Raise your hand if you like supplements!

A few people have seen me sprinkling some collagen powder into my coffee in the morning and have cocked their heads like curious golden retrievers, so I figured I'd post about supplements.  I take quite a few.  Okay, I take a bunch.

The usefulness of supplements is a big debate.  Some say they don't do a dang thing.  Some say they provide a boost.  And still some say they are essential.  I don't know what's true and what isn't, but I do know that at least a couple of the things I've taken have shown results.  Here's what I take:

1. Multi-vitamin - duh. I don't really agonize over which ones.  When I run out, I just get a bottle of regular multi-vitamins from whichever grocery store I happen visit that weekend.

2. Vitamin D - this was actually suggested by my primary physician.  (Have I mentioned that she's also the biggest cheerleader of my paleo-ish diet?  Yeah, my doctor's cool, man.) Many women with polycystic ovaries are low on Vitamin D.  My condition has improved, but I can't say if it's due to "the D" because I also take other meds to regulate the insulin resistance issues that cause my PCOS.  My doc highly recommends this particular brand and I've been using it for nearly five years.

3. Pharma-grade fish oil - this was also suggested by my doc.  Actually, she prescribed a specific fish-oil-based drug to me, but it was way too expensive, so I found an over the counter alternative and she approved because she's cool like that.  My bad cholesterol levels have decreased slightly, so it may be working, but the lower cholesterol could also be related to better eating habits and working out.  I am a fan of Omega Via, partially because they have a recurring purchase option where you pick how often you want them to send you a new supply and it comes automatically.

And my two favorite supplements of all...

4.Magnesium Citrate - Apparently a lot of women are also magnesium deficient.  The addition of magnesium can sometimes lower stress and aid with sleep.  Since beginning a daily regimen of a glass of water with this stuff (it's fizzy! AND tart!), I've definitely seen a slight reduction in anxiety and falling asleep at night is easier.  This could also be due to my increased workout intensity, but I've been taking Natural Calm for nearly two years now so I doubt it.  Now, those first three supplements up there come in easy, portable pill forms, but this is a big ol' container of powder.  Not the easiest thing to get through airport security for my frequent work trips.  Luckily, Natural Vitality also sells single serving packets, which you can usually find at Whole Foods or most health stores.  I buy a bunch before (or during) every trip and I'm set!

5. Collagen - I prefer to take it in water soluble powder form - both Great Lakes and Vital Proteins are good brands.  Since it can break down in hot or cold beverages, and it's flavorless, I add it to my morning coffee.  I have had very fine hair and brittle nails for most of my adult life.  Since starting regular use, I have seen my nails grow stronger and my hair has gained a lot of body.  My skin is also clearer.  This can also be a tough substance to take on the road, but I recently found Reserveage collagen chews.  I don't think they serve as much of a nutrient "punch" as the powder, but they travel well and I'll take whatever nutrition I can get while doing work travel.

(Pro tip: Vital Proteins tends to be cheaper at Amazon.com and Thrive Market.)

I think my general feeling on supplements is that they are not going to do much in a lifestyle that is not healthy in other ways.  I mean, that's why they are called supplements, right?  They can't do it all on their own, but they can help. 

Paleo-ish on a time crunch

So let's take a break from talking about my exercise regimen, shall we?  Let's get back to food.  I know you're all thinking that after all, this blog is called COOKING in Kenzo.  It's supposed to be a metaphor, ok?

I've been pretty upfront about the fact that focusing on eating whole foods (what some would call "real food" or the dreaded "clean eating") has been a game-changer for me.  I grew up eating meals where most of the components came from a can and/or box, but I know a lot of us did in the 80s.  While canned green beans (shiver) have thankfully become a thing of my past, I've definitely been treading on the edge of what is whole and what is not, lately.  Most of that can be chalked up to laziness but a good chunk of it is because I'm just plain busy.  I have a demanding job, we're building a new house, and oh yeah, I'm running after a 4 year old and 2 year old when I'm not sitting on planes or trains.  (PS I'm totally on a plane to Los Angeles as I type this.)  I've been wracking my brain to come up with ways to make fast meals that stick within my paleo-ish guidelines.  I'm besties with my crockpot but I needed a way to do something besides roasts and stews.

Luckily, I was standing in line at the grocery store when the latest issue of Real Simple called out to me.

"Oh Laaaaaura.  Buyyyyy meeee!," it said.

Inside that always-beautiful and tempting cover was a whole piece, entitled "Master Make-Ahead Meals," dedicated to prepping a week's worth of meal components on a Sunday and then combining them throughout the week.  Yeah, I know, there are plenty of paleo chefs out there who have suggested this, but I just wasn't ready to listen.  Of course, I had to adjust the plan a bit to accommodate what I eat, but I was able to do it in a way where I could make stuff that the whole family might enjoy.  Here's what I did in a Sunday Kitchen WOD:


Cleaned/prepped/sliced:

• snow peas
• two pineapples chunked
• head of lettuce washed and broken down
• head of kale washed and taken off the stalks
• brussell sprouts halved
• asparagus trimmed
• acorn squash sliced and roasted

Proteins cooked:

• Bacon
• Shrimp broiled with ghee and lemon
• Beef and pork sausage meatballs

Starches cooked

• Brown rice macaroni
• Brown rice

Other:

• Herb/garlic yogurt dressing
• White bean dip (Real Simple recipe)

Basically I just built warm bowls or cold salads out of the ingredients I had on hand.  The most amount of work I had to do was warming up the starches and proteins, and maybe broiling a veggie like asparagus.  The yogurt dressing was a hit.  The white bean dip was eh but the kids at least tried (and liked!) the snow peas as a result of trying the dip. 

A salad (kale, lettus, almonds, asparagus, shrimp, squash, and simple lemon juice/olive oil dressing) on the left and a warm rice bowl (rice, meatballs, kale) with yogurt dressing on the right.

The brown rice macaroni went into a modification of the mac and cheese recipe in the Real Simple piece.   I ended up eating most of it even though it was really for the kids.  It was too much dairy for me so I'll nix it next week.  And I made too many shrimp, which didn't last more than a couple days in the fridge, so I will probably make less or use a different protein next week.  Other than that, this system was a huge success.  I think I will add in a batch of Nom Nom Paleo's cracklin chicken to next week's cook.  And maybe do a different kind of meatball.  Might also whip up a big bowl of my Colorful Kale Salad.  Finally, I am not against buying some of the pre-sliced veggies at the grocery story during weekends that are especially hectic.

