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

Bites of My Life

It's the down hill slope to Thanksgiving and the holidays in general for that matter. I have something on the books for every night this week (Thursday being Friendsgiving!!). The rush of the season is here. The busyness helps me stay productive, but also sends little stress waves through me. Regardless, this really is the most wonderful time of the year! *Cue the Christmas music*

-First Lite Bite post! Peppermint Mocha Protein Shake. 
-Fall breakfast quickly taken back inside since the mornings have been so chilly around here!
-Died a little inside when I heard of RX Bars new seasonal flavor Gingerbread, but after trying it, the excitement was gone. Gingerbread is a favorite flavor of mine but these lacked flavor completely.
-The StudioHop crew came to OKC on Tuesday for a Glow + Flow class at one of my favorite new studios. If you haven't checked out The Yoga Box, text me and let's go flow together. They also have a food bar inside and these little dark chocolate pomegranate bites they made are being recreated ASAP!
-New coffees and teas at work make for a caffeinated photoshoot!
-Really proud of my creativity on this. Took leftover spaghetti sauce, added some spices and cracked in two eggs for a version of shukshuka!
-Protein shake #2 of the week is this Gingerbread version. Vanilla protein, frozen cauliflower, almond milk, molasses, cinnamon, ginger and cloves!
-My kryptonite as of recently. It's like a not terrible for you cross between popcorn and Cheeto puffs. 
-My other current obsession is rice cakes. I mentioned them a couple weeks ago. Not sure what my craze is for eating something that resembles Styrofoam, but I think the fact that it's just another vessel to shovel almond butter into my mouth could be why...
-Game day, just like we were students again!
-Spent Sunday afternoon talking plants and healthy eating with my new friend Emma!
-Spicy Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup for Sunday dinner (and lunches the rest of the week). Forgot how good this recipe was...

Annie

Spicy Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

Sunday was a meal prep party for myself. My roommate Lindsay and I were shuffling back and forth, taking turns over the oven and in the stove, accidentally bumping into each other all afternoon. "Meal Prep" is such a muscle-y meat head sounding term to me and when I hear it I envision rows of tupperware lined up with boring chicken breasts and broccoli.  You know what I'm talking about...My meal prep is much different. It's really just about putting in a little time on Sunday, so I can then shovel food in my mouth the second I'm ready for lunch and dinner during the week. Cause I'm actually just lazy. 

On Whole 30 they preach meal prep. Simply trying to eat healthy is also about meal prep. Having healthy food prepared and ready at a moments notice saves you from caving on unhealthy options. This last week I prepped my Crock-Pot Curry Chicken and Cauliflower Rice for dinners and this Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup for lunches. I love soup for lunch. It's so much more fulfilling than a blah salad. The recipe is simple and comes together in under 30 minutes.

Spicy Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
yields 6 cups, about 4 servings

Ingredients:
1, 14-16 oz jar roasted red peppers, drained
1, 28 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp. oil
1/2 yellow onion chopped
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. dried basil
1 Tbsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
1 cup water

Directions:
Heat a large stock pot with a tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook until the onions are translucent and the garlic is fragrant. Drain your red peppers and roughly chop them. Add to the pot with your diced tomatoes (not drained). Add salt, pepper, basil, thyme and red pepper flakes. Stir in water. Bring to a boil then reduce to low and let simmer for 10 minutes. 

If you have an immersion blender, put it straight into the pot and begin to puree the soup. If you don't, add the soup mixture into a food processor or blender. I like to keep my soup slightly chunky, but just blend until you get the consistency you like. You may have to do this in batches, depending on the size of your food processor. Once blended, add it back into the pot and continue to cook for about 5 minutes then serve!

Preferred method of serving is eating it out of a coffee mug! The perfect vessel to hold onto while you curl up and eat this soup on your couch:)

Annie

Bites of My Life

Poor Oklahoma weathermen are wiping their tears after predicting an ice apocalypse that was supposed to hit our state over the weekend, but decided to come in the form of a light drizzle instead of an ice storm. After packing the grocery stores and gas stations in preparation, us Oklahomies were actually able to step outside our houses this weekend. Thank goodness, because after the holidays and being cooped up in the snow two weekends ago, I'm going stir crazy of just sitting on my couch.

