Big Bites of My Life

Heyyyyy. It's been a minute since we took a bite, so not only are we double dipping we are triple dipping for a big bite to recap the past ocuple of weeks!

-Meal prepped this stuffed acorn squash for lunches and dinners and really really liked it. The caramelized onions made it! 
-The Bon Appetit's subscriber bonus issue deserves to be framed.
-I strive to turn Elle into my mini me on a daily basis. Safe to say that it's working. #chachamatcha
-My friend Maddie and I had an idea for a Christmas cookie decorating party and it was more fun and cute than we could of thought. Easily becoming a tradition! 
-Love what I do, but love who I work with even more!
-Santa slid down the chimney at The Jones!
-Brunch at home with mom and dad! 
-Christmas bites and sips Pre-Christmas Eve service. 
-Tucker traditional Christmas morning breakfast of stuffed sausage crescents.

-It's not Christmas without dad and I straining our backs hunched over a 1,000 piece puzzle. 
-I love my family of foodies and good eaters. Makes holidays that much more delicious!
-Two days after Christmas my parents and I left for Tennessee for my cousin's wedding. It was nice to get out of OKC for a couple days, and to visit some places I've been coveting. Like Pinewood Social. Great coffee, horrible waitress unfortunately. Which ruins it sometimes.
-Showed up to our hotel in Nashville to see a Caviar & Bananas next to our hotel. I fell in love with this specialty market when we went to Charleston. The turmeric milk overnight oats must be recreated! 
-LOL. 
-If only you could grasp how big the cookies were at C&B. I'm talking bigger than my face. 
-New Year's Eve at The Jones Assembly was just how I wanted to end such an amazing year!
-The night was worth the mess. 
-Black eyed peas for luck! Happy 2018!

-Protein shakes are back starting with this Mint Chocolate Chip Protein Shake overflowing with goodness, literally and figuratively.  
-Cherry Vanilla Protein Shake shared in a lite bite recipe posted here. 
-Couldn't drink this anti-inflammatory smoothie fast enough. Recipe by my friend @veggiebellie. 
-Prettiest and tastiest Thai Chicken and Broccoli Curry, also last week's recipe post!
-Lot's of protein shakes and detox smoothies balanced by devouring a good portion of the most addicting popcorn ever. 
-Had to do a double take passing this pink beetle! NEED. 
-Birthday salads and huge catch up session with my Lex!
-The birthday diva herself who is too great not to celebrate!
-Elle Frances looking cute as always. 

Annie

Lite Bite: Cherry Vanilla Protein Shake

Cherry Vanilla Protein Shake
serves 1

Ingredients:
2 scoops Arbonne Vanilla Protein Powder
1 tsp. Arbonne Fiber Boost
1/2 cup frozen cherries
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
shake of cinnamon
1/2-1 cup almond milk
handful of ice

Directions:
Blend items together. Serve with an extra frozen cherry. #cherryontop! 

Thai Chicken and Broccoli Curry (Whole 30)

Let's take a walk down memory lane. My food photography is nowhere where I want it to be, but compared to this Thai Curry recipe from 2014, I'd say I've come along way. Now let's just keep that hidden in the archives and focus on this updated Thai Curry recipe. 

One of my roommates, Lindsay and I first made this curry during early fall and we were obsessed. Anything Tieghan from Half Baked Harvest makes is sure to be perfect. Thanks for the inspo HBH!!

I couldn't decide how I wanted to prepare this dish so I took to y'alls opinion. I polled you all on my Instagram story the other night to see if you were still geeking out over crock-pots or if they are old news. Results were 84% "YAS CROCK-POTS," 16% "Crock-Pots are so 2017." Well...I used my trump card and decided we were going old school and using a good old regular stovetop pot for this recipe. From start to finish this recipe takes makes 45 minutes. You can do it people, step away from the Crock-Pot. 

BONUS, this recipe is Whole 30 compliant for all you January Whole 30ers. I mentioned on my Instagram the other day that I am not participating in Whole 30 this month. Whole 30, like Crock-Pots, is also “so 2017,” in my opinion. But, I do love cooking Whole 30 style dishes and plan on posting some to give you all inspiration. 

Thai Chicken and Broccoli Curry (Whole 30)
yields 4-5 servings, adapted from Half Baked Harvest

Ingredients:
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, shredded
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1/4 cup Thai red curry paste
2 Tbsps. fish sauce
2, 14 ounce cans full fat coconut milk
1 bunch broccoli, chopped into small florets
1/4 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
packaged cauliflower rice for serving
chopped cashews, pomegranate arils, basil and lime wedges for serving

Directions:
In a heavy bottomed pan or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Place chicken in pan and cook on both sides until cooked through. Remove from pan. Add chopped onion, minced garlic and chopped ginger to pan with the remaining oil and browned bits from the chicken. Sauté until onions are translucent. Stir in curry paste, coconut milk and fish sauce. Turn heat up to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Shred chicken using two forks. Add shredded chicken and broccoli florets to curry. Simmer for 20 minutes until broccoli is softened and curry has thickened. Stir in chopped basil right before serving.

Serve each bowl with a helping of cauliflower rice*, a lime wedge, chopped cashews, pomegranate arils and a sprig of fresh basil.

*I let the heat of the curry soften the cauliflower rice. If you prefer to soften it before, just place in a microwave safe bowl with a splash of water, and steam in the microwave for 30 seconds to a 1 minute. 

P.S. I firmly believe the prettier your food is the better it tastes! All those toppings aren’t just for the gram. They help, but they also enhance the dish as a whole! So, invest in the pomegranate, cashew and lime toppings. #worthit

Disclosure: If you are in a loving relationship with your crock-pot, follow Tieghan's cooking method to prepare this dish.

  Annie