More on this as things progress!  What do you do to get ready for the week?

2016 is the FITNESS

Photo credit @novem_bootcamp on Instagram

Happy New Year!

Let's get right to it - the run commuting was fun and I loved it, but...well...injuries SUCK.  My problems actually started on a regular morning run on a work trip back in late September.  It was a lovely run, too.  In San Francisco, along the Embarcadero, just as the sun was rising.  But my left foot came down at some point and I felt pain spike through my ankle.  Like the stubborn dummy I am, I ran through it.  Back at my hotel, I had to accept that it was the familiar pain of a stress fracture.  I knew I needed to ground myself from running for at least six weeks but couldn't stand the idea of not doing anything during the down time.

Friends convinced me to renew my membership to the local Crossfit box, which has a bootcamp style class that is more cardio and strength than the heavy weight lifting that most Crossfitters do.  I went begrudgingly to a Sunday class but soon realized it was exactly what I needed.  I knew I was getting injured because I wasn't cross training.  Bootcamp allowed me to scale things, so I've been rowing instead of running and staying away from jumping.  Oh, did I forget to mention that the stress fracture healed but then my other foot decided to go into plantar fasciitis hell?  The pain was exruciating - so much worse than the fracture.  I've done acupuncture, foot exercises, the nighttime splint, and the only relief has been cortizone shots from the podiatrist over the last two weeks.  I'm also shelling out bucks to get a specially made orthotic for my gym shoes in order to correct things in the long term.  I'm worried that if this is a recurring thing it might halt my running hobby all together, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it...even if I'm limping across the bridge.

Anyways, all this is to say that I'm excited about 2016 because I'm focused on getting fit, feeling strong, and hopefully seeing the positive byproduct of some weight loss.  The husband and I have joined a weight loss study at the University where I work, mainly for the free WiFi scale, but also just so see if we can tweak a few things and see results.  But the truth is, I just wanna get some sweet biceps (I'm in the middle in that picture up there - some guns are slowly forming!) and look awesome in my clothes.

I'm trying to get back on the grain/dairy free wagon, too, but my real goal is to get the whole family eating better, including the littles.  I'm going to be focused on prepping ahead for the week and using my slow cooker more.  I will to try to post here once a week or so.  Fingers crossed I can do it.

For now, I will sip my collagen-infused coffee (a post on collagen will be forthcoming) and enjoy the Philadelphia tradition of watching the Mummers.  Here we go, 2016!

ETA: I have a few dear friends who participate in the Mummers Parade every year and I enjoy watching to see them perform.  But the repeated use of blackface, and one troop's hateful parody of Caitlyn Jenner's transition coupled with a few of their members homophobic behavior on and off the parade route, is just enough.  I will no longer be watching the Mummers.  It's one old Philly tradition I just can't endorse.

Just like the Salt n Pepa song...

She's "artfully" demonstrating the "O" in Obese, here.  Isn't she just lovely?

So if you are at all cognizant of the Twittersphere and YouTube (and I am only minimally aware), you may have seen some of the hullabaloo over the last few days about the lady in the picture above.  She appears to me to be some sort of failed actress/dancer person who has now decided to call herself a comedian?  I'm not sure, but I'm sure that any of her fans who read this will make sure to correct me. She posted a video to her YouTube recently which she claims was a stand up routine created at the direction of her fans - I've never met a real comedian who let fans tell him/her what to talk about, but whatever.  The basic message was that fat people are awful and that shaming them is necessary to get them to be skinnier.  She made sure, of course, to disclaim the whole thing by saying it doesn't apply to people who have a bonafide health issue that affects their weight, but I guess that means that she has some sort of magical power that allows her to look at a person and automatically know why/how they got fat?  Anyway, her YouTube channel has been mysteriously dismantled, so the video is hard to find, but the rebuttal videos are plentiful and some of them are downright hilarious.  This one happens to be my personal favorite.

I tend to focus this blog around the positives of eating right and my running goals.  What I don't talk about very often is that, according to the BMI scale used by most physicians, I am classified as obese.  I've struggled with my weight all my life.  All. My. Life.  I won't talk about the bullying I endured as a kid because I'm 37 years old and what happens now is up to me.  But I will say that kids are killing themselves because of the kind of stuff I experienced when I was younger and it's not ok.  I will also say that my feelings about the fat acceptance movement as a whole are mixed.  Nonetheless, I don't think that skinny wanna-be celebrities have a place in that movement, either for or against it, because...

It's none of your business.

When I go out for a run in a sports bra, tank top, and running tights, just like every other runner on the streets of Philadelphia, I don't need someone to give me the old "up and down" and laugh.  Why?

Because it's none of your business.

And when other people pat me on the back like I'm a child and say, "I'm so proud of you!" when I return from said run all sweaty and spent, all I want to do is point out to them how incredibly condescending they are.  My fitness is a point of pride, but I'm not a child who needs a pat on the head for doing it.

After all, it's really none of your business.

I eat what I eat and I do what I do because it works for me and it keeps me accountable...TO ME.  Because it helps me fight off an actual medical condition that has made my weight a daily focus for more than two decades.  However, whether or not I have a "real" illness shouldn't matter to some comedian who just wants exemption from being called a bigoted asshole.  If she thinks that all fat people sit around not caring about their weight, she is clearly oblivious to how impossible that scenario is when people like her exist.  But I guess that doesn't really matter.

'Cause it's definitely none of her business.

Truth is, I have it pretty good as an "obese" person.  I fit perfectly into single seats on public transportation and on airplanes.  I can shop in most clothing stores, albeit at the high end of the size range.  I can run and jump and pick up my kids and all of the physical things that many people assume I'd rather not do in exchange for sitting on the couch and eating bon bons...or something. But there was a time when that wasn't the case, when I had 50 more lbs on my frame.  And I've seen how people treated me then versus how they treat me now, and it's disgusting.  I suppose people like that person up there think I should be happy to at least be getting a little less shit now that I'm a little less fat. 

But have I mentioned that someone's weight is no one else's business yet?

