Disorganized Chaos

"Wait..." You're thinking to yourself, "Isn't the saying 'organized chaos?'" Yes...yes that is the popular saying. But that does not relate to my life currently at all. I am definitely in the midst of disorganized chaos. I feel like I have been going and going and going non-stop since last week. I have even woken myself up in the middle of the night twitching like I'm ready to go, and all tangled in my blankets (Hubby doesn't appreciate that particular behavior, I can tell you). Then my brain says "Oh good, you're awake! Let me kick myself into overdrive and remind you of the bajillion things you need to be doing!" F***  I am far too lazy a person to be kept awake in the middle of the night....really isn't my thing.

But what, you may ask, is causing such a disturbance in my much needed beauty sleep? Well.... work has been pretty busy. Keeping up with projects, planning office events, trying to squeeze in that hour workout every day at lunch, and keep pace with my ever-more-active toddler.

The workouts themselves are no joke either. I am up to 2.5 miles in 45 minutes on "cardio" days. And according to my beloved calorie/fitness tracking website, I am burning upwards of 900 calories in an hour on "circuit" days.
To that end...Hubby and I have decided to start a 90 day weight-loss and fitness challenge! Yes...I think I could be insane, but that really is beside the point. The point of this challenge, is to become part of a community that supports the desire to lose weight, get (or stay) fit, and improve overall health. I am SO SO SO excited about this challenge! I have been raving about it to everyone I know (and those I may not, like you beloved readers here). Part of the raving could be due in part to the humongous energy boost I have received in the 10 days I have been drinking Visalus shakes for the challenge! They are seriously amazing (and taste like cake batter ice cream...how could you not love that?!?), and I have way more energy to get me through the day because of them!
This is working really well with my healthy eating habits as well!
If YOU think you might want to join my "team" in this (and hopefully many more) challenge, you can!! Distance does not matter, we have an online community, and you can set whatever goals, drink however many shakes, and go as hard core as you want! You can see info on the challenge here: fineran.bodybyvi.com
It has my seal of approval for sure!

Back to that healthy eating thing I mentioned....due to the recent chaos of life, I haven't posted much...but I have been cooking! And I swear I took pictures. I remember taking pictures!! But now I cannot find them. I don't know where they disappeared to. So sorry :-(

Here's what my family and I have been noshing:

I kinda played around with a Middle Eastern Butter Chicken, and a made-up Garlic Chicken...and what I got was:

Super Garlic Butter Chicken (in the crockpot, woot!)
Ingredients:

1 Tbsp garam masala seasoning
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne
3 Tbsp butter
1 large onion, sliced very thin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
2 1/2 lb chicken (I used boneless skinless thighs), cut into small fist sized pieces

 

40 whole cloves of peeled garlic

Directions:

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the minced garlic, tomato paste and spices, and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly to prevent burning. The spices will be fragrant. Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes and stir well.

Place onions on the bottom of crockpot in fairly even layer. Place chicken pieces on top, and scatter whole garlic cloves on top of that.

Pour sauce over whole thing.

Cook on low 7-8 hours, stirring if needed to prevent sticking.

Just before serving, stir in salt and black pepper to taste

Serve over couscous, rice noodles, or a veggie stir fry. Top with a light drizzle of plain yogurt.

Mozzarella Chicken

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

3 Tbsp butter

1 clove garlic

3/4 C. dry white wine

8 oz. mozzarella cheese, cut into 8 slices

4 springs fresh basil

salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.

Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and whole garlic clove. 

Saute until chicken is golden on both sides, and almost cooked through (3-5 min each side). Remove chicken to a plate and keep warm.

Add wine to hot pan, stirring to reduce a little. Bring to a low boil for 1-2 minutes.

Add chicken back to pan and cook one more minute. Flip chicken to other side, and place 2 slices of mozzarella and a basil sprig on each breast. Discard the garlic. Cover and remove from heat. let stand 5 minutes to allow chicken to fully cook, and cheese to melt.

Plate chicken, and serve with some of the pan sauce over it.

Broccoli Salad (yes I eat this as a meal)

Ingredients:

2 heads broccoli, chopped into florets

1 C. Craisins

8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 medium red onion, chopped small

8 oz. cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes

1 1/2 C. plain Greek yogurt

3 Tbsp vinegar

1/4 C. Truvia (or sugar if you must)

salt and black pepper

Directions:

In a small bowl combine yogurt, vinegar, Truvia, salt and pepper. Set aside.

In large bowl, combine broccoli, Craisins, bacon, onion and cheese.

Pour dressing over the top and mix thoroughly.

Best served cold.