Chili- White Chicken Chili and Deer Meat Chili

It's not too late to make you last batch of chili for the season! If you've got it in you you must try these two yummy versions.
We served them up for a CrossFit get-together the other week.

White Chicken Chili
From J and I's good friend Robin, it's sooo tasty and has a nice kick to it. Thanks for sharing Robin!

Ingredients:
1 pound Northern beans (canned - rinse until foam is gone)
1 large onion chopped
1 teaspoon garlic, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
1 Tablespoon chopped jalapeno pepper
dash cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
pinch ground cloves
5 cups of chicken broth
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1/2 cup lime juice
3 cups cooked chicken, diced (I use HyVee Rotisserie chicken - usually makes 4 cups - but go ahead and add it all)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

holding my chicken hostage

Instructions:
Briefly saute onions and garlic on stove until fragrant and onions are translucent. Add to beans along with oregano, jalapeno pepper, cayenne, cumin, cloves and chicken broth. Add 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. Add Rotel, lime juice and chicken. Cook 30 minutes, simmering. (Add more water if soup is too thick) Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and fresh cilantro to serve.


Deer Meat Chili
thank you Jason (CFEpic coach) for the deer meat!
Ingredients:
1 can black beans
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can chili beans

1 can corn
RINSE ALL THESE
1-2 cans stewed tomatoes Italian flavor
1 can Rotell's
1 half jug Vegetable juice to add liquid (I add the whole things and let it simmer down)
1 lb browned ground turkey breast
1 lb browned and seasoned lean ground deer meat or ground beef
(we seasoned the deer meat with spices before adding to pot...Italian, chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder...whatever floats you boat)
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
SAUTE onion and pepper WITH THE MEAT and seasonings
Pour all into big pot, bring to boil, add a dash of chili powder and then simmer for half the day. I think it is best to make the day before you serve so the flavors can enhance!


To come: homemade hummus, fish from Seattle (scallops, salmon, halibut), and the recipe that will change your opinion forever of the white squared food known has tofu

Until next time...
look good, feel good, do good
http://www.sarabconsulting.com/

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Two of my favorite things...almonds and cookies so needless to say these cookie really hit the spot!

After seeing this delicious looking picture in my latest Clean Eating Magazine I knew I had to make them.

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 C unsalted almond butter (I grind my own at New Pioneer Coop)

3/4 C sugar source (stevia, honey, agave nectar, brown sugar) I used honey and they turned out a little flat

1 large egg

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp sea salt

3 oz dark chocolate chips (or break apart a dark chocolate bar...70% or greater)

I found dark chips at the Coop bulk bins

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F. In medium bowl, stir together first 5 ingredients until blended. Stir in chocolate.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto parchment lined or greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheets. Remove to wire rack and cool. Enjoy!

Nutrients: 110 cals, fat 8g, carb 10g, suagrs 3g, protien 2g

Until next time...

look good, feel good, do good

www.sarabconsulting.com

Crock Pot Honey Mustard Pork Tenderloin

Crock Pot Honey Mustard Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients:
pork tenderloin
sea salt and ground pepper
1 garlic clove, minced or tsp of jarred minced garlic
4 T Dijon Mustard
3 T honey
1 T cider vinegar
1/2 tsp dried thyme

Instructions:
Wash, trim, and pat dry the tenderloin, salt and pepper. Place in crock pot. Combine all ingredients in small bowl. Whisk together and pour over tenderloin to coat. Cover pot and cook for about 7 hours on low. Check tenderloin with meat thermometer to make sure it is cooked through before serving.
Enjoy!

To come: Almond butter cookies, white chicken chili

Until next time...
look good, feel good, do good
www.sarabconsulting.com

Cha Cha Cha Chia

I don't' even know where to begin....I am just so excited about this topic I can't even organize my words for the blog...I feel like my thoughts looks like this...kijnfeuh odmeni!

Ok...deep breath....
It all starting with this book:

A wonderful, can't put in down, read about a tribe of ultra athletes in Mexico's Copper Canyon.
These guys and gals run hundreds of miles in sandals and swear by a drink called iskiate to keep them hydrated and fueled.

A quote from the book; gentleman speaking with one of the Tarahumara (tribesman):
"I peered inside. The cup was full of gooey slime that looked like rice pudding without the rice, lots of black-flecked bubbles I was pretty sure were frog eggs in midhatch..... Great I said....what is it." "Iskiate."(he said) ......"Months later, I'd learn that iskiate is otherwise known as chia fresca -"chilly chia." It's brewed by dissolving chia seeds in water with a little sugar and a squirt of lime. In terms of nutritional content, a tablespoon of chia is like a smoothie made from salmon, spinach, and human growth hormone. As tiny as those seed are they're packed with omega 3's, omega 6's, protein, calcium, iron, zinc, fiber, and antioxidants. If you had to pick just one desert-island food, you couldn't do much better than chia, at least if you were interested in building muscle, lowering cholesterol, and reducing your risk of heart disease; after months on the chia diet you could probably swim home."

You a believer yet?!? And yes...they are the seeds of the ever popular...
Cha Cha Cha

Dang, if you had only known you should have been eating your Chia pet rather than growing it.

You want to know more about their benefits...just Google it...I mean Bing it (my husband works for Microsoft now) and you'll find tons of info...just make sure it is from reputable sources.

J and I thought...what the heck lets give it a try so before a 17miler the other weekend I downed my iskiate drink and then pronounced "I am going to run like a Tarahumara!" Sure enough...I felt amazing....sure it was probably placebo affect... but whatever, I'm sold.

One among many benefits to running: Chia seeds are water loving. The seed can soak up ten times its weight in water. When inside your body, the seeds help you stay hydrated longer, and retain electrolytes in your bodily fluids.

