Crockpot Fridays: Cooking a Whole Chicken

D.I.Y. Chicken Broth

This is a really simple and effective way to get the most out of your chicken. I love buying whole chickens to cook; not only do Mike and I each get to eat our favorite parts, whole chickens are very inexpensive and easy to cook. The benefit of using a crockpot is that you are able to retain all the delicious juice that accrues during cooking. And, with just a little extra work, you can make your own chicken broth without the alarming amount of sodium. Ina Garten would be proud.

Step 1: Place entire chicken in crockpot; don't add any liquid.
Season with salt and pepper. I added a couple squirts of organic, stone-ground mustard, but it really didn't do anything for the flavor. Cook on high at least four hours, then turn down to warm or turn off.




Step 2: Once chicken has cooled off some, separate the meat from the bones and skin. There will be a large amount of liquid in the pot. DO NOT GET RID OF THE JUICE! You should now have all the meat of the chicken in one container, which is perfect for making chicken salads.





Step 3: Add one large onion (quartered or roughly chopped), a couple of sprigs fresh rosemary and thyme (dried is fine if that is all you have) and whatever other seasoning you would like to find in your broth. Pour in four cups of water. Leave the heat on low and cook for another 8 hours.




Step 4: Strain the entire contents of the crockpot, making sure that the bones, skin and any other solids do not get mixed with the broth.

Step 5: Store the remaining liquid in an air-tight container for up
to a week. If you don't plan on using the broth immediately, you can also store in the freezer.

Eat Local!

Last week we visited Sunrise Ranch to take a tour of the farm and pick-up our share of their delicious, grass-fed beef. It was an incredible experience to watch these gorgeous, well-cared for and well-maintained cows graze on alfalfa next to sparkling lake.

When it comes to making diet choices, the real question we should be asking ourselves is not how many calories are in this dish or what is the ratio of protein/carbs/fat, but where is our food coming from. Since moving to Denver one year ago, we have begun to focus on the quality of our foods, purchasing a vegetable share from Farm Yard, a local C.S.A., buying dozens of eggs from a local chicken farmer and now investing in grass-fed beef from Sunrise Ranch. While the initial cost can be daunting, consider thinking of your food as an investment.


Mike and I joined in with four friends to buy a half a cow. We paid less than $5 per pound for over 191lbs of organic, hormone-free, grass-fed beef. Find a grass-fed beef source near you through Eat Wild.


Buying vegetables and fruit through a C.S.A. (community supported agriculture) can be a cost-effective way to get organically grown produce and to support a local farmer. Check out Local Harvest to find a C.S.A. in your area.

Breakfast Salad

Our contemporary conception of breakfast consists of an abundance of grains: cereal, pancakes, pastries, granola, etc. While I enjoy eating eggs (especially the new farm-fresh eggs we receive every two weeks), sometimes it is nice to not have to adhere to popular breakfast standards.

This morning, I planned to eat three eggs scrambled with mushrooms, spinach, salsa and avocado. However, when I opened the kitchen I saw the crisp butter lettuce I picked up yesterday, a salad seemed a perfectly viable option.

Simple recipe: chicken, home-made roasted red and yellow peppers, avocado and butter lettuce.

Roast Chicken

Every Sunday night, Mike and I roast a chicken and eat the entire thing. Simply seasoned with salt, pepper, thyme and fresh lemon juice, the chicken comes out crispy and tangy on a bed of sweet onions. This simple recipe is based on Ina Garten's, but made a bit easier and more healthy. You can cook the chicken whole, but we like to cut it up for a quicker cooking time and crispy-er skin.

Roast Chicken

1 roasting chicken
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper and thyme
2 lemons
2 large onions, sliced large
1 tbsp olive oil

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Scatter onions on the bottom of a large roasting pan, then arrange the chicken on top. Drizzle the olive oil on the top, then season with salt, pepper and thyme. Cut one lemon into sliced and place between pieces of chicken and squeeze the juice of the other lemon on top. Cook 50 minutes to 1 hour.

Note: if you roast the chicken whole, make sure you toss the onions in olive oil first so they will not burn. You will also need to let the chicken cook for an extra fifteen to twenty minutes.

Pureed Eggplant

This light and airy pureed eggplant is based on the Turkish dish, Hunkar Begendi and goes fantastically with grilled lamb.

