Dukan Crockpot Salsa Verde Chicken (it's Paleo-ish too!)

Crockpot Salsa Verde Chicken

We both loved this recipe...and we loved how easy it was.

Finally found some time to work on recipes!

Came across this idea after seeing several recipes like this one on the internet.  We were happy to find Herdez Salsa Verde in Safeway down the street from us.  It has no preservatives or fat which made it allowable for both our Dukan and Paleo sides.  We didn't use free range chicken for this dish though.

The photo doesn't look the greatest, there really wasn't a whole lot of color going on, but it was easy and delicious!

RECIPE:
Serves 2-4 (depending on what you eat or do not eat with it)
Prep time: less than 10 minutes
Cook time: approx. 6 hours on low

1 1/2 lbs. skinless chicken tenders
1 - 16 oz. jar of Herdez Salsa Verde
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/8 t. oregano
1/8 t. cumin
1 T. fresh lime juice (optional) - we actually used more and realized we should have used less!

Rinse and pat dry chicken.  We lined our crock pot with a Reynold's Crockpot Liner for easy clean up.     Place chicken in pot.  Mix herbs together - season chicken with herbs.  Pour lime juice over chicken evenly.  Cover and cook for 6 hours on low.  At the 5 1/2 hour mark, open the lid, quickly shred the chicken and cover.

The male half had his with brown rice and veggies and I had mine with just veggies.

Enjoy...we sure did!

Slowly Getting Back Into the Swing Of Things

We hit the ground running after our business/vacation trip....tenants moved out...wow, people do not clean their living spaces anymore!  Gross!  We did takeout (mostly salads because we're trying to get back into eating lower fat and it's been pretty humid here) most of the time but last week I did get a chance to cook.

I haven't downloaded the photos of the food yet, but will try to get that done this weekend.  The dish I really liked from this past weekend - a lighter version of Moo Shu Chicken without the plum or hoisin sauce and made with turkey instead of chicken.  Even before we started Dukan, I already stopped using hoisin sauce on my Moo Shu Chicken.  

The only reason we used turkey is because we had some leftover turkey I wanted to use up.  It's a labor intensive dish if you clean your bean sprouts like we do...picking off all the browned ends.  It took me over half and hour just to prep the veggies.  While I cooked the dish, I vowed outloud to never make Moo Shu again because of the time spent in the kitchen but I really enjoyed the taste...so I may make it again...maybe without bean sprouts this time!

While on our trip, I did gain a couple pounds...I ate everything, no dieting.  Did a lot of walking and hiking...which may be why I only gained two pounds.  The male half didn't gain anything!  Arrgh.

In the last two weeks though, I've been eating more salads and pretty much have been eating like I'm in Cruise (but no PP days) and I've lost about 3 pounds.   We'll slowly but surely get back on track...we have to!

Dukan Southwest Turkey Burgers (it's Paleo too!)

Southwest Turkey Burger

We loved this recipe!

This was very simple to make and very tasty!  We used Rachael Ray's recipe and made some changes so the meal would fit both Dukan and Paleo.   We did use bacon which we wouldn't use in Cruise (too much fat).  We used lettuce in place of a bun.

Not sure if it's just my imagination, but the leftovers tasted even better.

RECIPE:
Serves 2-4
Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Cook Time: approx 15-16 minutes, we cooked our burgers in two batches

1 1/4 lb. ground turkey
2 slices bacon, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced finely
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1 t. dried thyme leaves
2 T. freeze dried or fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 small bell pepper, seeded and chopped finely (any color)
2 small serrano peppers, seeded and chopped finely
2 t. ground cumin
2 t. adobo seasoning (Paleo folks, making your own is best)
4 pieces of romaine lettuce to fit burgers like buns

Heat a grill pan over medium heat.  Mix all ingredients except lettuce together.  Form 4 large patties and
grill.  For the Dukan folks, spray your pan lightly with non-stick spray and for the Paleo folks, extra virgin olive oil or your choice of fat.

Grill patties approx 4 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.  It'll depend on how thick you make your patties.

Serve with lettuce pieces.

Enjoy...we sure did!

Dukan Grilled Ono with Aji Criolla Sauce (it's Paleo too!)

Grilled Ono with Aji Criollo Sauce

We loved this dinner!

It was very, very simple.  We made the Aji Criollo sauce from this post to go with this simply grilled Ono or Wahoo recipe.  We were feeling the need for a healthy, lean and easy to prepare meal, so we pulled out the Ono we had in our freezer from our fish guy.  It was perfect and the Aji Criollo gave it a nice kick without making the dish heavy.  The male half is not a fan of sauces, but he actually like this since it was spicy and light.

You don't have to use Ono for this recipe...Mahi Mahi or most other fishes would go nicely with the Aji Criollo.

