Slow « Newest Obsession

Slow

Jun 13th, 2012 by Lauren

This week has been all about getting in the swing of things…and it will probably be that way for a few more weeks. I was in New Jersey celebrating my cousin’s graduation from high school last weekend, and after a red eye flight out there and a 5:30 am flight home, I made it just in time for the first day of summer classes. Over the next 8 weeks I am taking 3 summer courses in addition to working part time, planning a wedding and training for a triathlon. It could get interesting, but I think it is do-able. I hope to be used to my new schedule and workload by the end of next weak. In the meantime…happy What I Ate Wednesday (WIAW)!

I woke up bright and early to do some reading and take an online quiz before eating breakfast and getting ready for the day. My day started off with my morning ritual of “naturally” decaffeinated Irish Breakfast tea with steamed and frothed cashew milk and cinnamon.

After my quiz I whipped up an egg scramble for breakfast.

In the mix:

Coconut oil
Cabbage
Red pepper
Yellow onion
2 farm fresh eggs + 1 egg white
Cherry tomatoes
Fresh oregano, salt + pepper
Leftover BBQ Beef Brisket from dinner at Oskar Blues the night before
Refried black beans

Before lunch I snacked on an apple while walking around campus.

And after getting settled in at the library I had a caprese inspired quinoa salad with a dollop of hummus for lunch.

Inspired by this recipe, I cooked up 1 cup of quinoa in water, and combined it with halved cherry tomatoes, 2 leaves of blanched sliced kale, diced cucumber, fresh mozzarella pearls, fresh basil, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons garlic infused olive oil.

For my afternoon “sensible” snack I had a classic green monster smoothie that I had prepared in the morning and brought with me.

What went in the Vita:

4 ounces water
4 ounces cashew milk
1 banana
1 scant scoop Garden for Life Raw Protein
1/2 tablespoon chia seeds
Sprinkle of cinnamon
1 leaf of kale

And what came out:

After finishing up on campus I set out for an evening ride with some girl friends. Despite being over 90 degrees out and somewhat smoky from the High Park Fire on Ft. Collins, it was a beautiful evening out. However, I think the stress of having a cold, travelling and training really caught up with me…I was moving slooooowwww. It worked out okay though, because it gave me the opportunity to catch up with a friend and relate to each other about managing busy schedules!

After my ride I came home to a ready-to-eat slow cooker meal: chicken teriyaki with brown rice and sugar snap peas.

I may have probably said this before, but this was definitely the best chicken recipe I have ever made in the slow cooker! The flavor satisfied my craving for teriyaki and it was extremely simple to put together in the morning. I modified the quantities a bit, but the original recipe can be found on Cooking Classy.

Slow Cooker Chicken Teriyaki

Recipe Type: Slow Cooker, Main

Author: Lauren A. adapted from Cooking Classy

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 5 hours

Total time: 5 hours 15 mins

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

1 pound chicken breast
1.5 pounds chicken thighs
2/3 cup Bragg’s liquid aminos (or soy or tamari)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons orange marmalade
1 tablespoon grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
Freshly cracked black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoon cold water
1 1/2 tablespoon corn starch
Sesame seeds for garnish
Hot cooked short grain brown rice

Instructions

Trim chicken of excess fat and place in slow cooker.
Combine liquid aminos, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, honey, orange marmalade, ginger, garlic, and black pepper with a blender. Add to slow cooker, stir, cover and cook on low for 5 hours.
Remove chicken from slow cooker to a cutting board and shred. Transfer sauce to a medium saucepan. Combine cold water and corn starch and pour into sauce mixture. Heat over medium heat until just boiling, stirring constantly. Allow mixture to boil gently for 20 seconds then transfer back to slow cooker with chicken and stir to combine.
Serve over hot cooked brown rice and garnish with sesame seeds.

Notes

Transferring the sauce to a sauce pan and boiling with the cornstarch mixture is probably optional. You could probably just add the cornstarch mixture to the slow cooker and turn it on high for a few minutes to achieve the same effect without another dirty dish.