A Tale of Two Chicken Thigh Recipes

I eat a lot of chicken. I ate a lot of chicken before this diet. I happen to be a dark meat gal. I do eat light meat, but it usually has to be cooked into something because white meat tends to be too darn dry for me. I've had my eye on this recipe from Cooking Light magazine for about a year now. It's called Meltingly Tender Chicken, Miso, Ginger, and Carrots. I waited to make it until I had the miso. Miso, by the way, is a paste made of fermented soy and grain. Well, as it turned out, the recipe was overly fussy. When it told me to put a zip lock baggy in a two-cup measuring cup, pour the drippings in, let it settle, cut the tip and remove the drippings sans oil, I thought, "Ok, sounds simple enough, but I ended up having less than a teaspoon of drippings. That was a wasted zip lock bag.

The chicken was fine. I liked the added miso, but no, it was not "meltingly tender." It was ok, and not worth all the fussy grating and pouring. I was not really impressed.

Tonight, I had Roasted Chicken Thighs with Mustard-Thyme Sauce.This was not an overly fussy recipe. It was really quite easy. I'm not a big fan of mustard of any kind, but I thought it really tasted fine in the sauce. However, what really made the sauce outstanding was the thyme. I've always used basil, oregano, parsley, and chives, but I hadn't fully explored thyme the way I have since I started this little adventure, and I really like it. Of course, I don't know if the dogs can say the same when they have to listen to me sing, "Thyyymmme is on my side, yes it is," whenever I chop it. Well, at least they haven't howled at me over it.

Update

I started this "diet" thing two weeks ago, and yes, I have lost some weight. I haven't weighed myself, but I'm guessing about five pounds, most of it water weight. But I found myself really hungry, eating just what was on the menu. To be honest, I wasn't eating everything on the menu. It usually called for an entree and additional fancy sides. I skipped a lot of them. I also never drink milk when it was on the menu. I don't drink milk, ever. So, I came to realize that I needed more control. I already had an account on My Fitness Pal, and I got back to it. Just putting a couple of day's meals in, I realize that I haven't been eating enough. Yes, I need to cut back, but starving will just result in my giving up. I'm determined to cook myself thin. I'm feeling a lot more comfortable. Hopefully, this will see me through. And thanks everyone for your support. I really appreciate it.

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

I haven't been feeling the best the last couple of days. I think it's the change in the weather. I'm mostly just headachy. However, despite feeling like crap, I haven't resorted to bad comfort food. I've been able to fall back on Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup. I'm sorry, but I couldn't find an online source to which I can link it. I actually like this better than my usual chicken noodle soup. It's a very simple soup: Carrots, onions, chicken, orzo, chicken stock, and lemon. That's pretty much it, and it's easy to make.

I wasn't sure what orzo was at first. It's tiny, cigar-shaped pasta. What I like about it is that it doesn't get mushy at all.

What really seems to make this recipe so good though is the lemon. It doesn't take much at all, one tablespoon for a two-serving recipe. But that little bit of lemon really brightens the soup up. It's not enough that you're puckering up from the sour of it, but it's enough to feel like spring. It reminds me of another dish I make occasionally. It's sort of a soup, but I make it quite thick. It includes rice, chicken, and asparagus, but at the end, I always add a little vinegar. I only make it in the Spring because it feels really light like spring. Ok, I know some of you are thinking I'm nuts, but both dishes are really good.

Erin Go Bragh

I didn't plan it out today, but lunch turned out to be very green. It included Herby Frittata with Vegetables and Goat Cheese and a small greens salad. This was the first time I've ever had goat cheese. It was good. It reminds me of Feta. It also reminds me of a souffle. The recipe makes 4 servings. I think I'll eat the rest for breakfast. It seems very breakfasty.

Tonight's supper, Pork Tenderloin with Blue Cheese and Pears, included another dairy first for me, blue cheese. I've never really had reason to try goat cheese, so it was no big deal, but blue cheese...I've made a point of avoiding it. I didn't avoid it tonight because when you're doing a diet like this, you've got to go balls to the walls. And although I would never sit down and eat blue cheese (I wouldn't do that with any cheese. I'm not that much of a fan) this wasn't so bad. Of course, I crumbled it very small, and because there was so much balsamic vinegar in it, which I do like, I didn't get a big old bite of the cheese. I am fine with that. Overall, this is a good dish. The pork was great, I liked the combination of the pears, onions, and pork. I'll probably make this again.

Whoa!

