Tequila lime chicken with green onion slaw

Another great dinner.  I'm on a roll!

I was a little skeptical of the slaw at first but I think it turned out great and it got a thumbs up from my husband.

The idea for this meal came from Smitten Kitchen and I followed the recipes almost exactly.  I have made tequila lime chicken in the past and was never very impressed with the flavor, but the flavor in this recipe was really good.  Perhaps it helped that I used chicken tenders instead of full breasts since there is more surface area exposed to the marinade.  Recipes below with my notes in italics

Tequila Lime Chicken
Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa

1/2 cup gold tequila
1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (5 to 6 limes)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (2 oranges)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon minced fresh jalapeno pepper (1 pepper seeded)
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic (3 cloves)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 whole (6 split) boneless chicken breasts, skin on (I used chicken tenders)
Combine the tequila, lime juice, orange juice, chili powder, jalapeno pepper, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add the chicken breasts. Refrigerate overnight.


Green Onion Slaw
Bobby Flay

My only eensy concern about this dressing below is that the next day, it looked a bit gritty. It certainly tasted as good as the first day, but didn’t look as pretty, thus if appearance is a primary concern, I’d just make the dressing right when you need it. (I didn't have any problems with this.  I made the dressing the night before and it looked fine the next day)
One more slaw suggestion: I always store my chopped cabbage and vegetables and dressing separately, mixing them a few minutes before I serve it so they don’t get watery or soggy. (again, I think it's fine at least overnight)
1 cup green onions, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 serrano chiles (seed them if you want less spice, leave the seeds if you want it spicy.  I deseeded one and left the seeds in the other)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup pure olive oil (I used 1/4 cup and I think it had plenty of fat)
1 head purple cabbage, finely shredded
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
Blend green onions, vinegar, chiles, mayonnaise, salt, pepper and oil in a blender until emulsified. Place cabbage and red onions in a bowl, add the dressing and stir until combined. Fold in the cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste

Mango sorbet, like ice cream but better!

The only difficult thing about this recipe is getting the consistency right.  If it's placed in the freezer after it's made and gets too cold, your taste buds get a little numb and can't detect the flavors as well.  You really want to aim for a soft serve consistency so you can fully experience the flavors.  Additionally, I've found that it gets rock hard if stored in the freezer, and that's no fun to try to serve!

The mango slurry itself can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge until you are ready to put it in the ice cream maker.  The bowl of the ice cream maker should be placed in the freezer the night before you need it.

Mango sorbet

4 to 5 ripe mangos
1 can of full fat coconut milk
juice and zest of 1 or 2 limes

Place the juice, zest, coconut milk, and most of the mangos in a blender or food processor.  You may have to process in two batches depending on the size of your appliance.  I have a dying blender so I had to coax it a little bit to get everything to blend smooth.  Blend all ingredients until you reach a smooth consistency and place in a large storage container in the fridge until you are ready to make your sorbet.  It should reach a pudding-like consistency in the fridge and is quite yummy this way too.

10 to 15 minutes before you are ready to serve, place the desired amount of cold-from-the-fridge sorbet in your frozen ice cream maker bowl and process per the manufacturer instructions.  For the model I have I just put the paddle in, put the lid on and turn it on for 15 minutes or so.  When the sorbet has reached a soft-serve consistency, it's ready to serve.  This is especially delicious with some fresh blueberries!

 

Homecoming plus a delicious jicama slaw recipe

Today was my third day back at CrossFit.  I can't even fully explain how happy and excited I am to be back in the gym.  I've missed my CF friends and I've missed being put in a position to really challenge myself.  There are a dozen other reasons but that's enough for now. 

I discovered this Jicama Slaw recipe online two weeks ago when I was looking for a side dish to go with the puerco pibil I made.  This slaw recipe was so good I decided to make it again this week.  Please excuse the crappy photo

The prep is time consuming but worth it!

Jicama Slaw

2 carrots, peeled and julienned

1 small jicama (about 1 1/4 lbs.), peeled and julienned

1 large red bell pepper, cored and very thinly sliced

1/4 head red cabbage, cored and very thinly sliced

1/2 red onion, halved lengthwise and very thinly sliced lengthwise, rinsed, and patted dry

6 tablespoons olive oil

6 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon minced cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish (I use a lot more)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes

Prep all veggies and place in a large bowl.  Combine remaining ingredients and whiz up in a food processor or blender.  Pour over the veggies and toss to combine.  This keeps great in the fridge for a few days.

Enjoy!

My running strategy, paleo fueling

I realized I haven't really talked much about my running strategy.  Basically, I'm following Mark Sisson's heart rate recommendations for staying in low level aerobic activity range most of the time I'm running.  For me this maxes out at about 145 bpm.  It also means I am probably technically jogging, not running.  Meh.  The reason I'm keeping my heart rate around this level is that I don't want to be burning sugar (glycogen) as fuel while I'm covering long distances.  I eat a relatively low carb diet because I feel better eating that way, and I also feel better when I use primarily fat for fuel during exercise instead of sugar.  After my first couple runs at 150 to 155 bpm, I realized I was going to have to slow it down or start loading up on carbs.  You can see which I chose!

