Showing posts with label chicken salad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chicken salad. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Day 23 on the Whole30 - DONE & Back from Austin...

So as soon as I checked into my hotel I ordered a refrigerator. It's actually a standard accommodation in most hotels nowadays. I stocked it with all my food and made sure the cooler wasn't too high so my food wouldn't freeze overnight like the last time.

I woke up at 7am and felt pretty good so I had a little frittata and few supplements and headed to CrossFit Central  to take the 7:45am class. 


1 Pull Clean & 1 Thruster, EMOM x 10, followed by a mini metcon. Afterwards, feeling good, I headed to Whole Foods to get coconut milk and an americano. I couldn't wait to get back to my room to make my coconut milk latte. Although a little tricky to figure out I finally opened the can opener with my traveling can opener.


I poured the coconut milk into the americano, turned on the frother and dipped it slowly in...NOTE: Turn the frother on after you've immersed the end into the coffee or it will spray everywhere!!! OOPSIES:-(


The frother worked OK, but my morning Pick-Me-Up was just not the same as the one I can make at home with my Nutri-Bullet:-( Either way, it was better than nothing.


After some computer work, I met my brokers at Whole Foods for a meeting and to my surprise their salad bar was labeled the way it should be labeled...the way they make us (as suppliers/vendors) label things. I voiced my concerns to them over a year ago and although nothing has changed yet in our region (Rocky Mountain) I've seen changes in the Southwest region (where global is located) which means there should be changes in other regions soon which makes me so very excited.

What changes am I talking? 

Well, many of the Whole Foods salad bars don't include the finer print. For example, the hard-boiled eggs...are they organic, free range, pastured raised, conventional? You might assume they are organic because it's Whole Foods, but I think they are probably conventional because it's not labeled. It's a marketing thing, right. Well, the question has finally been answered since they've decided to label it.


Cage-Free Organic eggs...Well, they aren't pastured raised, but who's really keeping track...Now, if they could only start using coconut oil instead of canola oil in some of their prepared foods, that would be amazing...I might not cook as much...???

After my meeting I went to my table top where I met all the SW GTL (Southwest Grocery Team Leads). These are the guys that make execution at their store happen which means better sales and team loyalty for our brand. In order to get their buy-in and create a buzz for them to bring back their store I had to give out tons of FREE SWAG (shirts, cooler gloves, stickers, buttons, free tea). 


After the show I headed to a few stores to check product then I went to the airport. And guess what? Yep, TSA wanted to confiscate my pesto sauce and chicken salad again. Well, my little white lie worked again. So if you are ever get in that situation (Christine) just tell them you have severe food allergies and you won't eat for days if they take your food away from you. 


Blogged on the plane ride back as I ate my 'almost confiscated two-time homemade chicken salad'...


Today's Stats
Water Consumption
125 ounces

Sleep 
7 1/2 hours

Daily Meals
7am : Breakfast - Frittata

9am : Coconut Milk Latte

12pm : Salmon Sashimi & Salad with Avocado, Pico de Gallo, Shredded Carrots & Squash

4pm : Snack - Homemade Jerky & Nuts

6pm : Snack - 2 Hard Boiled Eggs

8am : Dinner - Homemade Chicken Salad 

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

My Go-To Chicken Salad Recipe - This Week Featuring a Tomatillo - Jalapeño - Avocado Aioli...

I usually make some kind of poached chicken salad for the week, it's my go-to lunch/snack...

Why poached the chicken...??? 
Because it stays juicier and absorbs the flavor of the dressing/sauce better...

Why Tomatillo - Jalapeño - Avocado Aioli...
Because I had fresh tomatillos and jalapeños from my garden and in my opinion nothing goes better with those two ingredients then avocado...so I used an avocado (good source of fat) instead of oil to create this deliciously creamy aioli...You might want to double the recipe so you have it for the week!

Ingredients: Poached Chicken
- 4 Organic/Free Range Skinless Chicken Breasts (3 lbs)
- Salt & Pepper
- Curry Powder
- Chile Powder
(Note: you can use whatever spices you like, but whatever you do - SEASON THE WATER)

Instructions: Poached Chicken
1. Season the chicken breast liberally with salt, pepper, curry & chile powder. I like to season the chicken before putting it in the water and instead of putting the seasonings in the water because then I know I seasoned it enough. If I just season the water, then I tend to not season it enough.

2. Place the well-seasoned chicken in a pot.


3. Cover chicken with water, a couple inches from the rim. Don't fill it up all the way or it will boil over and you will create a mess:-(


4. Bring to a boil with lid off, cover and bring to a simmer (low heat) for about 10-15 minutes. Turn off and let sit for another 5-10 minutes.

5. Chop the chicken by cutting through the middle, stacking it on top of each other and cut lengthwise, then cut across to make cubes.

6. Place the chopped chicken back into the broth if & only if you like your chicken salad a little wet or if the chicken still needs to cook a little. Cover the pot if the chicken still needs to cook, if it's really pink put it back on the stove for a little longer.


7. Drain the chicken (I keep the chicken stock because I know I'll use it for something).

8. In a big bowl, fold in about 1 cup of aioli to the chicken. This week I also added some red bell pepper, shredded carrots, and some shredded brussels sprouts and kale (since I had those items in the fridge already).

9. My go-to wrap is CABBAGE, it's not only Whole30 certified, it also stays crunchy unlike bread and I love crunch...

In my opinion...eating is 30% texture, 50% flavor & 20% appearance...

Below is what I had for lunch...hope you guys give this a try...


Ingredients: Tomatillo - Jalapeño - Avocado Aioli
- 2 Large Eggs (Organic/Free Range)
- 5 Tomatillos (Fresh)
- 1 Lime, Juiced
- 1 Lemon, Juiced
- 1 Jalapeño (I like to seeds for heat, but deseed if you don't like it HOT)
- 1 Large Avocado
- Salt & Pepper to Taste

Instructions: Tomatillo - Jalapeño - Avocado Aioli
1. While the chicken cooks, whisk the eggs in a food processor or blender. Add the juice of 1 lime and 1 lemon. Add tomatillos and jalapeño and let the ingredients meld together. Add the avocado last and blend until mixture becomes fluffy and creamy.

2. Remember, make double or you will regret it...this is great with egg muffins, dip with veggies, spread it over fish, dip with sweet potato fries...