Tonight's supper was Smokey Two Bean Vegetarian Chili Holy Cow! It's hot, not too hot to eat, but the smokey part is my mouth burning. Actually, the smokey part is from the chipotle chiles canned in adobo sauce. This is a key ingredient. I don't think it would be any good without it. I really enjoyed it and I'm glad the recipe made 4 servings because I am looking forward to having it again soon. I think it might have been improved with maybe the tiniest hint of sugar, but obviously that's not going to be included in my diet recipe. And as long as you've got the ingredients, this was not hard to make. I'm not a vegetarian, but this didn't need any meat.

My breakfast today was ok. Quinoa with berries (of course pureed and strained) and toasted almonds. I'm liking my French press coffee more and more. I had two cups again today. I hope I sleep.

Lunch, on the other hand, was mediocre at best. It was called a jar salad. It called for tahini, lemon juice, chick peas, canned roasted peppers, chicken, and spring mix greens. It was just flat and boring. I let it set for several hours while I was off doing things, and it said it could be refrigerated for up to 24 hours. I would think that given the time, the flavors would have melded and improved. But nope. I don't think I'll be revisiting this recipe any time soon.

2nd Day Breakfast

As I said, I won't be sharing every meal every day with you, but I had to share this. This was my breakfast this morning. It was actually pretty good; however, I expect my problem meal will be breakfast. Today the scrambled eggs were comprised of one egg and two egg whites. It was good, but it looked more than a little pale. The picture on the diet program shows very yellow eggs.

The stuff in the desert bowl is yogurt with pureed and strained berries. The menu didn't require the pureeing and straining. My diverticulitis did. It's made up of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, and it was really good, but it was a lot of extra work. However, better to have a pain in the butt than a pain in the gut. I should embroider that on a pillow! And yes, I have temporarily given up my cappuccinos and I had pressed coffee this morning. I forgot how good it is.

This afternoon, it's a Mediterranean chicken salad, and tonight leftovers. I've decided that every other night should be leftovers. Why have all that food in the fridge that will eventually go bad. It'll also make things less stressful and less expensive. So today, while I'm waiting to get dug out of the snow, I'll be poaching chicken breasts and bottling my latest batch of Kombucha. I did get on the elliptical yesterday, but really with all this cooking who needs exercise? (yes, I know. I do, and I will).

First Day

Breakfast

Breakfast was NOT a big hit. The name of the entree is "Carrot Cake Oatmeal." Doesn't that sound good? It really wasn't. I don't mind oatmeal if I can smother it in a lot of goodies, but this just wasn't very good. It called for grated carrots, no surprise, cinnamon, and maple syrup. To be honest, this was my first time to sample real maple syrup (I've led a sheltered life), but I couldn't taste the small amount called for because it also called for a lot of cinnamon. It's only a half cup of oatmeal and it called for a 1/2 a teaspoon of cinnamon. I know, next time don't include so much cinnamon, but I don't think there will be a next time for this specific dish.

On the positive side, I discovered that yes, I could make oatmeal in my little rice cooker. This is so much easier than standing there waiting for it to cook on the stove. I'll definitely be doing that again in the future.

Breakfast also called for half a grapefruit. I'm not a big fan of grapefruit and I'm really not supposed to eat it because of my blood pressure medication. I substituted a half an orange. I know it doesn't have the same calories, but I'm not going to eat the snack today.

The real hardship was my daily cappuccino. The meal called for a half a cup of milk. I don't drink plain milk, so I figured the milk I frothed for my cappuccino counted for that. But I have plenty of sugar in my morning mug. I tried to cut back on the sugar, and the first couple of sips were very disappointing, but now that I'm finishing the cup, it's not so bad. I may just have to switch back to drinking coffee made in my French press, and save cappuccinos for special occasions.

Here I am, the first meal, and I already realize that sugar is the culprit...ok, I knew that even before I began, but damn, it's a disappointment. But this whole thing isn't just about cutting back on sugar. It's about discovering new ways to eat and be satisfied without all that sugar. It's about establishing new eating habits, following what I believe to be the healthiest way to eat, and having fun cooking new meals. I can't wait to see what lunch brings, but in the meantime, it's dishwashing time!

Lunch

I'm happy to say that lunch made up for breakfast. It was "Mediterranean Salad with Salmon." It included Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber slices, feta cheese, kalamata olives, and balsamic vinaigrette, and of course salmon. I'd never broiled salmon before, so once again something new. I've never been a big salmon fan. I can only think of one time I've had it that I didn't think it was dry. Given the expense, I haven't thought it was worth it. Well, I screwed up the first effort broiling it. I obviously put it too close to the flame. It caught fire. Fortunately, I had enough salmon that I could give it another go. I re-positioned the rack and gave it another shot. I watched it very carefully this time, and when I got it out, it was exactly the right temperature, but I still found it a bit dry. Apparently, salmon just isn't my thing. However, the salad itself was marvelous. I would have liked to include a lot more kalamata olives and feta cheese though. They really made it special. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's lunch. It's much the same, but with chicken.