RECIPE:
Serves: 2
Prep Time: less than 5 minutes (not including the making of the Aji Criollo)
Cook Time: around 10-12 minutes, depending on how thick your fish is

1 1/2 lbs. of Ono or pretty much any other fish that tastes great grilled
adobo seasoning (for the Paleo folks, we will be making our own adobo seasoning soon and will post the recipe)
Aji Criollo sauce

Heat your grill pan over medium heat.  Cut fish into pieces (not too thick and not too thin).  Rinse and pat dry your fish.  Lightly season with adobo seasoning ....you can use more...we have high blood pressure, so we usually go easy on the adobo seasoning.  

Place fish on grill pan (lightly sprayed for the Dukan folks and lightly wiped with extra virgin olive oil for the Paleo folks).  Cook until half way done, flip the fish over and finish cooking.  Be sure to cook your fish through if it's not fresh but don't overcook or it will dry out.

Top fish with some Aji Criollo sauce.   We had ours with some grilled asparagus.

Enjoy...we sure did!

Dukan and Paleo Update

I will be on a business trip soon and have lots to prep for the trip.  Cooking in our household will be on hold until I return.

While we haven't committed 100% to Paleo, we are still following the Dukan Diet but still haven't been able to lose weight.  I'll probably need to go back to Attack when I return from my business trip to jump start the weight loss.  We're keeping away from carbs and still eating a very low fat diet.  In addition, we are back to exercising 5-6 times each week (cardio and muscle toning).  We've definitely gained a little bit of muscle, but argh!   Luckily though, no weight gain.  Whew!

Guess June will be a reboot for us!

We're still trying to find recipes that would fall under both the Dukan Diet and the Paleo Diet and have found several great tasting recipes.

Hope to be cooking again by mid June!

Dukan Aji Criollo (it's Paleo too!)

Aji Criollo Sauce

We loved this recipe!

To be honest, it didn't wow us by itself, but when eaten on fish or an omelet, it's yummy!  It's a great low cal sauce.

We came across this recipe...ours looked closer to the second photo on Laylita's blog post.  We used jalapenos since that's all the farmer's market near us carries but we'll be trying this recipe with other peppers.  We actually have a couple aji amarillo peppers in our freezer we'd like to try.  NOTE: remove seeds from the peppers if you don't want your sauce too hot.

We've eaten a similar Aji Sauce at a Peruvian restaurant in San Francisco which they serve with bread...mmm!  We used this sauce on some ono or wahoo we grilled up.

RECIPE:
Makes about a cup and a half, sorry I forgot to measure!
Prep Time: less than 10 minutes
Blend Time: just a couple of minutes

4 hot peppers, seeds removed
1/2 bunch cilantro (stems and leaves)
1/2 c. water
3 garlic cloves
Juice from 1/2 a lime (or lemon, we used lime)
3 T. green onions, finely chopped
Pure sea salt, to taste.

Cut peppers into smaller pieces for the blender.  Add peppers, cilantro water, garlic and lime juice to the
blender and blend until peppers are very small pieces.  Pour sauce into a bowl, add green onions and mix well.   Add salt to taste.  We chilled ours before using it on our fish.

Enjoy...we sure did!

Dukan and Paleo Rockin' Turkey Meatloaf

Rockin' Turkey Meatloaf

We have mixed feelings about this recipe...it was tasty and easy to prepare but the almond flour made it a bit mushy.  Texture-wise, not the greatest.

This is the original recipe in case you want to try it.

We're definitely planning on making this again and hope to try a couple substitutions to see if we can get the texture right.  We halved this recipe since it's just two of us in our household and we didn't add spinach (none at the Farmer's Market).  Half the recipe made a lot for the two of us.  We had it for dinner one night, the next morning I had a couple slices with an overeasy egg and a couple more slices the following day.

If you're on the Dukan Diet, use oat bran instead of almond flour and the carrot can be optional if you're in Cruise and omitting carrots from your diet.  In addition, for those in Cruise, omit the bacon.

RECIPE:
Serves 2 with lots of leftovers or 4-6 people

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: approx. 45 minutes or until juices run clear

3 slices of bacon, chopped into fine pieces (we removed some of the fat)
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into smaller pieces (for food processor)
1 small handful of basil
1/2 small onion, chopped into smaller pieces (for food processor)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 - 7 oz. can of tomato paste (or half if you can use the other half for something)
1.25 lbs. ground turkey
1/4 c. almond flour
1 t. pure sea salt
1/2 t. black pepper

Over medium heat, cook bacon until it starts to brown and crisp up.  While your bacon is cooking, start on the veggies.  Place the chopped carrots, basic, onion and garlic in a food processor and process until fine.

Add veggie mixture to bacon and saute until veggies are soft (shouldn't take too long).   Add tomato paste, stir to mix.   Transfer mix to a mixing bowl and let cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Add ground turkey, almond flour, salt, pepper and mix.   Line a baking pan with parchment paper and shape your mixture into a loaf.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 45 minutes or until cooked.

Enjoy...we kind of did!