Chicken Molé (GiryaGirl)

When I am not prepping for a competition, which has now been 7 months, the longest period of “off season” time in years, I will stick to a clean and healthy diet 90% of the time. I will also allow myself treats like going out to eat cheeseburgers and fries (probably my favorites), some wine, some chocolate and lots of nut butters. 

I’m not a junk food junkie and never have been, so I don’t miss pizza (in fact there are very few commercial pizza’s I even like), I make my own excellent thin pizza (now David is going to want some, he can live off it), nor do I miss chips and cookies. I think a big part of it is that I do think about what goes in my body and I see what it does, I react very quickly to foods. I work hard to look good so when I see the negative effects, It really makes an impression on me.

I am a firm believer in whole foods, although I completely understand the benefits of a whey shake and simple carbs after training and take advantage of the anabolic effects. 

Diet foods, fat free foods and packaged foods modified to be lighter and less caloric are not often on my table. Cheese; yes, as it’s made with part skim milk, but that’s really it.  I will eat some fabulous foods in the off season but I still adhere to my schedule of several small meals, always a protein source (I eat fattier off season), always ample vegetables and only some starches in a couple of those meals.

I find that so many people lack imagination and think that they must stick to the tried and true, boring and bland diets. Like: Mexican is so fattening. Well, if you eat the flour tortillas, the re fried beans and all the cheese and loads of guacamole yes, it is. But you can make grilled vegetables and beef, chicken or fish and combine it with two 100% corn tortillas and have a very, very healthy and balanced meal. Top it with all the fresh salsa you want and a small amount of avocado and it's great.

So…..recently I was reading GiryaGirl.com, a site I enjoy quite a bit. Adrienne posted a healthy chicken Molé recipe made in the slow cooker. You know I love chocolate, and I love spices so, Molé has always been on my list of favorites. This had "Kristy" written all over it.

I decided to make the entire batch, 4 pounds of chicken because I would eat it for lunch, and freeze a bit for later. I used a whole chicken (light and dark) but would typically use only breast meat if really watching calories. 

I changed the method of preparation only because I have a VitaMix and it is made to process large amounts of whole foods, so I dumped all the Mole ingredients (everything but the chicken) right into that, pulsed it till smooth and ever so slightly chunky and voila, Molé sauce!  (I cannot express how much I love my VitaMix).

You can find the recipe on Adrienne’s site GiryaGirl.com and I have also included a link to a word document at the bottom of this post so that you can easily print it out if you like.

The plate at the top is my dinner. It is two pieces of chicken slathered in rich, spicy sauce  along with broccoli and avocado. Below is David's, he has no broccoli but a Mexican Curtido (pickled cabbage) that he made; along with some brown rice. I totally forgot to add chopped cilantro to it and it bummed me out because I love cilantro! Don't skip it!!

First step was roughly chopping the ingredients, so I put it all into the Vitamix and then pulsed and pureed it to a nice consistency (this is before pureeing). 

Then I got out my behemoth of a slow cooker. I really need to come up with a name for this thing, it's huge! 

The whole, cut up chicken went in, bones but NO SKIN! 

I poured in the sauce. I chose to keep it slightly chunky, it's all personal preference,  so blend it  more if you want it silky and smooth.

Mixed it well with the chicken to ensure the sauce thoroughly coats all the chicken.

I set it on low and let it cook for 7 hours. It looks stunning doesn't it? The guys were sitting in the living room watching James Bond....Cooper was home for the Thanksgiving break. I called into them "Hey, come try my Molé!" 

They acquiesce because they are always being asked to try my diet foods and they are troopers. They are also quite familiar with my saying:

"If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy"

So they both walked in, very un enthusiastically and took their little bowls and forks I offered.

And they tasted.

"This is GREAT!!!" Cooper says. He asks for more. "Wow!" says David. "Good. Really, really good!"

They ask if we are having it for dinner and I explain  "no, it's for me, for my lunches".  

Cooper asks if I will make it when he comes home for the Christmas break, and David wants it before then. I end up eating it once for one dinner with David. Cooper has gone back to school with half of it and David has eaten the remainder for his lunches.

I am excited. Something healthy, delicious, SLOW COOKED, easy and did I say Molé?

Here is a link to a Word document so you can easily print it out. 

My Food

My diet changes throughout the year, when I am gearing up for a competition, I am super strict, I have to be. In fact, my diet will start on Tuesday, February 28. This is the day after my annual vacation to Mexico ends; I refuse to diet on vacation.

