Monthly Archives: February 2012

slow cooker chicken + veggies

February 29, 2012 by the healthy ginger

what’s not to love about slow roasted perfection. this took about 15 minutes to prep, filled my house with the most fragrant smells + had dinner on the table with very little effort. I’d say that is a win-win :)

this slow cooked chicken with a side of veggies + potatoes was comfort food at it’s finest.

Ingredients:

  • 1 whole chicken (I purchased a local, free range, organic chicken from a small health food store)
  • 5 carrots
  • 5 celery stalks
  • 1 large white onion
  • about 1.5 cups potatoes (I used small red potatoes)
  • rosemary (fresh)
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 2 lemons
  • cayenne
  • sea salt + pepper
  • 1/3 cup vegetable broth

Method:

  1. rinse + pat your cute lil chicken dry. make your rub – I just mixed some sea salt, black pepper + cayenne – but feel free to use whatever is in your pantry. rub this mixture all over the skin of your chicken with lots of TLC.
  2. I had about 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary as well as 3 cloves of garlic that I smashed + removed the skin. insert them inside the chicken to add a bit of flavour.
  3. wash + chop your onion, carrots, celery + potatoes into large chunks.
  4. quarter one of the lemons.
  5. place the chicken in the slow cooker + assemble your veggies as well as the quartered lemon around the chicken.
  6. pour about 1/3 cup vegetable broth + the juice of the other lemon on top of the veggies.
  7. add 2 cloves of minced garlic to the slow cooker + then season with a bit more sea salt + pepper.
  8. set slow cooker. this will vary depending on the size of your chicken but mine took about 4 hours.
  9. when done cooking remove your chicken from the slow cooker, remove the rosemary + garlic from inside, cut + serve. add a side of veggies + voila!

this provided more than enough for two and we even had some leftovers for the next day. I also plan on cooking the bones of the chicken to make a wonderful broth – which oddly enough is something I have never done before. this will make for another mini adventure in the kitchen. I would love to know if you have any tips for making broth?

4 Comments

Tags: , , , , , ,

beauty nut pate

February 27, 2012 by the healthy ginger

I hope I didn’t scare you away by the word “pate”. personally when I hear that word, thoughts of a trip to France last year conjure up some disturbing smells, textures + flavours of a meat-like-substance that passed my lips……gross. I’m still not sure why I agreed to trying it……

BUT this my friends is different, I promise! if you haven’t read her book already, The Beauty Detox Solution by nutritionist Kimberly Snyder - you must, it is simply amazing + informative! this is just one fabulous recipe and I have been meaning to try for awhile.

Kimberly is all about helping you reach your true beauty potential  - and this nut pate is loaded with beauty minerals, amino acids + phytonutrients. hook a sister up, right!?!

don’t be deceived by the lack of vibrant colours – it tastes amazing! the picture doesn’t do it justice. the turmeric adds a gorgeous hint of yellow + the lemon juice adds freshness!

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup almonds
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
  • 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
  • 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice (one lemon)
  • 1 1/2 tbsp bragg liquid aminos or nama shoyu (raw, unpasteurized soy sauce)
  • 1 small organic zucchini chopped (about 3/4 cup)
  • 1 inch piece of ginger root peeled + grated
  • 1 small clove of garlic finely chopped
  • 1 heaping tbsp chopped white onion
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 heaping tbsp nutritional yeast (found at health food stores + some grocery stores)
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric

Method:

  1. soak your raw almonds, pumpkin seeds + sunflower seeds in water overnight. rinse well before using.
  2. put lemon juice + bragg liquid aminos OR nama shoyu in the blender or food processor. blend until combined.
  3. then add zucchini, ginger, garlic + onion. blend for about a minute.
  4. add the cayenne pepper, nutritional yeast + turmeric. blend well until smooth.
  5. add nuts + seeds once the mixture is smooth + blend again. note: I had to push the mixture down the side of the processor a couple times. if you are using a blender instead of food processor you may have to chop up your nuts before adding them to the liquid mixture to make sure that everything blends well.

Kimberly suggests scooping some of the mixture on top of some salad greens  or wrap it in some collard greens + sprouts for a little wrap. I did that as well as enjoy mine with some crackers (Mary’s Organics) and it was so delicious.

this makes a good sized portion and I was able to enjoy this with a few different meals throughout the week. I hope you will give this a try.

happy monday friends, make it a great week!

2 Comments

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,