Trader Joe's Food Reviews - Red Curry Chicken & Kimchi Rice

I am a Trader Joe's freak. I don't know how people lives in places where it doesn't exist. I'm sick as a dog again & cooking is not on my agenda when I feel this way, but Trader Joe's has been saving my life the last two days.

I've had a cold, bronchitis, & now a sinus infection for the last 2 1/2 weeks. I felt great on Sunday so I went to Trader Joe's to stock up on food & prep for the week. Two new things I bought that I've never tried before were the Chicken Breast Medallions in Red Curry Sauce & frozen Kimchi Rice. Both were so good! The chicken had a great amount of sauce & was creamy with great flavor. The Kimchi rice had pieces of cabbage & onion in it & had a tangy heat to it. Definitely buying both again.

I didn't cook the chicken the way the package said. I just threw it in a small pot & heated it up. I chopped up some frozen grilled asparagus spears (also from TJ's) & threw them in with it. In a separate pot I heated 1 cup of Kimchi Rice & had the chicken over it with some fresh cilantro. It was such a great dinner & had enough flavor that I could actually taste what I was eating with sinuses this clogged.

It's good to add a little freshness to frozen/pre-cooked meals. The cilantro did the trick for this. Sometimes foods like this make being on plan really really easy.

Total Weight Watcher Points:

• 1/2 package of Red Curry Chicken = 7
• 1 cup cooked Kimchi Rice = 5

Rachel Khoo's Lavender Lemon Chicken

I could watch Rachel Khoos' Little Paris Kitchen all day. I record every episode & it amazes me how she makes such amazing meals in such a tiny little kitchen. Her oven is the size of my toaster oven! I watched her make this Lavender Lemon Chicken one day & it's been on my mind every since. I finally bought some culinary dried lavender & made it this week. It was so different, so light, & so delicious. The juices were amazing & I poured them over the mashed cauliflower that I made as a side dish.

This meal was made faster than it would have taken to figure out takeout, order it, & have it delivered. Perfect for a night when the last thing I wanted to do was cook. You can only find this recipe in her cookbook but these are the ingredients from the episode. If you aren't watching your carbs, serve this with crusty bread to soak up the juices like Rachel did.

I didn't marinate my chicken like Rachel did. I just tossed it all into the oven & it was still delicious. Sometimes you need shortcuts. I also don't own a mortar & pestle so I ran my knife through the lavender to "crush" it.

Lavender Lemon Chicken
From Rachel Khoo's Little Paris Kitchen
Servings: 2

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless, chicken thighs
• 1 TB dried culinary lavender, crushed. 
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp dried thyme (fresh would be better, but I didn't have any)
• 2 TB olive oil
• 2 TB honey
• Juice & zest of one lemon
• salt & pepper for seasoning

Directions:

1) Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Salt & pepper the chicken thighs & place them in a baking pan.

2) Combine the lavender, garlic, thyme, olive oil, honey, & lemon in a bowl. Mix together & pour over the chicken. Toss the chicken in the lavender mixture & bake for 35-40 minutes. Enjoy!

Low Carb Cheesy Taco Bowl

This was so good. So good that I had two bowls for dinner. Oops. The leftovers for lunch the next day were even better & I almost ate it without heating up the beef again. It would have been good either way!

Low Carb Cheesy Taco Bowl
Inspired by Genaw.com

Ingredients:

• 1 lb 90% lean ground beef
• 1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies (I use Ortega), drained
• 4 Laugh Cow Queso Fresco wedges
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 TB taco seasoning
• 1 TB olive oil
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 cup light shredded cheddar cheese (any shredded cheese is good)

Toppings for taco bowl:

• Shredded lettuce
• Sour cream
• Diced tomatoes
• Avocado
• Shredded cheese

Directions:
1) In a large skillet, brown the onion & garlic in the olive oil. Salt & pepper the ground beef & add to the skillet. Cook until almost all of the pink is gone. Add the diced tomatoes & taco seasoning. Cook about 3 minutes until the liquid from the tomatoes evaporates.

2) Add the wedges of Laugh Cow cheese & the shredded cheese. Stir until it is completed melted throughout the beef. Check for seasoning & add taco seasoning if needed.

3) Scoop the beef mixture into bowls & top with all of the toppings. Try not to eat 4 bowls.

Antipasto Salad

I grew up with an Italian mother & the ingredients for a quick & amazing antipasto were always in the fridge & pantry. It's amazing what she would whip up for before Sunday dinner, just from what she had lying around. I didn't realize how much that rubbed off on me until I opened my fridge to put together lunch yesterday. My fridge was pretty empty, but I realize I had everything on hand to make an antipasto.