This is 9 ½ weeks until my competition (oh, I recall a steamy movie by that name!) I know, you are supposed to start your diet 12 weeks ahead of time but my vacation always falls here, so that’s life right? Vacation is more important than any competition where, at best I can only go home with a couple plastic trophies, and I have plenty!

So just what am I eating these days anyway? Here is an example of my food on Thursday.

4:15 a.m. Lean One shake from Nutrition 53, this has 20 grams protein, 19 grams carbs and is 220 calories. I have a bunch of supplements too.

5:00 a.m.  to 6:00 a.m. Intra workout I will have 20 grams BCAA’s. Yes I know that the package says 5 is enough, but according to Charles Poliquin (and Roy), I need 20 grams, as it is by bodyweight. I have noticed a great improvement in body composition since starting this, higher weight and less body fat.

6:15 a.m. Post training is a mixture of amino acids, glutamine, beta alanine, L-leucine and more supplements. Then coffee.

7:30 a.m. homemade waffles made with 1 cup egg whites, 1/3 cup oats and flavorings. I have 1 tablespoon peanut butter on them too….with cinnamon; I eat all the stuff I love at once. More supplements.

10:00 a.m. an orange from my CSA delivery and water.

11:30 a.m. is lunch. I have 4 ounces chicken breast, 2.5 ounces soo-foo and a mixture of radicchio and kale that I roasted with balsamic vinaigrette and mushrooms. I do not weigh or measure my vegetables. More supplements.

3:00 p.m. is afternoon lunch and I have a salad of 4 ounces chicken breast, sugar snap peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, endive, broccoli slaw and a ¼ of an avocado. I have a bottled dressing here that is great and super low cal- Lean on Me Naturally .


I used to buy this at Cosentino's but they closed and now I cannot find it. If anyone in my area knows where to get this, please tell me! My favorites are the Caesar and the Citrus Sesame.

6:00 I am so ready for dinner, I am starving. I am having soup, today I made tilapia soup with my favorite Thai Peanut Soup mix. I added 5 ounces tilapia that I cut into chunks and seared,  then a huge handful of chopped and par boiled kale (Kale is one of the best vegetables you can eat), and mushrooms. I topped it with Sriacha Sauce and some Greek yogurt. Umm... more supplements.

The fish is chunked then quickly seared in a bit of olive or coconut oil.

The Thai soup mix I love from Montebello Kitchens, I get this at Whole Foods. I use 1.3 ounces of the powder mixed with 2 cups water, whisk then add any ingredients I like. 

Here is the finished soup, looks great doesn't it? 

Soul Food

Today when I came home there was an envelope on the counter from the British Embassy. I knew what it was but I didn't open it, it was for my 17 year old son, Cooper.

It was his official certificate of his British Citizenship! We applied last year, it is quite a lengthy process. Now we just need to go through the entire process again to get a passport!


We spend a lot of time with our son, and I believe that is why he has grown to be a successful, caring young man.  He has great friends too who also seem to enjoy spending time here with us!


Today, his friend Adam came busting through the door with a prize in his hand. He presented it with a flourish: a package of Iberico ham from Spain.

He also had some Manchego cheese and chorizo. He and his Spanish father had visited the Spanish table in Berkeley the day before and he wanted to share this with us!

David and Cooper had LOOKED at the ham last time they were there, but it seemed way too expensive, and now here was Adam bringing it to share with us!

Here are three friends in our kitchen celebrating and having a great time. Adam, Cooper and Timothy. They have olive oil, bread, ham, cheese, and sausage.

For dinner we all had "soul food", a farm raised, organic chicken from Soul Food Farms which I had purchased from the farmers market.

I  brine it overnight in sugar, salt, water, peppercorns, clove, allspice, thyme and red pepper flakes. 

It is a Chez Panisse recipe and I always make my chicken this way. We then put it on the rotisserie and it will slowly spin over grape wood fire (from the yard out front) for almost 2 hours until the meat is falling off the bone

We had it with roasted new potatoes from our CSA delivery, artichokes and homemade aioli (garlic mayonnaise). 


For dessert Adam and Cooper had a new treat that Adam just introduced Cooper to. It is a whole milk artisinal yogurt called Saint Benoit. I don't normally eat yogurt and if I do I stick to low fat, but this stuff is alike candy. 