That's right.  How much I weigh and how I got there is my business.  And how much Nicole Arbour weighs is only her business too.  Yeah, sure, I'm blogging right now so I've at least made the words on this page the business of people besides me, but that's about it.  So if it annoys you that people like me have the gaul to walk the streets in clothes that make us feel confident, or that we have the nerve to insert food into our mouths anywhere outside of our own homes, or that we deign to think that public transportation was made for us too, I implore you remember one thing:

WHO WE ARE IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS.

Run commute recap

So, in a nutshell: I did it! (Cue victory dance.)  Here's a brief recap of the experience:

- My route: I ran 3 miles from my starting point to just a few blocks away from my office, mostly by way of large main roads that cross the city.

- What went to the office on Monday: That basket up there, the hair dryer, the flat iron, a jar of course ground coffee and a personal french press to keep up my cold brew addiction, a container of coconut creamer for said coffee, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, a towel, and a bag with three work outfits plus undergarments.

- What I took with me on the run: That backpack up there plus the hand held water bottle, ear phones, iphone arm band, sunglasses, work shoes, lunch, ipad, iphone wallet, keys, and the hair brush I forgot to bring in on Monday.

- Things I didn't anticipate: The weight of the backpack slowed me down a bit.  Even as the palest person I know I forgot to put on sunscreen.  The backpack created new chafing spots that I didn't even know were possible.  And so. many. stop. lights.

- What I loved about it: I got a lot of high fives - center city runners are so nice! Even though it was still a hot and humid run, the temperature was way more tolerable than during midday runs.  And the best part? I was done with my day's workout before I even started my work day!

- What I will tweak: My next run is supposed to be 4.5 miles so my route is going to have to be lengthened, but I also want to find a way to avoid the big streets that are just light after light after light.  I'm also going to try to pack less in the bag - being weighted down by a tiny backpack should not be a factor. And also SUNSCREEN.

- Overall: I'm so glad I did this.  It felt like I was finally making it work with the run training.  I'm hoping to fit in two more run commutes this week, and after looking at my schedule, I think one of them might be a reverse commute after work.  

- What I need from you: My Rhapsody playlists need some serious updating.  What's your favorite running song?

Fitting it in: Let's try run commuting

This is the face I want to recreate at the Philadelphia Marathon in November.  It's the face of victory.  I wasn't the fastest Broad Street runner by far, but I finished.  And I didn't finish last, so there's that.  I trained hard for this race and I mean HARD.  I ran 3-4 times a week, I cross trained with spinning and BodyPump classes, and I ate like a freakin' champ.  But since then, I've made two attempts to train for a half marathon - the next logical step for a Type A weirdo who can't do anything if she's not outdoing herself - and both have failed.  The reasons behind my failures were perfectly understandable so I'm not beating myself up over that.  However, I am agonizing at how lax my training has been on this most recent attempt.  I just can't seem to find the time to run. I know half the people who read this will say I'm not trying hard enough and the other half will say I shouldn't be so tough on myself.  I've had to accept that I'm just not going to be that runner who gets up before dawn to go for daybreak runs and I'm too much of a workaholic to break midday to do it during lunch; evening runs are tough with two little kiddos to get to bed.  I'm just trying to buck up and figure it out.  I'm thinking the only way to guarantee that I get in a run is to try run commuting.  It takes a good deal of prep, though, so I thought I'd share my plan and update later on how it worked.

Step One: Gear Up

This plan requires a few accessories to help make it happen.  First, I need to be able to shower when I get to work, so I'll be setting up a basket in my office that has shampoo, conditioner, body wash, a brush, a hair dryer, and a flat iron (luckily I already have a spare Chi).  For the runs, I purchased an Osprey Daylite running backpack to carry the few things that I need to have each day.  I chose it because it has a waist strap that will keep it in place while I run, and it can also hold a hydration pack for my long weekend runs.  I also got a Nathan Quick Draw hand-held water bottle for the weekday runs since I won't have the luxury of stopping for water along the way - these runs all have to happen within an hour.  

Step Two: Prep

My current running schedule calls for three weekday runs and a long run over the weekend.  My plan is to come in to work on Monday with three extra work outfits and shoes, a small laundry bag, and a clean towel.  The dirty workout clothes and towel will go home with me on Fridays.  This way, all I need to carry in the backpack is my wallet, iPad, and lunch.  

Step Three: The Route

My weekday runs range from 3 miles to 5 miles and it's a little over 3 to get from my starting point to the office.  I will run straight there on my short run days, but the 5 milers will require some creativity.  My plan is to try running across the city, then up Kelly Drive, past the boathouses and back again in order to tack on some mileage.  There are endless possibilities, though, and I'll need to switch up the route often in order to stay motivated.  (I'm saving the Rocky Steps for when I really need a boost.)

Step Four: Yeah, that motivation thing

I am not gonna lie - motivation has certainly been a factor in this slow start.  Between work, family, and other stuff, there are days when I just say, "Well, I don't want to run today."  And on some of those days, I run anyway, only to remember the glorious high that comes at the end of the run.  Runners' high is not a myth, y'all.  When I slow to a strolling cool-down at the end of a run, I feel like a total warrior.  I haven't been feeling that way very much in my daily life, so a reminder of my badassery is very much in order.

So there it is.  My plan to become a three-day-a-week run commuter.  Think I got a shot?

Firing it up...

Has it really been two and a half years since I posted anything here?  I've been feeling inspired lately and thought maybe I should try to write a weekly post.  Ideally, I'd like to buy a URL, get a custom design, and really try to make something of this, but baby steps.

So what's happened since January 2013?  Let's see:

1) I ended up losing a total of about 50 lbs and have plateaued for the last year and a half or so.  One of my goals in starting up this writing again is to get back on that train.

2) In the fall of 2013, I decided to train for and run a 5K for cervical cancer in memory of my mother.  I figured I'd stop at 3.1.  Well that wasn't good enough so I trained for the 2014 Broad Street Run, a popular 10-miler in Philly.  Finished it.  Since then I've tried to train twice for a half marathon but was unsuccessful due to other updates that will reveal themselves below.  I'm now training for the third time and determined to git'er done.  I have a loose goal of completing a sprint tri by the time I'm 40 but that requires more weight loss.  See where I'm going here?

