Kitchen Endeavors

A lot of people make resolutions this time of year, and in all honesty, I believe they simply set themselves up for failure. I think it's a safe assumption that at any point in time where you have been doing something to an extreme (like laying on the couch and eating things like fried cheese) and then proclaim that you are going to go to the opposite extreme (like running a marathon) that you are suffering from delusions of grandeur. The simple act of flipping over a new page on the calendar is just not going to change your life. So I try not to make resolutions.

However, there are a couple of goals that I have in mind. I'd like to continue juicing, because, as established below, it gives me great "results." I'd like to continue my exercise program, and maybe even enhance it, because I can tell it's working. And my most recent endeavor is to get creative in the kitchen. It's time that I broaden my dietary horizons.

I possess a palette that is naturally attracted towards the food group known as "used to be alive, but is now dead and covered in cheese," and while this is all sorts of yummy, it's a great way to undo all of the benefits of my other personal goals. So I'm working on branching out, learning new recipes, and getting creative with healthier substitutions. This makes for exciting kitchen experiments and has significantly upped The Champ's raised eyebrow quotient. Part of my new blogging motivation is just to have a place to journal my progress with these goals.

So far, I have filed "Nutella Banana 'Ice Cream" and "homemade yogurt" in the "WTF is that?!" category. More about those later.

Today, however, I am a culinary bad ass. These are my success stories.

Avocado Ranch Chicken Salad

(Please excuse the poor photo quality of this blog. These are taken with my phone. A photographer I am not.)

1 lb. chicken breast tenders

2 stalks celery, diced

1/4 red onion (because it's prettier), diced

1 avocado, halved

1/4 c. light mayo

1/2 packet Buttermilk Ranch seasoning

a handful of Turkey Bacon Bits, optional

salt and pepper to taste

I simmered the chicken in water with chicken bouillon cubes, salt and pepper until tender, then cubed it. In a large bowl, combine the diced chicken, diced celery, diced onion, turkey bacon, and half of the avocado, cubed. In a measuring cup, I mashed the other half of the avocado until I had 1/4 c. of avocado gunk. Then I combined that with 1/4 c. light mayo. Add the ranch seasoning to the gunk and then stir it into the chicken mixture. Refrigerate and serve in a wrap or on a Wasa cracker. Yum! I am planning to try this again using even less mayo and substituting Greek yogurt, but as stated before, my yogurt endeavor didn't end well. The avocado introduces plenty of heart healthy fats, cuts down on the mayo, and works as a great binding agent for the salad.

My other success story today involved juicing! I was making my usual Old Faithful this morning (substituting kale for the spinach!) and The Champ asked me to make him something. Since he doesn't like pure vegetable juice I whipped up this little concoction with things I had on hand. It got The Champ's "I Won't Eat Vegetables" seal of approval!

4 stalks and leaves of kale

1 handful baby carrots

1 stalk celery

2 small red apples

1 pear

4 strawberries

about 1tsp lemon juice (to cut the bitterness of the kale)

Because I'm allergic to raw apples, I couldn't try it. But he was pretty adamant that it was delicious! If you try it, let me know what you think!