It comes in plain, strawberry, meyer lemon and honey. I bought several today at Whole Foods, it comes in these great crocks, which have a deposit of $1.50 on them, or you can use them as cups!

The boys all say the honey is the best.

I think that we are lucky to have 16 and 17 year olds who want to hang around with us, who appreciate fine foods and the joy of sharing them at the table.

The dinner can be tailored to a "dieter". I had only one tablespoon of aioli (120 calories), chicken breast, artichoke and half a new potato. Washed down with copious amounts of water, it was wonderful sitting outside and talking with the men. 

We have yet another 7 foot table outside, so that's where we are in the summer. They all had lots of chicken, bread dipped in the aioli and talked about all the ham they will eat as they travel through Spain together next summer, on their European Union passports...

It is important to spend quality time to teach young people to appreciate the importance of good, natural whole foods and travel. These guys all appreciate the homemade mayonnaise I made them, they know they cannot get it at the store and they know I made it just for them, not myself.


Just because I shouldn't be eating it all doesn't mean they have to diet too. Be adventuresome with your foods, invite the kids to try new things, open up a world of wonder for them.

Kristy's Greek Salad

If I had a "like" button for food I would be hitting it now over and over again. One of the best things about warm weather is tomatoes. I have a garden full every year,  but they won't be ripe for months. Right now I get them at the farmers market.

For dinner we had a Greek salad (and some meat). There was some left over and I told David not to toss it, it was perfect for my lunch!

The tomatoes had exuded lots of juice, the cucumbers were still crunchy, the feta fine. For lunch I took the left over salad and made it bigger! I added more tomato and cucumber, fresh chives, 2 ounces of lentils and 5 ounces of cubed up cooked chicken breast. I decided to leave out the olives this time.

I splashed a small amount of red wine vinegar on top (we make our own), several grindings of black pepper and settled in with a huge glass of ice cold water.

Now I am just waiting for the hot sun and the chance to  sit at my huge table in the backyard and do this all over again. I can make it with chicken, shrimp, beef, any lean meat.

I call it my International Greek Salad!

Travelling

When faced with the thought of travelling, many people start to get a little freaked out because they think they are just going to ruin their diet.

Now, of course, it all depends on what stage of your diet you are on. Are you just eating clean to maintain your health or are you actually in a preparation stage for a competition? The former would not be such a big deal, the latter could, it all depends on how you set yourself up!

I spent the weekend at my father's house along with my brother and one sister. As I have mentioned, my dad has cancer so he (in our opinion) could use a little extra care right now, although at times he is fighting us!

My brother is visiting from Barcelona and staying with him for a month, I think he may just be driving him crazy too.

I knew that many good foods would be prepared, and I had to make sure I would stick to my diet. I wrote down how many of each meal I needed while I was gone, measured out each portion and made big zip lock bags full of my food, portioned into littler bags.

One bag, had several 4 ounce bags of cooked, cubed chicken breast. One had several bags of cooked rice, beans and potatoes, and another had bags of different cooked vegetables.

I bought along a carton of egg whites, low sugar ketchup, hot sauce and plenty of spring water.

I also had my pre-made oat/egg white waffles and my supplements and whey protein.

It is important to bring more than you need, you never know what you might feel like eating and it is safer to have a bit extra than to risk eating garbage right now.

You may wonder on occasion where I get my sense of humor? Could be my dad. Here he is after we all drove him nuts for several hours fussing.

I guess the medication they gave him was no match for his nagging children! I think this shows that I also inherited some of my positive outlook from him, I mean, he is joking and laughing! It's not going to help to cry, might as well have fun.

I was fine with my food, when I walked in my brother had a wonderful smelling curry on the stove, so I had to make some myself.

I asked what spices he used and put my vegetables into a pot, added those spices, cooked it until aromatic then added some chicken stock and rice, then chicken. I had a pretty good curry along with them.

I avoided the biscuits with butter, chocolate chip cookies, Swedish fish, special brownies, and all the rest of the goodies.

I know where the closest gym is, I have been there before and it isn't convenient, but that didn't stop me. It is a 13.46 mile drive each way and a $10.00 fee.

I slept on the love seat and then tried the floor. Neither was quite like my bed, but no matter, I had a good time. Kept my phone nearby and as soon as it was time, got up, drank my protein and off to the gym I went each morning.