3) Also in the fall of 2013, my beautiful niece M was born in California.  Due to a variety of circumstances, she ended up in foster care just days after birth and we were asked if we would consider taking her.  We never hesitated for a second.  My husband and I began the arduous process of flying one of us to the west coast once a month for visits.  We opened our home to various agencies to qualify us as her foster parents.  Finally, after nine long months, M came to live with us in Philadelphia.  She is now almost two and we are working to adopt her.  She and her "big brother" C (now 4) are our awesome little crew and we couldn't be happier.  But training with that sort of schedule was tough.  So attempt #1 for a half marathon was out of the question.

4) This past winter I was on half-marathon attempt #2 when I came down with what I thought was a horrible cold that I'd caught from the kids.  But when my entire right shin swelled up and I became delirious, I knew it was more.  I landed in the hospital for four days with a case of cellulitis that was a combo of a strep infection gone wild and something that got into my system through - wait for it - a blister I got from running.  My doc and I still suspect that there might be some sort of auto-immune issue at play, but nothing major.  I have adjusted my training to be more yoga and running focused so that I'm not potentially causing adrenal fatigue. Nonetheless, the recovery from that stint was long and attempt #2 was down the drain.

5) We're finally building our new house!  It took nearly three years, but we are almost done with the money stuff and a builder is waiting to get to work.

6) Due to an awesome promotion at work, I'm still traveling but with more long distance, so I am working to incorporate healthy eating and exercise while I'm on the road.

That's all gotta be good for a few posts, right?

Well that sucked...

My First 30 Days of 2013 were more "utter failure" than the "zen yoga master eating clean and peacefully" that I'd intended.  For the first two weeks (yes WEEKS), I was suffering from what ended up being a nasty case of bronchitis. I've honestly never been so sick before.  The benefit was that I wasn't really eating much at all, so it was easy to stay paleo. And I did yoga every day for those first two weeks, even on my bronchitis death bed!  But it all went to hell in a hand basket when I headed off to San Diego and Las Vegas last week for work.  I was feeling much better, but my schedule was nuts.  So I ended up skipping out on a few yoga workouts and my eating went completely into the crapper.

So now I'm back, I'm fully healthy, I have a three day weekend, and I'm making use of the extra time to prep a whole bunch of stuff for the coming week so I have no excuses.  I'm on the road again for work but it's just two day trips.  My crockpot is going to be working overtime this week, but that's a good thing.  Here's the menu.  Stuff in bold is what I prepped ahead of time.

Breakfast for the week will be egg sandwiches on paleo biscuits (from a mix made by White Lion Baking Co.) with pork breakfast sausages.

Monday

Lunch - Potato, leek, and coconut soup.  I've come around to the relatively new belief in the paleo world that regular white potatoes can be paleo if eaten in moderation.  Hate on that if you'd like.  This soup is tasty.  The Kennebec potatoes and leeks that are in it are from our winter CSA share.

Dinner - Slow-cooker pulled pork with coffee rub.  I couldn't find a responsibly raised pork shoulder, so I just trimmed off all the fat I could and loaded it up with my own coffee rub recipe.  Tomorrow, I'll add a couple cups of beef broth and turn on the crockpot on low for 8 - 10 hours.  Yummers.

Tuesday

Lunch - Leftover pork.  (There will probably be lots of leftover pork and I'll freeze a bunch of it for a dinner down the road.)

Dinner - Chicken curry with spinach.  This is such an easy weeknight dinner that it requires little prepping.  The spinach is from our CSA and is ALWAYS gritty no matter how many times I wash, so I'm doing multiple wash and dries of the leaves.  Other than that, this dish consists of diced chicken, sliced carrots, and a bag of frozen sliced peppers plus coconut milk and some red curry paste. 

Wednesday

Lunch - Eating on the road in NYC (so probably Chipotle)

Dinner - Chocolate Chili.  I make this chili in the crockpot so that the flavors meld together all day long.  I also double the tomatoes and leave out the water.  To prep, I browned the meat today and put it in a freezer back with all the spices, onion, garlic, and tomato paste.  That went into the freezer and I'll pull it out on Tuesday night to thaw, add it to the crock with the other ingredients and then put it on to cook on Wednesday morning.  I have some frozen kale that I might saute and add on top.

Thursday

Lunch - leftover chili

Dinner - Broiled salmon and sauteed frozen spinach. 

Friday

Lunch - Back in NYC again (yup, Chipotle)

Dinner - Slow-cooked meatballs and sauce with sweet potato gnocchi.  I made the meatballs today, froze them on a cookie sheet, and then put them all in a freezer bag when they were fully frozen.  It's a simple recipe of ground pork and beef, diced onion, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, and an egg and some almond meal to bind.  The sauce is store bought but was the one brand with no sugar in the ingredients.  I'll just throw two jars of it in the crock with the pre-rolled frozen meatballs and set it on low for 6-8 hours.  The gnocchi were something new for me and saying they were a bitch to make is an understatement.  I based things on this recipe, but I think if I do it again, I'll make sure to salt and mash the potatoes immediately after cooking and omit the egg.  This dough was just WAY too watery.  I used a ridiculous amount of coconut flour to keep things less sticky and they still look malformed.

Mutant sweet potato gnocchi

These are all in the freezer, laid out on cookie trays to freeze individually.  Tomorrow morning, I will transfer them to two separate freezer bags.  I have enough to feed a small army...or us, for two meals.

I'm planning on restarting my 30-day yoga challenge, but also hope to get in some gym workouts.  On the days I'm at the gym, I pledge to do 10-20 sun salutations for my yoga requirement.

The First 30 Days: Day 1

Well here we are in Day 1 of my "First 30 Days of 2013" Challenge. I've made breakfast for the week (see recipe below!) and have been grain/dairy free all day.  I'm fighting a pretty nasty cold and my coughing has made sleep difficult.  I'm determined to muster up the energy to do my first Yogaglo class later tonight, even if it's only a 30 minute session.  I know that all of this is going to make my body much better at fighting off infections like this one.

One of my favorite ways of "keeping paleo" with my hectic work schedule is to make breakfasts in advance so that I can just grab in the morning and go.  (Lunches are usually leftovers from the previous dinner.)  The best way of stocking up on breakfasts is to make them in casserole form.  There is absolutely nothing complicated about them and they cut into easy travel-size portions.

I'm tired and sick, today, but also incredibly excited to get back in gear.  I've lost 30 lbs but have a personal goal of losing another 50. To be honest, fifty is just what I think I need to lose in order to fit into the size I'd like to be and feel healthy.  If I get to that size before I get to 50, I'll consider it a success.  Did I mention that I'm not weighing myself during this challenge?  It's going to be hard, but I'm psyched to be more tuned into how I feel than what the numbers say.

