Mock Butter Chicken

This doesn't taste just like butter chicken -- part of the problem is there's no butter in it -- but it is a very tasty look-alike that is quick and easy to make. I adapted this recipe from Susan's post "Crockpot Indian Butter Chicken" on Simple Healthy Kitchen. I actually made the recipe with half the chicken! (I like the extra sauce on rice; but you can use up to 3 lbs chicken according to the original recipe.) I also added sugar, a specific amount of salt -- rather than just "to taste" and decreased the cayenne. (It still has a little kick.)


Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast (cut into 2" pieces)
1 onion (diced)
3 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 tsp curry
2 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp ground ginger (or 1" fresh ginger, minced)
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
14 oz can light coconut milk
6 oz can tomato paste
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)



Directions

1. Heat olive oil in large pan over medium heat.
2. Add onions and a pinch of salt, and saute until translucent (about 5 min.)
3. Add garlic, spices, and liquid smoke and cook about 1 minute until fragrant.
4. Stir in coconut milk and tomato paste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 5 min.
5. Stir in chicken pieces. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low and cook until chicken is done (approx. 20 min), stirring occasionally.
6. Stir in sugar and salt. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Post-Workout Red Lentil Smoothie

When my favorite post-workout powder was discontinued I decided to come up with my own, made from whole foods, and pureed to keep it easy to drink and digest quickly.

While lentils do provide a fair amount of BCAAs (Branched Chain Amino Acids) which are supposed to be great for muscle recovery -- it was still only about half of what I was getting from my powder -- so I do eat a hard-boiled egg after my smoothie to compensate for the rest. Another thing that was missing from my Red Lentil smoothie was Vitamin C, so I have a piece of citrus fruit either before or after my smoothie as well.

This is still a great way to get post-workout protein and carbs quickly, and without all the sugar or sugar-substitutes!

Ingredients:
1 tbsp EVOO
3 medium carrots, roughly chopped
2 large rips celery, roughly chopped
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup red lentils
4 cups water

Instructions:

1. In a 3 qt. saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add carrot, celery, onion and 1/4 tsp salt. Stir to combine, then cover and let vegetables sweat until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes
3. Add the lentils and water. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to low and let simmer, covered, about 20 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and puree in blender, or in saucepan with immersion blender.
5. Pour into 4 Ball jars -- each jar just to the top of the "B"
6. To serve, add about 1/2 in. water and heat the jar in the microwave -- you can drink it right out of the jar!

Lentil Loaf with Brown Gravy

This recipe is adjusted from Christina Pirello's book "Cooking the Whole Foods Way." Christina recommends picking your favorite sauce from the back of the book, and I thought the Brown Sauce was the way to go -- I was not disappointed.

Here is my version of both the lentil loaf and gravy. Christina thickens the gravy with whole wheat pastry flour while I prefer corn starch. I also omitted the wakame from the lentil loaf. (I liked the broccoli as a side, and enjoyed dipping that in the extra gravy!)

Ingredients:
1 cup red lentils, rinsed
2 cups water
2 tsp EVOO
1 small onion, minced
1 carrot, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
Pinch of dried basil
Splash of soy sauce
1 cup rolled oats
1 tsp umeboshi vinegar
1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Instructions:

1. Combine lentils and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil, uncovered, 10 minutes.
2. Reduce heat, cover, and cook over low hit until liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
3. Pre-heat oven to 350 and lightly oil an 8 x 4 in. loaf pan.
4. While lentils are cooking, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook stirring, 2-3 minutes.
5. Add carrots and celery and cook stirring, 3-4 minutes.
6. Stir in basil and soy sauce and simmer 2-3 minutes.
7. Combine cooked lentils, cooked vegetables, and oats. Stir in vinegar.
8. Press mixture into oiled loaf pan.
9. Bake 20-25 minutes until loaf is firmly set.
10. Remove from oven and allow to stand for 5-10 minutes before slicing.
11. Serve with brown gravy (recipe below)

Gravy Ingredients:

1 tsp EVOO

1 onion, diced

Pinch sea salt

1 carrot, diced

1-2 cups sliced mushrooms

1 tbsp corn starch

1.5 cups vegetable stock

soy sauce to taste

Gravy Instructions:

1. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
2. Add onion and a pinch of sea salt and cook, stirring, 2-3 minutes.
3. Add carrot and mushrooms and another pinch of salt and cook until they all turn brown and caramelize, stirring frequently, 10-15 minutes
4. Dissolve corn starch in a small amount of vegetable stock and set aside
5. Pour in remaining vegetable stock and bring to a simmer
6. Stir corn starch slurry and pour into pot while stirring 
7. Add soy sauce to taste and simmer a few minutes more
8. Puree using blender or immersion blender.