If I didn't believe in it during that run, two weekends later I had an 18miler. It was a frigid morning....I mean so cold my water bottles on my fuel belt froze. Without water I was unable to hydrate or take my gus (needed something to wash them down). I should have bonked out at 13 but kept on trucking. I am positive it had to have been the iskiate I drank before I took off!

This is the brand J and I buy at HyVee (a little pricey so stoke up when it goes on sale) or check online prices. We now have a chia drink every day.

Chia seeds dry and Chia seeds wet

We like to change it up and sometimes mix them in our fresh squeezed orange/grapefruit juice.

Let me know if you give it a try and what you think!

Until next time...

look good, feel good, do good

http://www.sarabcobsulting.com/

Happy St. Patrick's Day...to celebrate...Green Smoothies!

St. Pat's Green Smoothie
I got the idea for this recipe from another food blog...Iowa Girl Eats
Ingredients can vary but here's a start:
1/4 cup uncooked, old-fashioned oats
1 frozen banana (unpeel and freeze), can use other fruits such as apples or frozen berries
1 Tablespoon almond or peanut butter
1 T ground flaxseed (optional)
1 cup skim milk, almond milk or soy
2ish Cups of spinach (just top of your blender!)
1 handful ice
pinch of fresh or dried mint (optional)
Instructions:
Blend away and enjoy! I know one of my clients at CrossFit Des Moines makes this shake and both her and her KIDS enjoy it!

Nutrition: without flax, using skim milk, and a medium banana:
Total = 57.5g Carbohydrate, 384.6 Calories,
10.6g Fat, 17.9g Protein, 7.4g Dietary Fiber

Here is another site that has a neat smoothie guide:
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/super-shake-creation

Until next time...
look good, feel good, do good
http://www.sarabconsulting.com/

To come...the book "Born to Run" and why J and I have been drinking this slimy drink called iskiate made from Chia seeds.....that's right....Cha Cha Cha Chia!
and Roasted Honey Dijon Pork Tenderloin

Fish Tacos and Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Sweet Potatoes (amazing!!!)

I grew up Catholic so every Friday during Lent was fish night. It's that time of year...so last Friday I wanted to spice it up a bit and made Tilapia Fish Tacos!

Tilapia Fish Tacos
Ingredients:

corn tortillas

shredded lettuce

fresh or frozen tilapia fillets

sour cream or to keep it clean try Greek yogurt or plain yogurt
hot sauce such as Cholula
taco spice (chili powder, paprika, minced onion, cumin, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, ground oregano)
avocado, sliced

Instructions:

Season thawed fish with Cookies or taco seasonings. Bake tilapia at about 425F for 6-10ish minutes. Fish will flake apart easily when done. Test a piece if it does... flake away. Mix taco seasonings into yogurt or sour cream.

Warm tortillas in the microwave for about 23 seconds. Dress each up with your fixins and enjoy!

Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Sweet Potatoes(which are amazing)

the other night at Mike and Kelli's, Mike served up some wonderful sauteed brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes. They were absolutely delish so I decided to try my hand at them.

Preheat oven to 425F. Peel and slice sweet potatoes. Heat olive oil in sauce pan over med-high heat. Place potatoes in pan and cook on each side until slightly browned (like the picture) and have a nice crust on them.

Remove from heat, sprinkle with Cookies, and place in oiled pan. Bake in oven for about 15 minutes or until a fork can be speared through easily.

YUM YUM!!!!

BRUSSEL SPROUTS!!!!!! Yes, we are adults now and are allowed to like these :)

Clean, trim bottoms and slice in half. Place in pan, Sprinkle with olive oil, sea salt, and pepper.

Back about the same time as the potatoes (15ish minutes) or until a fork can easily spear through one.

J and I's lovely spread!

Until next time...

look good, feel good, do good

http://www.sarabconsulting.com/

Beef/Turkey and Quinoa Meatloaf

I coached my very first track meet last night! The Solon Spartan girls did a great job! Very proud of their their efforts and look forward to the rest of the season!

It's National Nutrition Month! In fact today is national RD day.....wahooo!
In honor of this I will do something out of the ordinary....like post healthy recipes :)
So here's one for you that Jeremy and I really enjoyed...

Beef or Turkey and Quinoa Meatloaf
Ingredients:
1/4 c quinoa
1/2 c water
1 tp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1ish lb of lean ground beef OR ground turkey breast...if you double the recipe use one of each!

http://www.grassrunfarm.com/csa/iowa-city
1 T tomato paste
1 T hot sauce...I used Cholula
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 T brown sugar or honey or agave nectar (optional to use any...but the sugar crystallizes nicely on top leaving a crunchy sweet crust)
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp water
Instructions:
Bring quinoa and water to boil in saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender, and the water has been absorbed, about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350F. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion; cook and stir until onion has softened and turned translucent. Add garlic and cook for another minute; remove from heat to cool.
Stir turkey or beef, quinoa, onions, garlic, tomato paste, hot sauce, 2 t Worcestershire sauce, egg salt, pepper in large bowl until well combined. The mixture will be very moist.

Pour into a greased loaf pan or foil lined. combine sugar, 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, and 1 tsp water in small bowl. Rub paste over the top of the meatloaf.
Bake in oven until no longer pink in center, about 50 minutes. A meat thermometer will say about 160F. Let meatloaf cool for 10 minutes before serving so it can set and holds together nicely.

Nutrition per serving (serves 4)...of course varies slightly with leanness of meat: 327 cals, 15g fat, 19g carbs, 28g protein

crunchy quinoa and sweet crust...mmmm
side of broccoli and sauteed mushrooms

Until next time...
look good, feel good, do good
http://www.sarabconsulting.com/