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Asparagus, bacon, and caramelized onion breakfast casserole

I froze a ton of asparagus this summer but have found that it's sort of mushy thawed texture makes it really only viable in things like soups and casseroles.  One of my minor resolutions is to get through more of the fresh fruits and veg that I stockpiled over the summer, so this was a good way of getting through some of the asparagus.

2 lbs of asparagus, fresh or frozen, sliced into inch long pieces on the bias
2 small red onions sliced
10 strips of bacon
12 eggs
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350

Cook bacon strips over medium-high heat in a frying pan until crispy.  Remove to a plate with paper towels to collect grease.

Without removing the bacon grease from the pan, add the onions and cook on medium-low heat until soft and partially caramelized (10-15 minutes).

Add asparagus and cook until everything is warm.  In the meantime, crack eggs into a bowl and beat fully.

Slice bacon into small pieces and place all over the bottom of a 9x12 baking pan.  Spread the asparagus and onion mixture on top.  Pour eggs over everything.

Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until the eggs are solid.  Slice into whatever serving size you'd like.  Individual pieces can be wrapped in double layers of plastic or parchment and frozen.

Don't call it a comeback.

Even though this blog has been dark for some time, I promise that plenty has been cooking in Kenzo!  We finalized the purchase of the vacant house next door and we're working with an architect to draw up plans.  The fun surprise in all of this was that we purchased the entire block-to-block lot, which actually has two buildings - the house and a rear building, which is hopefully going to be turned into a cool modern work space for both me and the husband.  The not-so-fun surprise was a zoning issue that we have to get settled before financing can be obtained.  More to come on that.

In other news, I've dropped about 30 lbs, mostly due to an insulin resistance diagnosis which led to medication that has finally righted metabolic issues that have plagued me since high school.  Two other big factors have been my move into paleo eating and the establishment of a semi-regular yoga practice.  There is still a lot of cooking going on in our little crappy kitchen.  It's just mostly centered around meat and fresh veggies.  I'm hoping to bring you regular posts about my adventures, especially as I attempt to stay paleo while also streamlining our dinner making process so that we can eat dinner with the kiddo as many nights per week as possible.

December has been a rough month for staying on track with the whole paleo thing.  So many temptations and stresses.  So for my newest post, I am putting into writing my plan for the first 30 days of 2013, to get myself back in the groove of clean eating and regular exercise.  Don't call it a resolution, please.  We all know how those go.  I might keep this going long after January, but I'm trying to set a realistic goal that is still of a long enough duration that I'll be able to see results that might motivate me to continue.

Laura's First 30 Days of 2013

• Eating - We're going full-throttle Paleo, people.  With a Whole30 to end all Whole30s.  I've done two of these in the past, but they've never been 100% perfect.  This time, it's on. New Year's Day = kitchen purge and restock.
• Exercise - I'm taking on a "30 yoga sessions in 30 days" challenge.  But wait, you say, Who has money for 30 days at a yoga studio?  Not me, grasshoppers.  So I'm joining yogaglo.com.  You pay $18/month for unlimited access to online classes.  They even have mini tutorials for specific poses, which is something I was worried about since I'm still relatively new to the practice.  I have a bit of work travel in January, so it'll be awesome to to be able to take my laptop and just yoga my butt off in my hotel room.  I'll also be taking live classes at a Bikram (hot yoga) studio here in Philly and might try to hit the gym a couple times per week, too, for some weights and light cardio.
• Sleep - This is a big one.  I've noticed that my weight loss stalls during the times that I'm most busy at work, which means I'm on the laptop after Charlie is in bed and I work until midnight, then get up at 5 am.  So my goal for January is to get at least 7 hours of sleep each night.  That seems to be my minimum set point for optimum mental health and bodily function.  If it means I DVR Top Chef and watch it later, so be it.
• Mental health - Yogaglo also has some meditation classes.  I'm thinking of trying them.  Between weight loss stress, work stress, house-building stress, and the regular family stress we all endure, I just need an outlet.  Lately, it's been the occasional cigarette and that needs to stop RIGHT. NOW.  So meditation it is.  Say om, y'all.

What do you plan to do in the first 30 days of 2013?

Hey, there I am!  Chillin' on the beach in Cape May where I spent the last week with the family.  Oh, and that's also me at 14 lbs lighter than I was on July 1.  Booyah Whole 30, BOO-FREAKIN'-YAH.  I do have to make two confessions, though:

1) I can't credit all of this to Whole30.  About a week into this process, I finally had an appointment (after a six month wait) with a primary physician who specializes in Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, a condition I've had since high school.  You can consult Dr. Google for more details but the long and short of it is that I have a hormonal imbalance that messes with my ability to process insulin which leads to all sorts of issues including weight gain and ovaries that don't work quite right.  Most physicians, even OBGYNs, are less than knowledgeable about this issue and I'd lost almost all hope that I could find someone who would really help me proactively attack this.  Imagine my surprise when this doc instantly diagnosed my insulin resistance, prescribed me the medication I KNEW would help me, and even freaked out in a good way about the fact that I was already knowledgeable about paleo.  She actually recommends this way of eating to her PCOS patients.  So I'm fairly certain that the meds are helping because now I'm processing food like a normal person, but I like to see the meds and Whole30 as a dynamic duo of healthy weight loss ass-kicking.

2) Technically, my Whole30 ended at aWhole23 or so because I had a couple treats while on vacation and the official rules say that you have to start over if you have even a morsel of no-no food.  Four alcoholic drinks and two ice creams in the entire week aren't that bad, but still, the rules are the rules.  Anyway, the Whole9 crew is having an official Whole30 starting August 1, so I'm doing my best to tow the line until it's officially business time on Wednesday.

