Cleaning up my diet

40 miles a week is a magical number for me.  Magical, I tell you.  It instantly transforms me into a person who just can’t eat enough. Admittedly, this is not good magic.

Remember how I wrote about being “Rungry and Hangry” and trying to stop the evening snacking?  Well, so far, so good using the plans I came up with.  The key thing from a physical standpoint is increased protein and healthy fats.  While my body is constantly craving carbs, I am keeping it mostly happy with meat.  I just have to make sure I have easy access to protein meals and snacks so that I’m not stuffing my face with any easy snack I can get my hands on.  This is not to say I’m eating low carb.  I’m just eating more sweet potatoes, quinoa, and vegetables instead of bread (my absolute favorite food) and fruit.  When I do eat fruit, I pair it with nuts to keep from feeling hungry again soon.

Here’s an example of what’s been working for me lately + a bonus recipe for you!

Breakfast:  Crustless quiche.  This particular version has about the maximum amount of kale one can put in this recipe and still have the egg hold it all together.

Lunch: Most lunches lately have involved mixing meat, beans, salsa, and some cheese with a ton of salad, but yesterday I tried something new:  sweet potato with cottage cheese and nuts.  Weird, but surprisingly tasty!

Dinner:  I made one of my favorite “soups” to get us through a few days before the weather got warm here:  Sun-dried Tomato Chili.  Yummy! And good for you. Win! See bottom of post for recipe.

Dessert:  You know there would be one.  I need my dessert (and honestly, we eat dinner so early, I’m starving in the middle of the night if I don’t eat something an hour or so before bed.)  I mashed a banana with peanut butter and cocoa powder for a chocolatey, nutty sweet that didn’t have processed sugar. Not pretty, but yummy!

And you know what happens when you try to do too many things at once?  Your pot ends up looking like this:

Luckily, it cleaned up completely with a bunch of soaking and a bit of scrubbing…

Sun-dried Tomato Chicken Chili

2 lbs boneless chicken, cut into cubes
2 T oil
1 med. onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 6oz. can chopped green chilies
2 C cooked, drained pinto beans
1 C chicken stock
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes
2 T chili powder
1 T cumin
1/2 t. oregano
1/4 C sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 C grated cheddar cheese
sour cream (optional)

In a large Dutch oven, saute chicken in oil for 5 minutes. Add onion and garlic and continue to cook until chicken is slightly browned.
Add remaining ingredients, except cheese and sour cream.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 30 minutes (but can be much longer).
Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, and extra cilantro.

Makes 6 (small) servings.
Note: I always use more beans and more tomatoes to get 6 hearty servings. I use whatever beans I have in the house.