2 medium eggplants
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Place eggplants under a hot broiler completely intake. Let them char for at least 20 minutes, then remove from heat a let cool before handling. Remove the cooked flesh by peeling of the skin or scooping out the flesh and place in a colander. Let sit at least 1 hour to let the water drain.
Reheat eggplant in a skillet or in the microwave, then puree with olive oil, salt and pepper. You could also add fresh rosemary.

Curry Beef and Cabbage

This quick recipe is a perfect paleo dish: it contains plenty of lean proteins, good fats and non-starchy vegetables.

Curry Beef and Cabbage

1 lb ground beef or bison
half a head of cabbage, shredded
1 tsp each:
salt
curry powder
tumeric
cayenne pepper (if you don't like spicy foods, you might want to reduce or leave this out)
half a can of coconut milk

Heat a large skillet to medium-high. Brown ground beef until almost cooked through, then add spices. Mix thoroughly, then add cabbage and saute another 5 minutes. Pour in coconut milk and reduce heat and cook until milk is reduced by half.

Roasted Carrots

It is a frightening concept for many low-carb dieters to consider eating carrots, which is completely ludicrous. Organic carrots are delicious, cheap and a terrific way to boost your glycogen levels post-workout.

Roasted Carrots

4-5 large carrots (you could also use organic baby carrots)
2 tbsp olive oil
salt, pepper, dried thyme

Heat oven to 450 degrees, peel carrots (this is optional) and cut into uniform pieces. Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and dried thyme. Cook 20-30 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking.

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

This is the easiest recipe...ever. For those of you who do not like handling raw meat, this is the perfect cooking method for using raw chicken. I used a peach salsa made fresh at our local market, but if you cannot buy a fresh made kind, make sure it is gluten-free and sugar-free.

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

1lb chicken breasts and/or thighs
1 jar salsa

Put chicken in crockpot and cover with salsa. Cook 6-8 hours or until chicken falls apart.

Do it Yourself: Beef Jerky

Beef jerky is one of my favorite protein snacks, but purchasing commercially produced jerky is expensive. Not only does purchasing jerky mean wasteful packaging, but it typically includes ingredients that I do not want to consume. Making your own jerky is cheap, easy to make and let's you be in control of the flavors and seasonings. If you do not have a food dehydrator, don't fear; your oven will suffice.

Beef Jerky

2 lbs london broil or flank steak
1 tsp any seasoning you like (I used salt, pepper, cayenne, curry and tumeric)

Put london broil in the freezer for 1 hour to make cutting easier. Before slicing meat, rinse and pat dry meat, trimming off any excess fat. Cut meat against the bias into 1/8 inch slices and put into large bowl with seasoning blend. Marinate up to 24 hours.

If you are cooking in the oven, place aluminum foil across the bottom of your oven. Carefully place each piece of jerky on the oven racks (see image below). Put oven on lowest setting or no more than 170 degrees. If your oven, like mine, does not go below 200 degrees, prop the door open. Cook 2-5 hours, depending on your oven and your desired degree of 'dryness'.

When your jerky if finished, let it cool to room temperature, then store in plastic bags with one paper towel to soak up any moisture. Your jerky will keep up to two weeks or longer if kept in the fridge.

New Years Diet Goals

To mark my return to Eat.Fight.Win., I want to challenge everyone to consider the quality of the foods they are eating, rather than the quantity. Many people have told me they feel stuck in their diet, that they want to see more results, faster. Rather than completely reinventing your nutritional practices, consider making changes by completely removing/reducing your intake of certain foods during 2010 or adding more 'whole', healthy foods to your daily regiment.

Here are a few suggestions for healthy nutrition choices to make during the new year. Your primary goal should be to eat primarily 'whole' foods (meat, veggies, fruit, some nuts and seeds) and less processed, packaged foods.

Reduce Your Daily Intake or Completely Remove:

• Dairy - Dairy increases inflammation and can cause stomach irritation for many. If you have been using dairy as a protein source for snacks, switch to actual animal proteins, like hard-boiled eggs and beef jerky.
  
• Gluten - a large percentage of the population is sensitive to gluten. For many, removing gluten helps gut irritation and often helps people lose weight.
  