So even though this wasn't a pristine month of eating, I have to say I've learned a lot. First, coconut milk makes everything okay. I had it in my coffee (stir often, my friends), poured it over fruit and coconut flakes on the rare occasions where I craved dessert, and made lots and lots and lots of red curries with whatever leftover protein I had on hand and bunches of chopped veggies. Secondly, almost everyone I know seems to have taken my eating changes very personally. Why?  I have no idea, but they did.  I've actually given up on explaining it to people and instead have opted to just straight up lie and say I'm doing this to fight allergies or stomach issues (a partial truth).  Whenever I try to outline it any other way, people seem to explode into these furies where the food pyramid is trotted out as if I've never seen it before and I'm told about all of the circa-1980 starvation diet plans that I should try instead.  And lastly, I really do love to cook and enjoy food, which I can still do even if I make the Whole30 into the WholeRestofMyLifeWithaFewTreatsHereandThere.  And I can finally enjoy food without feeling guilty.  As long I ignore the whole grain-loving Scarsdale diet pushers out there, of course.


No recipes of my own today, but we tonight we had a beautiful piece of sirloin topped with this roasted garlic schmear from Symon's Suppers on the Cooking Channel.  It was amazeballs.  TRY. IT.

Also, after a week at the beach, my new (or re-newed?) obsession is with sea scallops.  No fancy recipe needed for these. Just get a 1/2 lb or so, heat up some butter or oil on medium heat, lightly salt and pepper those babies, and then cook for about 7 minutes on each side.  Only buy them if you know they are super fresh because the taste will be best that way.  The key is to keep the heat at medium and take your time.

I could have totally turned that last line into some sort of cheesy metaphor for eating clean and losing weight but I'd never do that to you.

The Whole30 has come to roost

I totally owe you big time for reading this poor excuse for a blog considering how bad I've been about posting.  So far this summer, I've frozen or canned 20 lbs of asparagus, 8 quarts of strawberries and 12 pints of blueberries, 1/2 bushel of pickling cucumbers, and 1/2 bushel of peaches (yay, peach pickles!!!).


But the big news is that I'm on Day 6 of the Whole30 eating plan.  My grain-free wagon became seriously unhitched about a month ago when my mother-in-law passed away.  I was just trying to keep us all fed and make sure my husband could be wherever he needed to be for his family.  It meant lots of crap meals on the road, and a good deal of late night trips for ice cream as we sat on the couch and felt sad about losing her.  Whole30 is a cold turkey take-it-back-to-basics challenge that goes even further than I'd imagined I'd go - it eliminates dairy (including my beloved - cheese), all sugar, legumes, grains, and anything artificial or "unpronounceable."  It's like a huge reset button - which my bloated, crampy, unhappy gut really needed.

 

I already feel better, physically and mentally, even though I've suffered a bit of carb withdrawal.  I was ready to make my tasty crockpot pulled pork this evening when I learned that liquid smoke is not Whole30-compliant.  I know that this is a tragedy so don't even go there, ok?  Like, for real.  Anyway, I looked at our recently harvested herbs from the back yard garden and came up with a plan.  The recipe is below.

Oh also, we bought the piece-of-shit vacant house next door and we're going to gut it, renovate it, add a floor, move in to it, and rent our current house.  And we just found out that when we bought that house, we might have also bought the building behind it, which means I am not longer just a Kenzo Cook.  I'm also a Kenzo Land Baron.  

I'm trying to figure out if this blog is the right place to post about the house.  Should I start a new blog?  Should I reconfigure this blog to meet the needs of both projects?  Tell me, dear readers, tell me!

And for the two of you who are still reading this garbage bag of a post, here's that recipe: 

Mustard-slathered, herb-encrusted, slow-cooker pork

If you are doing this as a Whole30 meal remember to get a compassionately-raised pork shoulder or at the very least trim as much of the fat as you can off of a conventionally-raised one.  Also, make sure your chicken broth isWhole30 compliant (no sugar)!

2-3 lb pork shoulder

1/2 cup grainy mustard

1/2 cup of dijon mustard

2-3 cups of mixed FRESH herbs, finely chopped (I used basil, rosemary, thyme, sage, and oregano from our herb garden)

1/2 cup chicken broth

salt and pepper to taste

- Cut the shoulder up into 5 or 6 hunks.

- Mix the two mustards together and slather it on to all sides of each hunk.

- Press generous amounts of the herbs into all sides of each piece.  

- Salt and pepper each hunk.  As each piece is finished, place it in the crock.

- Pour in chicken broth.

- Cook for 10-12 hours on low.

 

Where were we?

Shortly after this was taken, they were turned over to combat the dreaded "float."

I would first like to sing the praises of both my husband and the variety of quality playgrounds in Philadelphia which made this morning possible.  It's about 11 am and my small batch of strawberry jam is processing individually in an asparagus steamer on the stove top.  (More on that later.)  But here's what else I managed to accomplish today:

• Baked three salmon filets (for the kid - who loves salmon - or salads during the early part of the week)
• Roasted a bunch of beets (to make this tonight)
• Roasted a bunch of carrots (again, for the kid)
• Dealt with those 20 lbs of asparagus - I considered a combination of pickling, canning, and freezing but ended up just freezing all of it in 1 lb batches.  It actually ends up being about 11 lbs worth once you trim off all the ends.  I blanched for 2 minutes and plunged into an ice bath before draining well and putting into bags.  I'm in the market for a vacuum sealer for future projects like this one, but hooray for asparagus throughout the winter!
• Packaged and froze all but one quart of the 8 quarts of strawberries from yesterday.  I trimmed and washed all of them last night and laid them out in single layers on baking sheets and in large plastic containers.  Then I put them in the freezer overnight.  This morning I just needed a tiny bit of elbow grease with a spatula to lift them up and freeze in quart batches.  This is a good measurement for batches of jam or baking, so I went with that.

Tired yet?  I am.

And then there's the jam.  I saw Pomona's Universal Pectin in the canning supply closet at Greensgrow, while I was picking up the produce haul yesterday. I wasn't thinking of making jam, but Pomona's is made for use in low-sugar recipes, so that was enough to tempt me.  I was happy to use one quarter the amount of sugar I usually use for jam and a quick taste of the mixture revealed that it was still sweet and delicious.  I took a tip from my favorite local canning guru and bought an asparagus steamer a while ago, but was waiting to use it.  Even though I have to process one jar at a time, it was way easier than hauling the camping stove outside, hooking up the propane and standing out in the heat while jars process.  Man, I can't wait until we have a kitchen with a gas stove and burners and stuff. The camp stove will make an appearance during tomato season!

So that was my morning.  I fully plan to put the kid down for a nap and do nothing but watch Real Housewives reruns, just in case you thought I was going to go make a dozen quiches or something.

I'm back...back in a Kenzo grooooove.

