Euro4Ever’s BodyBlog

Just threw these together for supper tonight, they smell insane. I’d have added some cilantro if I had any left.

8 oz chorizo
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup frozen corn
2 small/med red peppers (or 1 large), chopped fine
1 tbsp chopped garlic
6 oz can medium black olives, chopped
1-2 serrano chilies, chopped fine
15 oz can chickpeas
6 peppers to stuff
2 cups beef broth

In large pan, brown chorizo and ground beef together. Add corn, chopped pepper, garlic, olives, serranos, and chickpeas, stirring occasionally until meat is cooked through and everything is heated.

Cut tops off stuffing peppers and arrange in an oven safe pan. Fill with mixture, distribute beef broth among them.

Bake for 30 minutes or until peppers are soft (less if you’d prefer them more firm)

10 chicken breasts
2 hot peppers (jalapeno, whatever)
2-3" piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp chopped garlic
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
2-3 spigs mint leaves
1 cup water

Slice chicken breasts and put into large pan.

Process hot peppers and ginger in food processor until fine. Add lemon juice and garlic, process till smoothish. Add cilantro and mint, process till finely chopped/incorporated into rest.

Add sauce and water to chicken breasts, stir well. Cook until done.

Curry flavored lentils

1 lb dried lentils
4 cups water
3 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp chopped garlic
1 onion, chopped fine
1 handful fresh parsley, chopped fine (or a couple tbsp dried)
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp turmeric

Toss everything together in a pot and cook until all of the water is absorbed.

I’ve gotta say, having my husband do this with me has been a GREAT way to keep on track. I’m very ADD when it comes to anything, so having a partner/competitor/nag with me really helps.

It gets a little weird when it comes to diet, as we both have different builds/needs/restrictions.  He has no gallbladder, so thinks he needs a "no fat" diet. I’ve been maing a ton of progress on showing him that good fats don’t make him sick, that there’s a huge difference between avocado, nuts, oily fish…  and a nasty burger at some fast food joint.

On my end, between body type and medical issues (severely stubborn hypothyroid, adrenal problems, blah blah), it’s come to light over the past 10 years of research and experimentation that I need to eat a lot of red meat, and go very, very low carb in order to lose weight. Not even just for losing weight, I thrive on almost no carbs.  Feel alive, am stronger, no brain fog, etc. Basically, built to be a carnivore.

Unfortunately, while those side effects of low carbbing (irritability, constipation, etc) don’t apply to me at ALL, they do for my husband. He definitely needs fiber, good carbs, etc etc. Also, he has much less need for red meat, gets by good on chicken.

So what we’ve come up with is this:

Completely separate breakfasts.  I have around 8oz beef for breakfast, he has a frittata, leftovers, or whatever. I can’t get by without 1/2 lb beef in the morning, he wouldn’t do so well eating like that

Similar lunches: Chicken breast, Beans (1/2 cup for him, 1/4 cup for me), brown rice (1/2 cup for him) , and brocolli (1/2 cup for me)

Shared dinner. Lowish carb, meat with some sort of veggies.

This is the second week that I’ve preplanned out breakfasts and lunches, and cooked/packed them on a sunday. I’m going to start posting the recipes here, mostly to keep track of favs for us (I’m notorious for coming up with something, then forgetting all about it!), but maybe they’ll inspire others reading? Dunno.