• Grains -As soon as I stopped eating grains, I began sleeping better, feeling more alert and produced some pretty amazing strength numbers. It may seem extreme, but if you absolutely cannot give up your oatmeal, keep it and remove all other grains...that means corn too!
• Sugar- This may seem obvious, but make sure you know all the other names that sugar goes by and then check your ingredients...it is everywhere!
  

Reduce Intake:

• Nuts and Seeds - overeating these calorie-dense foods can seriously curb fat-loss processes. Keep them for adding crunch to salads or toppings for fruit, but do not eat handfuls at a time.
  
• Fruit - fruit is fantastic, when eaten in moderation, but eat too much and you will have a sugar surplus. If you have been eating fruit with every meal, consider limiting yourself to 2-3 servings per day.

Increase Intake:

• Veggies- Especially leafy greens. Try to buy organic veggies from the grocery store or look into local markets and purchasing from a nearby farm.
  
• Lean Protein- Try to only eat meat from grass-fed sources. See if you can buy locally or order in bulk from online sources.

Cooking Suggestions:

• Make large amounts of lean protein to keep in your fridge, such as crock pot chicken, beef or pork. Recipes to come.
  
• Opt to make your own salad dressings and sauces...I have been making sugar-free/grain-free barbecue sauces, marinara and salad dressings. Again, recipes to come.
  

Spicy Chicken Wraps

I have become obsessed with using lettuce leaves as wraps. Although you can definitely use any meaty filling (and I do), this spicy chicken salad is a great match.

boneless skinless chicken breast
1 tbsp almond butter
1 tsp (or more if you are brave) sriracha

Mix shredded chicken with almond butter and sriracha. Wrap in lettuce leaves and enjoy

Roasted Root Vegetables

Any root vegetables would work great in this roast, including sweet potatoes, onions, rutabagas, parsnips and radishes. Radishes have become one of my new favorite vegetables; they are like onions, in that they are super low-carb, but they have a pepper flavor like cabbage.

2-3 sweet potatoes, diced
1 large onion, diced
2 cups radishes, quartered
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1 tbsp dried thyme

Heat oven to 400 and mist a large cooking sheet with olive oil spray. Drizzle olive oil over vegetables, then toss with salt, pepper and dried thyme. Cook 45 minutes, tossing frequently.

Mediterranean Chicken

This is a very easy and quick way to cook chicken. You could add any seasoning you want to the chicken or throw in fresh olives, peppers, etc.

2-3 chicken breasts
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Take a large piece of tin foil and place one chicken breast in the middle. Season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, then place sun-dried tomatoes and fresh basil on top. Seal the packet and place on a baking sheet. Cook in the oven 20-25 minutes, then remove and carefully open packet (be careful of the steam). Let the packet sit open 5 minutes, then eat.

Lemon and Fennel Chicken

This elegant dish is simply and flavorful. The lemon slices add lots of flavor, but you probably don't want to eat them!

1 lb chicken breasts, cut into bit-sized pieces
2 cups thinly sliced fennel
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
2 lemons, sliced

Heat a large skillet to medium high and mist with olive oil cooking spray. Cook chicken 5-8 minutes, tossing frequently and seasoning with salt and pepper. When chicken is almost totally cooked through, remove from skillet and set aside.

In the same pan, pour in 1 tbsp olive oil and add fennel. Cook 4-5 minutes, season with salt and pepper, then add rest of the olive oil, tomatoes and lemon slices. Cook another two minutes, reduce heat and add chicken.

Mushroom Picatta

Picatta is one of our favorite dishes, but it is typically made with large amounts of butter and breaded chicken. This version curves the lemony-caper sauce craving without the exorbitant amount of fat and carbs.


8oz portabello mushrooms, sliced
2 or 3 medium zucchini
juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp capers

Cut zucchini in half and scoop out soft insides. Slice remaining zucchini into thin strips and place in a colander. Sprinkle several teaspoons salt over the zucchini and toss. Let sit at least 30 minutes, then rinse. This will help pull the excess moisture out of the zucchini.
Heat a large skillet to medium high and spray with olive oil. Add mushrooms and cook until tender, 4-5 minutes. Pour in lemon juice, capers and butter. Cook 2 more minutes, then add zucchini. Toss frequently and serve once zucchini is warm.