What does one do with 20 lbs of asparagus and a flat of strawberries?  Well, my sweets, you'll have to keep an eye on this spot to find out.

Truth be told, I had one foot out of Kenzo for the last couple months, as a job offer came my way that seemed too good to be true...and then turned out to be just that.  I wasn't sure how long we'd be here.  I wasn't sure if Cooking in Kenzo would survive the summer.  Cooking in Suburban New Jersey just doesn't have the same ring to it. 

But we're not leaving!  At least not for now.  We've closed on the vacant house next door, which will yield endless posts with cheesy titles like "A House Grows in Kenzo."  Now that the kiddo isn't attached to me at the nipple, we're growing veggies in the yard, got a full CSA share, and I'm buying local produce (like that in the pic above) to get back to some canning and freezing.  I might even go really nuts and start knitting again! 

I probably should have gotten my knives sharpened before I bought all that produce...

The obligatory bad blogger post...

I'm too afraid to do the math and figure out how long it's been since I posted.  April - June is a crazy time for fundraisers, with the fiscal year and all, so our dinner planning has taken a real turn for the boring.  I've managed to keep our dinners, and most of our lunches, grain-free.  But breakfast has been hard because I've eaten it on the road as I rush to meetings, end of the year events, or doctor appointments - leave it to Charlie to get every bug under the sun as the weather gets warmer.  I keep imagining the Starbucks icon tapping her fingers all Mr. Burns style, saying, "Welcome back, my pretty" and then following up with a maniacal laugh.

So a typical dinner right now is broiled or grilled meat of some sort with two vegetables, one of which is usually broiled right on the same pan with the meat.  I start the protein first.  Last night it was pork chops with a quick spray of olive oil from the misto, salt and pepper, and a sprinkle of my new favorite broiler condiment Liquid Smoke.  I put them under the broiler for 8 minutes (they were thick little buggers), then pulled them out to flip them and add the veggies.  I threw some slice zucchini and leeks (I've been obsessed with the leeks from our local farmers market lately) on the pan, doused them in olive oil, salt, and pepper and then gave them a good toss before throwing the pan back under the broiler for another 10 minutes.  While that cooked, I sauteed some baby spinach in olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, on the stovetop.  My new favorite short cut is minced garlic in a jar.  Don't hate, all you foodies out there.  We all have to make our sacrifices where we can!  Fresh garlic is awesome, but taking an hour just to chop everything I need to start dinner is most definitely not awesome.

I have so many food-related goals for the summer and I doubt all of them will get done.  I'd like to start going to pick my own fruits as each one comes into season so that I can freeze bunches of them for use during the winter.  We bought a couple tomato plants and a bean plant that I hope to nurture this summer, as well as maybe another eggplant plant which always seems to be fruitful for us.  I'd like to do some canning, at least of tomatoes but also peaches and pickles.  And I would like to get back on the grain-free train for all meals because being off has been a very unpleasant experience. 

On the weight loss front, a friend has buddied up with me to work out.  We purchased a Living Social deal for a local Cross Fit operation and went to the intro class.  It's taken us two weeks to work up the courage to go back after we got our asses handed to us, but I'm psyched.  I'm a fan of tough, athletic work outs that push you to your limits and beyond.  One of my favorite feelings is walking out of a gym with sweat pouring off me feeling like an utter and total badass.  Rah rah for crazy Type A personalities.

All these goals might be tossed up in the air, as the potential for big change is on the horizon.  (And NO, it does not mean another kid is on the way.  Please.  The very thought of two sets of ear aches and fevers gives me hives right now.)  It's a change we've wanted for so so long, but we are patiently enduring the state of limbo right now.  It won't be awful if things stay the same but it will be AMAZING if they change.

To sum up - things are crazy, my eating is "meh" both in terms of variety and health, I am going to continue to put too many tasks on my plate and then lament all of them, and none of this will mean anything if just one thing goes my way in the next few weeks. 

Carry on.

A menu and what's really important

After a week of long days at work (which culminated in me getting to shake hands with Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor), I looked forward to a quiet weekend at home with the family. Then I got the devastating news that a law school friend and former work colleague had lost his 35-year-old wife tragically and suddenly. They have two little boys under the age of 4. I was devastated for him and it also made me think about my own mortality and what would happen if one of us was gone from Charlie's life. I tried to distract myself with a grain-free baking experiment, but that failed miserably. I realized I needed to worry about perfecting it later and just spend the evening watching my little guy toddle around and babble to me. That's what was really important. As much as I value the quality of food that I feed my family, what is most important to me is the time I have with them.

This morning, we awoke to the news that a five alarm fire was ripping through an abandoned warehouse just a few blocks from where we live. Community members have been begging the city to do something about the property for months, but no action was taken. As a result two firefighters have died. I'm channeling my anger into productivity, attempting to get a collection together to provide coffee and pastry to the local ladder company for a few days.

Here is this week's menu. I'm trying to keep it simple this week to accommodate a busy schedule and leave time for plenty of baby-hugging and tickling.

Monday - Sausages with braised kale & leeks

Tuesday - Roasted chicken breasts

Wednesday - Leftovers

Thursday - Crockpot pork dish of some sort

Friday - Chuck roast

This post is part of Menu Plan Monday.

Making an oopsie into a yummy...

I tend to be very hard on myself about everything, including my cooking. When a dish I've been imagining and planning for days ends up being a dud, I always get pretty pissed at myself about it. Last night's dish was one I've been wanting to make for weeks. One of our favorite neighborhood restaurants put a picture up on their FB page, about a month ago, for a new special they were introducing: Philly cheesesteak tater tots. It was tots topped with sliced sandwich steak and cheese whiz. I knew I could make both a healthier version and one that was grain-free. I researched and planned and purchased ingredients and just waited for a Saturday when I'd have adequate time to dedicate to a meal that had a few steps.

This recipe was the guide for the grain-free, paleo "tots" made with...you guessed it...cauliflower. I broiled a small piece of flank steak. And then created a cheese sauce (see recipe below) to go on top.

So what was the problem? The tots mixture was too wet, so I couldn't get any tots to form or brown easily. Luckily, it made a delicious mash, so we layered the steak and sauce on top of a pile of the mash and enjoyed it just the same. I cooked broccoli to go on the side and right after the photo up there was taken, the broccoli got a good ladle of cheese sauce too!

