Simply Slow

I think one of the top 5 best inventions in the world is the slow cooker. 

Ok, I might be exaggerating a little bit, but if you don’t have time to cook or if you want to prep your meal the night before and still have it steaming hot to eat, the slow cooker is your best friend. 

Here is a yummy chicken slow cooker recipe that Victoria and I had last night. 

Wet Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup of Ketchup
  • 1/4 cup of Soy Sauce or Bragg Liquid Amino's (soy sauce replacement)
  • 1/4 cup of Olive Oil

Dry Ingredients:

  • 2 Medium sized Sweet Potatoes (Chopped)
  • 1 cup of Baby Carrots or Large Carrots (whichever you prefer)
  • 1lb of Chicken Breast
  • 2 servings of Celery
  • 1 Tablespoon of Onion Powder
  • 1 Tablespoon of Italian seasoning
  • 1 Teaspoon of Parsley Flakes
  • 2 minced Garlic Cloves

Step 1: In a measuring cup mix the ketchup, soy sauce, olive oil, & all of the spices together until well blended and set aside.

Step 2: Put the chicken in the slow cooker with the carrots, sweet potatoes, and celery. 

Step 3: Pour the olive oil mixture into the slow cooker and make sure all of the dry ingredients are covered. 

Step 4: Cover the slow cooker with the lid and set it on low for about 8 hours (or you could also put it on high for about 3-4 hours).

Step 5: Take the lid off and enjoy all of the juicy greatness of the slow cooker.

Cauliflower Steak Anyone?

Let’s be realistic, there is actually no steak in cauliflower steak. Sorry to let you down so soon, but let’s just get that out of the way. Cauliflower is a great substitution for high carb ingredients like dough, cous cous, or mashed potatoes. 

Technically you could get cauliflower all year long, but the best season for it is in the spring. It falls into the cabbage family and it is more difficult to plant than most of the cabbages just due to the fact that it can’t handle climates that are too hot or cold. So, if you were thinking of planting any cauliflower, start planning to plant the seeds in the spring and keep the temperature around 60 degrees. If not, it will bloom too fast. 

Without further a-do here is the recipe for my cauliflower steak.

So here are the ingredients you need:

-Head of cauliflower

-Lime

-Lemon

-Olive oil

-Garlic clove

-Paprika

-Salt

Step 1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

Step 2. In a bowl pour in some olive oil, lime juice, lemon juice, and crushed garlic (you can use garlic powder if you don’t have fresh garlic). Mix it and leave it to the side. 

Step 3. Wash your cauliflower and take off the leaves at the stem.

Step 4. Put a skillet on the stove at medium heat.

Step 5. Cut the cauliflower in half and then cut 1” slices all the way through the stem (the stem will keep the cauliflower together. Without it, it will crumble). 

Step 6. Wipe one side of the cauliflower with the olive oil mixture and season with paprika and salt. 

Step 7. Put a little bit of olive oil in the skillet and slowly put the seasoned side of the cauliflower face down. Cook each side for 6 minutes. 

Step 8. Season the unseasoned side of the cauliflower in the skillet the same way you did before. 

Step 9.  Flip cauliflower and let it sit for another 6 minutes.

Step 10. Take out a baking sheet and spray the pain with non-stick spray (we use Trader Joe’s coconut oil spray but you can use whatever is available). 

Step 11. Take the cauliflower off the skillet and place it on the baking sheet. Cover it with aluminum foil and put it in the oven for 20 minutes.

Step 12. Remove the cauliflower steaks from the oven. Uncover it and let it sit for 2 minutes to cool down.

Step 13. Enjoy the GREATNESS!!!

 

 

My Secret Chicken Recipe

Some people love to bake their chicken. Some like to put it into the slow cooker. I’m the kind of guy that likes to make his chicken as juicy as possible, in whatever method works. I found this recipe on youtube but then added my own twist to it. I’m not kidding, it’s like butter when it comes out. HALLELUJAH! So without further ado, here is my secret chicken recipe that is not so secret. Enjoy!

1) Lay out all of your spices and chicken (of course). Normally I use my favorite spice from Trader Joe's, BBQ coffee spice rub. But unfortunately, I ran out :( so today I used a different poultry rub.

Laying it all out

Laying it all out

2) Put two oven safe pans on the stove on low heat and pre heat your oven to low broil.

Low Broil and low heat on pans

Low Broil and low heat on pans

3) Place all of the chicken into a large mixing bowl, use whatever spices your heart desires, and mix away.

Chicken time!

Chicken time!

Spicing it up

Spicing it up

Happy times

Happy times

4) Put two teaspoons of coconut oil to coat each pan and swirl it around to make sure you don’t miss any spots. 

Here comes the coconut oil

Here comes the coconut oil

Swirl!

Swirl!

5) Now it’s time to put the chicken on the pans folks. As you put the chicken on the pans, make sure the smooth part is facing down and you roll the chicken away from you. This will prevent any splatter from the oil. Once all of the chicken is on the pans, turn the heat up to medium heat.

Rolling the chicken away from me

Rolling the chicken away from me

6) Make sure the chicken has a golden brown color and then flip it. To flip it, use a fork, tongs, or whatever you have available.

Golden!

Golden!

7) Wait until the other side is golden brown as well, then put it in the oven for about 5-10min.

8) Take it out and cut into the chicken or push down onto the chicken to see if it is cooked. When you push down onto the chicken, it should feel like the bottom part of your palm (closer to your thumb).

Woohoo! It's done!

Woohoo! It's done!

Juicy!

Juicy!

9) My favorite part, enjoy all the juiciness from the AWESOMENESS!

End result.

End result.

“Is Prepping Food REALLY That Difficult?”

A lot of people tend to shy away from food preparation because they feel it would take up too much time. Well…I’m here to see to it that I can convince you other wise (in a snooty Downton Abby British accent). Haha! Here are a few cool tips that have helped me and my awesome clients.

Choose one specific day or a few designated times in the week to cook all of your meals. For instance, if you choose Sunday’s, cook all of your chicken, put together all of your salads in tupperware’s, bake all of your starches in the oven, and you are ready to go for the week ahead. BOOM! If you would like to spread out your days so it doesn’t take as long, you can choose to cook on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. This will eliminate cooking so much on one day and have fresher meals prepared. 

Sweet Potato Wedges

Sweet Potato Wedges

Chicken for the week

Chicken for the week

If you want to cook everything else but not your proteins, thats easy too! Try a slow cooker. Here’s what I suggest: before you go to bed, place chicken/turkey cutlets, etc. into a slow cooker with broth and spices of your choice. Once you wake up in the morning, you have juicy protein ready to eat (it’s almost like the texture of pulled pork). 

Take ziploc bags or containers of food with you to work. Personally, I use coconut or olive oil on my salads as dressing. If I want more acid I’ll add lemon or lime juice. I’ll put it in a small container and use it later. It’s an easy way to incorporate fats into your everyday adventure. In addition to that, I also put almonds, walnuts, or sunflower seeds in a bag, to add a little crunch to some of my meals.

Coconut oil and Coconut Spray

Coconut oil and Coconut Spray

These are just a few simple tips but the big one is this, YOU SAVE A TON OF MONEY $$$$! In NYC, the average dinner at a restaurant could cost you $150, even without drinks. If you choose to grocery shop once or twice a week, that could be the cost of one week’s worth of food. WOOHOO!!! Saving money and time, who doesn’t want that?! It’s a no brainer. Try to meal prep just for a few weeks and let me know if you can see the changes in your life.