This past week was full of lots of spiralized vegetables (duh), lots of Whole 30 bites, and some not so whole 30 approved moments...oops! Just keeping it real! On that note, Whole 30 hasn't been so fantastic this go around. I haven't felt any positive changes, and I'm a little bumski. Hoping for a good feeling week this week! Are you doing W30? How has it been going for you?

-Monday morning eggs and a never ending to do list.
-A serious "clean out the fridge" salad that got so many questions and comments on my insta story about how good it looked. Funny how nothing can really be something! 
-New favorite Whole 30 snack. Celery sticks and tahini, preferably straight from the jar. 
-My first cheat on Whole 30. I'm sorry, but it was for a good reason. Keep reading to see why.
-Despite my cheating by drinking alcohol it was paired with a W30 approved snack of plantain chips and salsa.
-The booze and snacks all came while recording my second appearance on the local podcast, OKC Over Easy. I don't want to give away much, because you can get all the details by listening to our episode here.
-Made a riff on Barre3's Golden Milk Smoothie and it's seriously insane. My recipe is on instagram, but I think I need to perfect it into a recipe post. Do you agree?
-Last week's spiralized culprit, the sweet potato. 
-My Turmeric Chicken Zoodle Soup made it's way to the blog!
-Load the bowl, for a loaded bowl lunch.
-Who else's favorite part for going out for Japanese is the carrot ginger dressing on the house salads? I love it so much I recreated it in a recipe post a while back. 
-Sunday morning consisted of shooting these gorg brunch items. Coming soon here; one of the restaurants from our collective at The Social Order.

Annie

Easy Butternut Squash Soup

I'd say I'm a soup person, but I've kind of taken it to the next level recently. Soup for dinner, soup for lunch, soup out to eat, making soup, buying soup, pinning soup recipes, give me ALL THE SOUP! Sausage Tortellini soup-duh, I just tried Trader Joe's veggie chili-highly recommend, and today I give you this butternut squash soup. 

I've made butternut squash soup before and I highly recommend the recipe. I called it velvet soup in my post, because it was just that. But this new recipe is the easiest darn thing to make and has about 4 main ingredients in it. It's also Whole30, vegan and dairy free for those who take note of those things. 

The most important part of the recipe in my opinion is the fresh rosemary. There are so few ingredients, I urge you to spring for the fresh rosemary. I roast the squash with it and garnish the finish product too. It give it serous flavor. Keep reading to get the recipe for this gem of a soup.

Pour yourself a bowl and top it with a hefty sprinkle of savory granola. The best accoutrement!! 

Butternut Squash Soup
yields about 4 cups, adapted from Emily Eats Real Food

Ingredients:
1 large butternut squash
2-2½ cups unsweetened almond milk
*½ cup coconut cream (the thick stuff from the top of the coconut milk can-do not shake!)
fresh rosemary, chopped
salt & pepper
olive oil
Savory Granola, optional

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 450ºF. *Refrigerate your coconut cream while your prep the squash. Peel your butternut squash and slice in half. Place on a roasting sheet. Generously drizzle with olive oil, season with lots of salt, pepper and chopped rosemary. Roast for 1 hour. 

Let the squash cool until you can handle it. Scoop out the seeds if you haven't already then cube into big chunks. Carefully add the cooked squash, almond milk and coconut cream to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. 

Into a large soup pot add the blended mixture and heat over medium heat. If you have an immersion blender you can skip the previous step and add the squash and creams straight to the pot and blend over the heat. Salt and pepper to taste, don't be shy!

Serve with chopped rosemary, a drizzle of olive oil and a garnish of savory granola!

*Grocery stores sell "coconut cream," DON'T buy that. Buy regular coconut milk. Do not shake the can of coconut milk. Open with a can opener and scoop out the thick cream from the top. Discard the rest. 

Annie