I don't know what you all consider "antipasto," but for us Italian kids it was prosciutto, mozzarella, cucumbers, tomatoes, marinated mushrooms (my FAVE), olives, hot stuffed peppers, pepperoncini peppers, & really good olive oil. I've sat around my mom's table with my friends & just chowed down on these things, and during holidays there's about 20 more ingredients to the antipasto, but these are the basics.

I also always have a bottle of imported balsamic glaze in my pantry. You can find it a Trader Joe's or Fairway & it's one of the best staples to have around. I also buy jars of marinated mushrooms at Trader Joe's to keep in the fridge. They're much cheaper than the mushrooms you buy at an olive bar.

Here's what I piled together for a delicious lunch:

• Handful of grape tomatoes
• Cup of marinated mushrooms
• Olives
• 2 TB fried onions
• 1/2 of a cucumber, chopped small
• 3 slices of mozzarella, wrapped in prosciutto
• 2 pepperoncini peppers
• 1 garlic & gouda chicken sausage
• Balsamic glaze
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper

You should stock up on these things & enjoy antipasto with a good glass of wine. It makes for a great lunch or the beginning of a fun dinner. 

Six.

It's been about a month since I recommitted to weight loss, and I'm down 6 lbs. It's been ups & downs all month, but I've found the one thing that helps me move forward with losing: low carbs. I'm tracking points since I'm back on Weight Watchers, but I'm also really limiting my carb intake. My doctor doesn't want me eating a ton of carbs because I have Diabetes, but I've never *really* listened to him. He swore that if I lowered my carb intake I would feel better, & he was right.

What am I not eating? Rice, pasta, bread, grains, potatoes, & most fruit.

What am I eating? Veggies (tons of veggies), chicken sausages, 93% ground beef, chicken, fish, cheese, olives, olive oil, seaweed (I love seaweed), prosciutto, & melon when I want fruit. In some way this is similar to the paleo way of eating, except I'm eating dairy, mostly in the form of cheese.

Mashed cauliflower & roasted brussels sprouts are my best friends.

Avocados go very quick in my house.

Limes add flavor to anything,

If I'm craving bread, I have a little.

That's it. That's how I've lost 6 lbs. I only started the low carb thing about 9 days ago, & I'll be honest & say that 4 of the 6 lbs I lost have been lost in the last week. My body doesn't like a lot of carbs & it's certainly proving it.
 

Stick with it.

Week one results: -1.6

That isn't a great week one loss, but you know what? It's a loss! I am very excite.

We had to write "stick with it" on Popsicle sticks tonight. I put the stick in my wallet & I'm going to pull it out whenever I get discouraged.

1.6 is a great start. I did something different this time than all of the other times I've been on weight watchers. After weighing in & seeing a loss, I didn't have some huge cheat meal. I would always do that & think, "I have all week to make up for it." The truth is that I don't have all week. I have to make the decision now, or pay for it later.

Next up, week two.

Whatcha Eatin?

I'm all about food documenting. Seeing what I'm eating in photos helps put things in perspective, & it helps me plan meals during weeks where I'm in a food slump. I'll see a picture in my phone & think, "that was delicious! I forgot about that." Bam, meal planned.

Here's some of the stuff I scarfed down this week. Week one back on Weight Watchers was definitely delicious.

I've been putting these in salads all week. They add crunch & sweetness for sometime zero points.

Mustard crusted salmon, roasted brussels, & Trader Joe's Mushroom Risotto. The risotto was disappointing. Definitely won't be buying it again.

This is what most mornings look like. Shtuff everywhere.

Trader Joe's Primavera Pizza. 7 Points for the entire thing! Helped my huge pizza craving.

I topped the pizza with a Morningstar Chik'n Patty tossed in buffalo sauce & topped with a little blue cheese. I wanted buffalo chicken pizza & this did the trick.

Friday night cocktails & apps with my work BFF. It was a LONG day. Braised figs with goat cheese & bacon, and woodfire cheese with toast & honey.

Elderflower dirty martini. Might be the best martini I've ever had.

Smoothie! Peaches, pineapple, bananas, protein.

Margaritas with the husband for Kentucky Derby & Cinco de Mayo.

Some sort of Pho soup from Cosi. Good, but not amazing. 

Trader Joe's Japanese Style Fried Rice, shrimp, & wasabi nori sheets.