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Hatch Chile Breakfast Casserole

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Casseroles are synonymous with comfort, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy them during the summer months. Throw some seasonal vegetables, eggs, and cheese into a baking dish and you’ll have an easy brunch to share. These 10 casserole recipes are great templates to play with while it’s still warm out. Go ahead — break the rules and turn on your oven for a little bit in the morning.

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It’s been a concept I’ve been focusing on the last few years now—applying it to my life and contemplating how it fits with (and indeed underscores) the Primal Blueprint philosophy. The fact is, I’ve never wanted to see the PB as only a means to a smaller waistline and more defined musculature. I’ve ultimately hoped for it to evolve into a guide for what I’d consider the good life. And what do we think of when we think of the “good life”? Beyond any personal material whims, the crux of most people’s answers usually hover around ideas of ease, balance and happiness. Compare that with the images we’re often shown to illustrate accomplishment (health or otherwise): razor focus, dogged effort, staunch insistence. Anyone else see the disconnect here? Do we really need to throw ourselves into exacting standards and maniacal will to achieve anything of substance? I think not. So let me say a few words on behalf of caring less.

It seems so counterintuitive: choose to be less concerned about something, experience more success with it as a result. But I’ve seen it play out time and again. Over the years I’ve met many people who badly wanted to lose weight, get fit, look a certain way, change careers, win friends or stress less. These people often couldn’t stop thinking about what they wanted—they applied the objective to every endeavor and had grand visions of what it would be like to finally get what they dreamed of. But they were sometimes the least likely people to achieve their goals.

On the other hand, I’ve met industrious folks who approached their goals with less mental effort and ended up attaining (and maintaining) the most success.

You see, the question of investment can be key, and it can be more complex than we might imagine. There’s practical investment of course. But in getting healthy (for instance), we transition to new logistical practices in our diets, exercise and lifestyle. We go to sleep earlier. We take supplements, get outside each day, make sure we get sun, etc. It’s the footwork. It might take us a while to implement things in a way that works for us, but getting the basics of Primal health isn’t overly complicated.

Then there’s emotional investment, which can encompass everything from our general motivation level, to our willingness to change, to our expectations once we’ve achieved our goal. For instance, if we’re looking to lose weight, we commit to making choices that will keep us on track toward our goal. We prioritize that commitment, knowing we’ll need to give up or modify some elements of our daily schedule, social life or family meals. We consider what compromises would be helpful and where consistency will matter most for our success.

But sometimes thoughtful, measured investment can move into less productive territory. Our practical decisions to shift our diets can demand unreasonable amounts of thinking and planning. We can restrict ourselves again and again to a more and more narrow selection of food. We can lengthen or regiment our workouts with an obsessive insistence on exacting, precise efficiency. We may be run by the clock to achieve just the right bedtime or other preordained activity.

Likewise, we can move beyond prioritizing our health to making it our singular fixation. We continually surrender more time and events with people or activities we enjoy to feed the vision we have for our health. We put our goals on a high pedestal, envisioning that, once we achieve them, life will finally be what we always wanted. We will no longer be plagued by self-doubt or have to tolerate our perceived physical flaws anymore.

I’ve met plenty of people who have become so practically and emotionally invested in their goal that they literally believe they can’t be happy until then. They can’t feel settled or good about themselves, they don’t have time to invest in other elements of life until that moment when they cross their self-appointed finish line. Life is on hold until that golden day of achievement.

Alternatively, I’ve met people who aren’t necessarily shooting for any significant change but who are so wrapped up in the precarious, stringent maintenance of their current health that, ironically enough, they undermine their overall well-being.

It’s true that to be successful in a health (or any other) endeavor you have to want it a lot, but obsession can easily push us past the bounds of emotional reason and even the body’s own logic. Stress exacts a deep toll, and deprivation is never an enriching principle for life, let alone something that promises a successful long-term strategy.

Living with a mind stuck in perpetual critique mode exhausts a good deal of mental bandwidth. It’s an energy suck (not to mention killjoy) that can lock us into a heightened and continual state of discontent. In squeezing the life out of our goals—and the happiness out of ourselves—we lose the distinction between discipline and desperation.

The answer is to loosen our grip on the goal, to learn to surrender perfectionism, to let go of exact outcomes, to place our endeavors once again against the larger backdrop of a life well spent. Caring less, after all, doesn’t equate to apathy. It simply obliges detachment and perspective. Some of us might naturally be more ambitious than others, but we can all consider the difference between working toward a goal and identifying with it.

Caring less can mean not standing outside ourselves as a judge anymore. It can mean moving as Grok did with more intuition and less structure. Caring less can entail letting ourselves focus more on enjoying a day and making the most of it than checking off a list of health-driven practices. Caring less may mean engaging the 80/20 principle to celebrate with friends or enjoy a seasonal favorite—or to skip a workout to walk (or sit) with a grieving friend by the lake. Caring less calls us to live a good life rather than an advisable agenda.