By the time I got home (3 hours later), everyone was up, had eaten and cleaned up and we could spend time together.

Diet? No problem!

Buffalo Chicken Salad

I LOVE buffalo chicken wings! I rarely eat them though, I understand that there really isn't much worse than that for a lean, healthy body (unless you eat a meal at the Cheesecake Factory)

What exactly do I like so much about it? The chicken and the hot sauce and blue cheese. So the other day I read this recipe from Jenny Grothe of Recipes for Gals in Figure and Bodybuilding (but anyone can use her recipes). I follow her on facebook, she always has interesting sounding recipes, some are winners, some are not.

She recently posted the following recipe for Buffalo Chicken Salad. I will give you her recipe, then explain how  I altered it for my delicious lunch!

Easy Hot Buffalo Chicken Salad

by Recipes for Gals in Figure and Bodybuilding

 Makes 1 salad

 Ingredients:

• 3 tbs VOSKOS nonfat Greek Yogurt
• 1 tbs Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce
• 10 sprays Ranch Salad Spritzer or 1/2 tsp ranch dip mix
• 3 oz cooked and sliced chicken breast
• 3/4 cup diced celery
• 1/4 cup sliced baby carrots
• 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced romaine

Directions:

Combine spray, wing sauce, and Greek yogurt. Add in remaining ingredients and toss. Serve!

Nutrition:

• Calories 181
• Calories from Fat 20.6
• Total Fat 2.29g
• Cholesterol 55.95mg
• Sodium 635.1mg
• Total Carbohydrate 14.73g
• Dietary Fiber 3.76g
• Sugars 8.49g
• Protein 27.29g

So, what did I change? I had no carrots so I used more celery. I don't care for ranch, I like blue cheese, so I used 1 Tbsp of Marie's Lite Chunky Blue Cheese. It added some calories, but this meal is so low, I can afford it.

1 Tbsp of the dressing has the following:
35 calories
3.5 grams fat
145 mg sodium
.5 gram carbs
.5 gram protein

I also doubled the Franks Hot Sauce...I like it hot!

For a meal with additional carbs add 1/2 cup kidney beans, they will be great!

Turkey Oatmeal Muffins

My version of "prison loaf"  Actually, it's not mine at all, but a recipe from Jamie Eason and she calls this "Turkey Oatmeal muffins".

You are wondering what on earth would even make me want to create this dish?

My sister and I were driving down to visit my father this past weekend and I knew I would need some quick and easy meals. I needed something I could eat in between the "normal" meals, something that would provide all my nutritional needs, was fast and no mess.

Enter the muffins.

They are basically turkey meatballs with all of the complex carbs right in them, so you don't have pasta, you can eat them plain, on salad, or as I did, heated with mustard.

Here is the recipe and nutritional breakdown:

Chicken or Turkey Meatloaf Muffins

1/2 tsp. ground cumin1/2 tsp. dried thyme, crushed

2 tsp. dry yellow mustard

2 tsp. black pepper

2 tsp. McCormick’s Chipotle Pepper Spice (spicy, but key to the recipe)

1 tsp. salt1 cup quick cooking oats

2 cloves garlic, minced (or 2 tbsp of garlic powder)

1 small onion, finely chopped (I get the pre chopped version or even the frozen - thawed)

2 stalks celery, finely chopped (bell peppers will work too)

3 egg whites

1 1/2 - 2 lbs. ground extra lean chicken or turkey breast (I use 3 packages)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

In a large bowl, add cumin, thyme, yellow mustard, black pepper, McCormick’s Chipotle Pepper Spice, salt, oats, garlic, onions and celery. Mix until well combined.  Next add the ground chicken and egg whites and mix with your hands until evenly distributed.  Make racquetball size portions and place in muffin tins, sprayed with non-stick spray.  Bake for 40 minutes. 

Yields about18 muffins

Nutrition: 1 muffin

78 calories

2 g fat

4 g carbs

11 g protein

Servings are usually 2 for women and 4 for men.

Raw ingredients above, just before I mixed them up. Doesn't look too bad does it?

Would I make these again? Actually yes I would. Were they great and tasty? Not really. They were a great item to take while visiting someone though, it was a quick warm in the microwave, I didn't go hungry and warm food always satisfies me more than cold.

I think it can easily be changed to be a bit more tasty, changing spices, adding some vegetables. How does this compare to prison loaf? Not sure, but it keeps me in line!