Supper

Tonight for supper...it's early. I've grown accustomed to going to bed really early so that I can get up ridiculously early and get papers graded. So, yes I've already had my supper and it's not even 6:00 with daylight savings time...so again, tonight for supper, I had Lemon-Honey chicken thighs with sides of asparagus sauteed with shallots and zucchini noodles. The chicken thighs were excellent. There was only the slightest hint of lemon and honey. By the way, when the recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice, there's no freaking way I'm going to squeeze a lemon for it. Bottled Real Lemon worked just fine. The menu actually called for broccoli, which I thought I had, but it turned out I had eaten the last of it. Asparagus has even fewer calories, and I had plenty of it on hand. It worked beautifully with the shallots. The disappointment of the meal was the zucchini noodles. Actually, the store didn't have zucchini when I went shopping, so I bought summer squash. I think they taste just the same, and the yellow seemed to brighten the plate up a bit. However, I don't really like zucchini noodles anyway. A year ago, I did the Whole 30 diet and had zucchini noodles a lot. No they don't satisfy my desire for pasta. They just piss me off. So, I'm going to see what vegetable I can come up with that might have a similar calorie count whenever it turns up on the menu.

I know I've already made quite a few changes and it's only the first day; however, I've really tried to keep those changes within the calorie requirements and the type of foods. In other words, I haven't used whipped cream as a substitute for lettuce. One of the things I screwed up on was the shopping. I didn't want to purchase a full week's worth in a single trip, and in sorting out the ingredients for the recipes, I missed the sides. I already know that for tomorrow, I'll have to come up with a substitute for sweet potatoes. I'd run to the store, but I'm pretty sure I'll be snowed in. It's been coming down pretty steady today, and it doesn't look as if it's going to let up. To be honest, I think this is more of an adventure than I realized, but I'm really enjoying it.

Preparations

Friday, after I got home from work, I realized I needed to clean out my fridge if I was going to buy ingredients for these meals. I do NOT like cleaning out the fridge, and it needed it badly. My first thought was that I needed a hazmat suit. However, I did survive and boy was it a mess.

I spent the day today finishing up my grading and submitting my midterm grades. It pretty much took all day. Then before I came home, I had to go grocery shopping. I knew I wouldn't be able to get the whole week's worth of groceries at one time, so I did the first three days. OH MY GOD! I spent about $130. I know this endeavor will be expensive, but I figure that as I stock up, I won't have to spend so much each time. Even though I spent that much, I still wasn't able to find white Miso or Demerara Sugar. These are two ingredients I'll need for Tuesday's meals. I think I should be able to find them by then. I'll try in Spirit Lake and Spencer first.

The one thing that's really nice about these meals, the dinner meal is portioned for two, so I'll be able to have plenty of leftovers. I won't have to cook every single meal every single day. I also think it's a good idea that I'm starting this during spring break. It'll give me time to adjust to it.

It begins tomorrow...with oatmeal. Not my favorite meal, but I'll have plenty other options as the week progresses.

A New Adventure

I think most of you know that I had another diverticulitis flare up this week. I honestly think it was the hard dried seeds in the 12-grain bread I had been eating. I blamed the carrots, but I think they simply aggravated the situation. It seems to me that I was eating the same bread when I had my first attack. Yes, apparently I also suffer from amnesia. So my regular cooking and normal meals were curtailed for a while. I've been eating really appetizing things like instant mashed potatoes and baked chicken.

I also think stress was a factor. Let's see, what can I possibly be stressed out about. My dad is in a nursing home recovering from a car accident. I have his dog along with my own dog. I have to get a ton of papers graded by midterm...Nope, nothing stressful here.

The thing is, I've been trying to make my diet a lot healthier. I love to cook and I actually like healthy food, but inevitably I either go for ease or comfort. I believe that non-processed food is the key, but it's really difficult to pull that off. I did the Whole 30 diet last year. That's where you eliminate all processed food including all dairy, flour, sugar, etc. It was too restrictive, and no one can carry on like that for an extended time. I looked at something that was called "the naked diet," which was idea, but insisted on all organic and specialty items I'm not going to find here in Podunk, Iowa. I also looked at Clean eating...I can't remember, but there was a problem with that too.

I'm definitely an omnivore. I can eat gluten (I've been tested). Seeds are a problem and excess acid is a problem. So, I just bought a diet plan from Cooking Light magazine. It's not one of those delivery meal setups. It's recipes and grocery lists. It's not all that expensive, but I'm afraid a lot of the food will be. I'll have to watch that. I'm starting this adventure, and I hope you will be following along. I won't report on every meal, but I'll give you the good, the bad, and undoubtedly, the ugly.