Thai Chicken Green Curry

Restaurants are open here at 50% capacity now but I can't even remember the last time I was inside a restaurant and we don't plan on going inside one anytime soon.  The coronavirus variant B.1.1.7 is in our county now so despite being vaccinated, they are still telling us to wear masks and social distance until they know if we could carry the variant and spread it to non-vaccinated people.  Sachiyo is the only non-vaccinated adult we are around now since Nick and Lauren have both been vaccinated for their jobs so we are still being cautious and following the guidelines of health experts.  We've been able to get our Asian fusion-fix without going to restaurants by making recipes like this one.   I've made this multiple times and love it every time and it's so easy.  It's easy because it uses bottled green curry paste that adds instant flavor.  I use this brand from Thai Kitchen that is compliant with my new eating plan from Hannah Freese, RD.

                                      

Since I've been following her program my lipid profile has now improved and I no longer have metabolic syndrome.  Metabolic syndrome is when your metabolism has slowed down with symptoms that include difficulty losing weight; low energy or  being tired all the time; poor sleep quality; excess body fat around the waist area; unhealthy lipid profile putting you at risk for heart disease; prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes; high blood pressure, just to name a few.  I got my lipid profile tested this month and my triglycerides and HDL cholesterol have improved drastically.  That means that I don't have excessive insulin circulating in my bloodstream which causes you to store fat instead of burning fat for energy.  Hannah provides an eating plan that helps us to repair our broken metabolism because it is really hard to lose weight and improve all the above if your metabolism is broken.  I am slowly getting there but seeing my labs improve was a big boost in my confidence even though I still have weight to lose.  My triglycerides went from 139 (Jan. '20) to currently 84.  My HDL went from 61 to now 92.  If you take the ratio of triglycerides/HDL, that is an indication of metabolic syndrome and you want your ratio to be under 1.65.  Mine went from 2.28 last year to currently 0.913 so I am very happy about that.  I began eliminating sugar and toxic oils in my diet in September with the exception of dark chocolate, which I wrote about here.  There are still a lot of things I need to improve but I'm going to just keep plugging along because I know this eating plan is something I can continue indefinitely and it makes me feel so much better to eat this way.  It's not a drastic lifestyle change at all, as you can see that I survived the holidays and even enjoyed St. Patrick's Day with my Irish Soda Bread scones which are not part of the plan but you can go off of it once in awhile and it's not a deal breaker.  Once you improve your metabolism, your body can handle going off of it once in awhile, just not all the time.  You must read labels constantly to avoid foods with added sugar, as well as the toxic oils (sunflower oil, canola oil, corn oil, safflower oil, cottonseed oil, and soybean oil) so that's what I do now to make sure I'm making compliant meals.  Hannah Freese, RD sends us recipes every month and sometimes I can make slight adjustments to other new recipes to make them compliant so it's not really that hard.  The hard part is to make sure you always plan ahead so you are not caught unprepared and then get tempted to go off the plan.  Eating out at restaurants is one of the worse obstacles of the plan because most restaurants will use the toxic oils or added sugars.  The pandemic has been good for me in that regards and learning to eat out again will be a whole new challenge when that time comes. If you are craving Thai food and want to whip up a super easy one at home because you are a homebody like me, this is the recipe for you.  

Makes 4 servings

1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets

olive oil

1  4oz jar green curry paste (or to taste)

2 cans full fat coconut milk

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, sliced thinly

5 cups chopped bok choy or 3 small heads of bok choy

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. and lay cauliflower in a single layer on baking sheet. Toss the cauliflower with a few drizzles of olive oil.  Roast for 20 minutes or until golden brown, tossing halfway through.  

2.  Combine curry paste and coconut milk in a pot over medium heat.  Stir to combine then bring to a simmer.  

3.  In a skillet, sauté chicken until cooked throughly.  

4.  Pour curry paste/coconut milk mixture into skillet with chicken. 

5.  Stir in bok choy with cooked chicken sauce and continue cooking until the bok choy has wilted.  Add roasted cauliflower. 

6.  Divide between bowls and enjoy!