For my longer weekend runs, I try to run the first half of my scheduled mileage at or under 145 bpm.  After about an hour, I start pushing a little harder and that's generally the point at which I'll go for the sugary fuel.  I've tried several different things, but this is what I've settled on.  A variation of Brendan Brazier's Direct Fuel Bites.  Here's the recipe with my modifications and measurements:

Coconut date direct fuel bites, adapted

4 oz pitted dates (medjool or deglet noor are fine)
28g (2 tbsp) coconut oil (softened or melted)
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
zest from 1 lemon
1/2 tsp sea salt  (I used Real Salt for extra minerals)
1 packet Cococeps (totally optional.  I had this laying around and wanted to check it out for the adaptogen factor)

Throw everything in the food processor and process until a smooth paste forms.  Separate into 8 servings.  I found that it's easiest to portion it using waxed paper, and then wrap the individual servings in little parchment squares.  I keep them in the freezer, and right before a run I'll tuck several in a zip lock and put it in the pocket of my hydration belt.  They get soft during a run, but stay in the parchment pretty well and come off easily.

From my couple experiments with these, I have found that one every 30 minutes after the first hour is okay, but for the race I plan to eat one every 20 minutes after the first hour.

Other things I've tried:

Dark chocolate - I thought this would be great because of it's high fat content and little bit of sugar and caffeine.  Maybe a little is good, but I wasn't able to stick to just a little.  And a whole bar before a run is definitely a bad thing for the tummy.

Hammer gel - I tried this once and while the taste was acceptable, by the time I felt any type of energy from the darn thing I was already running way too low on fuel.  Admittedly, this could have been my fault for timing it wrong and I'm sure it would work in a pinch, but it wasn't my favorite solution.

Coconut oil, raisins, cocoa powder, protein powder, salt - This one was okay, but coconut oil is hard to manage when it gets melty, which doesn't take long!  Also, the protein powder during the run and the fiber from the cocoa powder upset my stomach.

Coconut water - I have used this as a sports drink on my long runs up until this last weekend even, but how well it works seems to depend a lot on which brand agrees with your digestive system.  The one that agreed with me most was the O.N.E. brand, but last Saturday at about mile 7 I was just tired of it and refilled my bottle with plain old water.  I am pretty sure I'll just stick with water for the race, too.

So, that about wraps it up for my running and fueling strategies.  I have to say that as Sunday gets nearer and nearer, I'm getting more and more nervous!  I know I will finish, but I think the nerves are inevitable  =)

A recipe - Birthday ribs and broccoli slaw

 I have been trying to write this post forever.  I had time the other night but Blogger was down.

My birthday was a couple weeks ago and instead of going out for dinner, which I have found to be rather hit-or-miss since I've become spoiled with fresh, nutritious paleo food, I wanted to cook up a rack of ribs and make one of my recent side dish favorites. 

Birthday deliciousness!

I found this rib rub recipe from Cosmopolitan Primal Girl but used a slightly different method:

Birthday Ribs

1 rack (pork) baby back or loin back ribs
3 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
ground pepper

Preheat oven to 200 degrees f.  Or don't.  With the long cooking time, does it really matter?  Rinse ribs and pat dry.  If there is a sheath of connective tissue on the underside of the ribs, do your best to remove it.  Combine all spices and sprinkle over ribs, then use your fingers to pat the spice rub all over the meat.  In my opinion the thicker the spices, the better!

Cover a cookie sheet large enough to hold the rack of ribs with foil, then wrap the spice rubbed ribs in foil and seal it up as well as you can.  My rack was meaty side down, but I don't know if it really matters.

Place the ribs in the oven and forget about them for 4 to 5 hours.  I checked mine at about 4 and a half, flipped them over, and basted the meaty side with some of the cooking juices.  By 5 hours, they were falling apart tender so I turned the broiler on and basted them a couple more times to make the spice crust a little crisp.

Cut into 2 or 3 bone sections to serve.  Don't they look fabulous?

Meaty and tender

Broccoli slaw with avocados and blueberries

I don't know what it is about this combination but I can't get enough of it.  I've been making broccoli slaw this way for months now and it seems like I never get sick of eating it. 

2 12 oz bags of broccoli slaw
3 oz homemade mayo (it tastes great with more, too!)
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1 tsp prepared dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1 1/2 tsp celery seeds
5 drops liquid stevia (optional)

fresh blueberries and diced avocado as desired (I don't add these to the big bowl of slaw)

Place the bags of slaw in a large mixing bowl.  Combine all other ingredients and pour over slaw, toss to coat.  It has quite a bit of bite at first but will mellow a little bit in the fridge.  Add blueberries and diced avocado at serving time.