This recipe makes a LOT of sauce, so cut it in half or be prepared to store some if you are just making one meal for a few people. We ended up putting it on omelets the next morning and still have more left to eat.

Cheese Sauce
1 onion, diced
4 TBSP coconut oil
3/4 cup almond flour
3 cup milk
8 oz shredded cheddar
8 oz goat cheese
1 tsp salt plus more to taste
pepper to taste

- Melt the coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cool until translucent.
- Mix in the almond flour, then stir in the milk, salt, and pepper. Keep stirring and adjust heat so as not to burn any of the mixture.
- When the mixture is relatively thick and warm, stir in the cheddar cheese. Break the goat cheese up into hunks and stir it in.
- Stir slowly until thick and creamy. Serve warm.

Better than plain baked chicken

A friend recently said to me, "Don't you ever just throw a chicken breast in the oven to bake, microwave some frozen vegetables, and call it a meal?" The answer is yes...sort of. I had two working parents as a kid, so I ate a lot of plain baked chicken with plain microwaved veggies. While I rarely cook anything that has no spice or flavor, I do sometimes take a recipe and change certain elements so that I can get it on the table a little faster. Tonight, I cooked took this awesome recipe for Almond Strawberry Stuffed Chicken and switched it up a little. First, as I'm trying to use up some of our older frozen meat, I used two pork chops and two chicken breasts. Instead of marinating, I just sprayed them with my misto, doused them in balsamic and lemon, and then sprinkled them with salt, pepper, and cinnamon before putting them into the oven to bake. Then, I made the stuffing into more of a topping, just throwing it on top of the protein when it was done. Tasty!

Oh, and it was accompanied by steam-in-the-bag green beans fresh out of the microwave. My mother would be proud.

This week's menu:

Monday - Almond Strawberry Chicken/Pork

Tuesday - Southwestern Chorizo Burgers

Wednesday - Salmon

Thursday - Crockpot BBQ Chicken

Friday -A special grain-free version of a comfort food that I'm trying to keep a surprise

This post is part of Menu Planning Monday and Monday Mania.

Random thoughts on a Friday

I've had a million ideas for posts swimming around in my head this week, but none of them developed into full-length items. But it's Friday, so I figured a post with a bunch of random thoughts would be appropriate pre-weekend fare.



1. That picture up there is the leftover lunch I am having today after making these ribs, but paleo-ized by substituting almond meal for the bread crumbs. I also realized that I was out of cayenne so I used some cajun seasoning - not as spicy, I bet, but pretty tasty! The cabbage was simply dressed in some olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.

2. My husband has been away all week for work and I've been home alone with a nearly-one year old. I did a menu plan for this week and just assumed that I'd never actually cook all that stuff because I'd be swamped. But I did it! A steak, a lemongrass pork stirfry, stuffed chicken breasts, and ribs. I did it all on my own, made enough for lunches the next day, and prepared breakfasts/coffee to take to work too. One convenience tool that I bought for this week was a microwave omelet maker. That thing has changed my life. We had a microwave egg poacher, but it never really worked very well and almost always exploded egg gunk all over my microwave. I'm the worst omelet maker in the world, and not a huge fan of sweet breakfasts, so this thing will get used a ton. As I type this, I am noshing on a delicious omelet with spinach and mozz!

3. I'm going to save most of the mommy-related stuff about my solo week for my column at The Shopping Mama, but I'm still sort of amazed at how I kept our kitchen relatively clean and tidy this week. Usually my husband does dishes and feeds pets while I feed the kid dinner and prep our meal, but this week, I fed kid and I fed pets and I loaded the dishwasher with the day's bottles and food stuff. After kid was asleep, I put my own dinner on to cook and while it was cooking, I prepped mine and the kid's food for the next day and cleaned up a bit. I even managed to get into a habit of making the kiddo's dinner for the next day so that he didn't have to wait for it! This is a life-changing revelation, people.

4. I wore a dress this week that was skin-tight when I tried it on a couple months post-partum but fit like a dream this time around. This grain free thing is working. Like, really.

5. There's no way I could afford to get a culinary degree at this point in my life, but I'm wondering if there are ways to pick up specific skills that you learn in cooking school. I'd love to take a short course on knife skills, for example.

6. A friend asked if I've ever considered being a personal chef, specializing in grainfree cooking. I never considered it, really, because I just assumed no one would want a personal chef who's never actually been...a chef. And I've only been grainfree for a couple months now, so I'm far from being an expert although I'd have much more time to do my research and develop recipes if I was cooking for a living. I don't know, though...how much do personal chefs make? Can you make more by cooking for more than one family? How do you do that? So many interesting little questions to consider...just for fun, for now.

Simplicity

So last week was sort of nightmarish for me in the kitchen. First, I put a coffee-rubbed brisket in the crockpot and forgot to add water. The roast was delicious but sort of dry. And then there was the chicken recipe. While standing in the Whole Foods cheese section, I sampled an amazing olive tapenade and was inspired to create a chicken dish. The ingredient list for the tapenade included cream cheese and feta, so I grabbed a hunk of feta from the cheese fridge and decided to substitute mascarapone for the cream cheese.

Big mistake. HUGE.

I stuffed chicken breasts with a gloppy mix of mascarpone, feta, raw spinach, and olives. It was awful. I mean really awful.

I wanted a rematch, however, and this week I simplified the whole dish. The result is a dish that tasted delicious and probably delivered less calories and fat than the gross original version. I also peeled and chopped some black salsify, and sliced up some kale, doused them in olive oil, salt, and pepper and let them cook on the same tray as the chicken for the first 10 minutes. Then I removed the roasted kale and salsify and let the chicken continue to cook. Tasty!

Chicken stuffed with feta, spinach, and olives

2 large chicken breasts
2 tbsp crumbled feta
3 cups of fresh spinach
1/2 cup kalamata olives
2 cloves garlic, minced
Olive oil spray or a misto
Salt and pepper
Toothpicks

- Preheat oven to 375
- Spray a baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray or a misto
- Butterfly the two chicken breasts and salt/pepper both sides
- In a skillet, heat up a little bit of olive oil and saute the garlic before adding the spinach. Cook until all spinach is wilted.
- Stuff each chicken breast with half of the spinach and garlic, feta, and olives. Use toothpicks to keep the breasts closed.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then carefully flip and cook for another 15 minutes or until breast meat is fully-cooked.