Grilled Chicken with Avocado and Spicy Beans

Here's another no brainer, nutritious and quick meal. I seasoned chicken breasts with this chicken seasoning I buy at our local carniceria. It's like $1 and I use it all the time. Get some. So, I seasoned the chicken and then grilled it. It came out perfect.

I placed the chicken on a bed of brown rice and peas. (I was lame and used the quick microwavable brown rice you find in the freezer section- I was pinched on time)

Then I topped it with Pace picante sauce and fresh avocado.

I served it alongside my wonderful bean creation- vegetarian beans mixed with pureed Rotel, warm it up. Jesse is ridiculous about tomatoes, so I have to puree all tomatoes for him. (He's a baby, I know.) Try this mixture, it's freaking terrific.

Done. Another "duh" dinner. It was awesome. I think Jesse licked his plate. I should seriously have a tv show.

'Tis the Season for Summer Salads!

We got a new grill last weekend and I have grilled every night for dinner since then. I think fresh vegetables pair perfectly with something hot off the grill. Today I threw together this simple salad that tastes better the longer it sits.

1 English cucumber, quartered and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 cup sundried tomatoes
1/2 jar black olives (I prefer kalamata, but Maximus was sleeping so I couldn't get to the store)
1/3 red onion sliced thin on a mandolin slicer

I made a quick dressing-
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
less than 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp (or more) dijon mustard
tiny bit agave nectar
pinch of oregano
pinch of sesame seeds

Blend that all up, pour over the vegetables and let sit. Done.

Screw You, Rheumatoid Arthritis

I've been living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for most of my life. It hurts, some days I can't button a shirt and my toes cramp up and freeze. That's why, a couple years ago, I chose to eliminate most dairy from my diet and work my ass off. I feel better. I feel great.

Today I went to my doctor for a "wellness screening" for insurance purposes. I was excited. I already knew my cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar and resting heart rate were low and that's proof of a healthy lifestyle. I even laughed when the nurse measured my waist and rolled her eyes. The doctor was pleased with everything and told me he wished more people took care of themselves like we do.

He looked at my hands for a long time. My hands aren't pretty. They someday, will resemble my father's. He is 71 and has lived with RA for a long, long time. He is a marathoner, an avid fitness freak and nutritious person whom I admire. He won't take medication for his RA and uses diet and nutrition instead. We agree on the fact that too many people don't take actions for themselves and decide to lazily medicate for a condition that can be fixed with a lifestyle change.

I was reminded today that I am living with a disease. When you put "auto immune" in front of a disease, I personally, take it less seriously. My doctor noticed my pinky finger and the way my fingers don't fold in naturally, they protrude upward. I just thought that's how my hands were. My pinky finger sticks out far to the side. The reason why shocked me: my RA pain has been handled by diet and exercise, but the disease itself has had a party inside my body. My ulnar bones on both arms have deteriorated thus pulling my pinkies to the sides. He asked me many more questions that had obvious "oh duh!" answers to them.

I'm NOT seeking sympathy. I am to the point where I need medication to keep this stupid "disease" at bay so I don't have mangled hands by age 40. I will not slow down. I live an active life, I'm training for marathons, we eat great, we are happily raising a healthy and active son and dammit, I look great in a bikini. I am frustrated because I do all this and thought my RA was under control and it's not. My pain is managed by my lifestyle, but the damage this disease causes, isn't. My question is, to anyone out there, how can I do this without medication? I don't want IV treatments or a once a week pill to keep my hands functioning, I want to do it without that crutch! I've had goddamn cancer and will not go through harsh treatments again! I'm pissed because this isn't a preventable disease like so many out there. If I had diabetes, a heart condition, high blood pressure...I wouldn't ask for help because my lifestyle called for it. I just want my hands to work so I call pull up my zipper on my jacket at age 71 and go out for a run.

Elite Gourmet Protein

This stuff is the business. I am super picky about proteins and this is by far the best tasting I've had. No sugar and aspartame free. 21 grams of protein per serving. Since I don't drink cow's milk, I mix it with unsweetened soy milk. My 3 year old even loves to drink it before preschool.

Good Fuel

Tonight after dinner, Jesse will train by riding his bike and I will run. We obviously need some good fuel for our bodies to perform their best. What I'm making for dinner is delicious, easy, inexpensive (it's not expensive to eat healthy, quit with your excuses) super fast and most importantly, nutritious.

Sorry there isn't a picture of the finished product- we will eat and run.

Quinoa pilaf, baked chicken and green salad. I'll explain the pilaf since the rest is self explanatory:

Red onion, finely chopped
Mushrooms, sliced (whatever kind you have)
Carrots, finely chopped
Chopped spinach (I only had to frozen kind)
Quinoa
Chicken bouillon (I always use "Not Chick'N" because it tastes so damn good)

Slowly caramelize the onions in extra virgin olive oil. Now, I don't mean saute, I mean caramelize. Cook on medium and it could take up to 45 minutes- the key is low and slow. Add the mushrooms and carrots about halfway through and cook until everything is super soft and lovely.

As that's cooking, make your quinoa: 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups water with a couple bouillon. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and cook until the water is absorbed. I live at 9,000 feet and it takes me about 20 minutes.

Defrost spinach. Combine the onion mixture, spinach, quinoa and combine and cover. Serve with a small green salad (don't screw it up by dumping Ranch all over it) and the baked chicken and you're set.

My Addiction

Okay, this is one of my biggest addictions: carne asada street tacos. So simple and delicious. I could literally live on these, dark chocolate, wine, running and asparagus for the rest of my life. We have a carniceria near our house and I've been hitting it up a few times a week for meat and seasonings. I love that place. I speak very little spanish and they speak very little english, so I never really know exactly what the butcher is giving me. These tacos are made from the skirt steak cut, as they traditionally are. I chopped them myself from the long pieces the guy gave me.

So, here is the EASIEST recipe ever:

skirt steak, chopped

a few sprinkles of "condimento de la carne de vaca" (this was a little bag of beef seasoning I found for $1.25 in their seasonings section- they all hang in baggies on the wall. I think it's chile powder, cumin, garlic, oregano, onion powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, etc.)

corn tortillas (I got some they made in house without yucky oils or lard)

pico de gallo (I bought theirs since it's off the freaking hook)

Cook the meat over almost high heat so it's done quickly and the juices are sealed inside. I added the seasoning about halfway through. Put the meat on the tortillas, add pico and shove in your face.

Whole Wheat French Toast Casserole

Want comfort food on a cold snowy morning without the guilt? Whamo!

• 1 small loaf of hearty crusty whole wheat bread (the kind from the bakery, not the soft stuff)
  
• 10 eggs
• 3 cups unsweetened soy milk (most recipes call for 3 cups of half & half. Seriously?!)
  
• 1 tablespoon Sugar in the Raw
  
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (I know it seems like a lot, but it was good)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I did way more)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• real maple syrup
  

Cut the bread up into 1 inch cubes and dump into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Mix the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg and pour over bread.

Bake at 350 for 45 or so minutes (I'm at 9,000 feet so I did about an hour), until the egg is cooked and the bread is browned. I took it out, lightly drizzled grade B organic maple syrup over it and returned it to the oven and turned the oven off. I did this because I wanted the syrup flavor there, without adding additional syrup to our portions. (I'm terrified of sugars and hate adding them, can't you tell?)

It was delicious. We didn't add butter or syrup to our servings because the flavors were balanced. Perfect for a cold, snowy morning where you end up sitting around in sweats and drinking coffee until 1pm. Next time I'll add orange zest and maybe a few raisins. You really can't mess this up.