And what happens when we do this? What outcomes does detachment enhance or introduce? For each of us, the answers may vary. Maybe we’ll simply (but significantly) feel like we’ve gotten more freedom and flexibility to our life again. We may lose the mental stress of food obsession and gain the creativity to expand our diets in more beneficial ways. We may lose the physical stress of chronic cardio, or we may gain more from our strength training with additional recovery.

We may not go to bed at the exact time each night, but we’ll hit the sheets feeling more rested, more fulfilled, more content and thereby sleep better. Having given up the regimentation, we may know less about what the next day will hold, but we may feel we have more to look forward to. We may not spend as long working certain muscles, but we may be more athletically balanced, more mentally vital, and more present to our physical needs rather than simply to a health agenda. We may spend less time at the gym but more time in flow with our hobbies or on a mountain trail. Finally, we may learn to see how happiness is as much a part of our optimum Primal set point as any particular health consideration. Caring less in these (and plenty of other ways) can ultimately mean succeeding by enjoying more.

Thanks for reading, everyone. Has this principle been true for you? How has loosening your grip helped you succeed? Share your thoughts, and have a good end to the week.

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A cake made of watermelon would have seemed like an oddity years ago, but if you spend anytime on Pinterest you know this flour-free confection is very much a thing. We’re big fans of the concept. After all, what’s not to love about a no-bake summer treat made with four ingredients? But we had to give it own own spin. This version has a few smart changes to the recipes you’ve seen floating around, resulting in a cake just as stunning and whimsical — but much easier to make.

Here’s how we turned the quintessential summer fruit into a easy-to-make masterpiece.

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Southern accents are some of the most distinctive in the U.S. — and, to my ear, some of the most melodic, although there is nothing sweet about a Yankee attempting to mimic a southern drawl. (I’m looking at you, Dulé Hill, aka Larry Siefert).

But while Southern accents should never be appropriated by anyone born north of the Mason-Dixon, Southern slang is a different story all together. After all, Southern speech is both convenient — why use a bunch of words when a contraction will do? — and colorful.

Here are 10 of my favorite sayings. I guarantee you’ll be rarin’ to use them because they’re awesome.

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From Apartment Therapy → Getting Sticky With It: 16 Things Contact Paper Can Completely (and Immediately) Transform

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Originally posted at: http://www.nerdfitness.com/

This is an article from NF Rebel Chef, Noel.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever get inspired to cook (or eat) by a work of fiction.

Maybe you’re revisiting those Redwall books after ten years or more, and you come to a chapter dedicated to a feast. Or maybe you get to book 3 of Harry Potter and it’s not even cold outside, but darn it, you’re pining over a hot mug of Butterbeer. Oh yeah. We’ve all been there.

Recipes on Nerd Fitness are often inspired by travel or favorite foods re-imagined as paleo dishes.

Today’s recipe doesn’t come from a great work of fiction or a chapter in a novel about a feast… it comes from a memory of one line in a ridiculous television show and an old love for a sauce that I just can’t have any more… not because I’m a hard core paleo person, but because I developed a peanut allergy in my 20’s.

This one goes out to all you people who love ridiculous television and also to those of us who cannot eat peanuts. For those of you who don’t give a crap about TV and can eat peanut butter, just consider this a cooking adventure on easy mode.

Now, if you don’t know what Chicken Satay is, it’s a Southeast Asian dish made of marinated pieces of chicken that are skewered, barbecued, and served with a dipping sauce (usually a tasty peanut concoction).

This recipe is about as complex as the Fajitas we made last time. We’re going to cut up some chicken and veggies and then mix a few ingredients together for our tasty sauce. After our chicken marinates, we’ll put our chicken on sticks (if you want), or just toss it in a pan to cook and enjoy!

Sound like something you can manage? Heck yeah it does. Let’s get at it!

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

• 1 lb (.45Kg) chicken or meat of your choice. I usually prefer chicken breast, but thighs work great too.
• Juice from 1 lime (approx. 2 Tbsp or 30mL)
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil
• 1 tsp (5 mL) curry powder
• 1/4 (1 mL) tsp salt

For the sauce:

• Juice from 1 lime (approx. 2 Tbsp or 30mL)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup (120 mL) coconut milk from a can or box (none of that pretend milk in the dairy aisle)
• 1/2 cup (120 mL) cashew or almond butter (or, for you traditional non-paleo or non-allergic folks, peanut butter)
• 1/2 Tbsp (15 mL) coconut aminos (paleo) or soy sauce (if not paleo)
• 2 tsp (10mL) red curry paste or Sriracha sauce – For the red curry paste, Thai Kitchen is an easy and fairly cheap brand to find. If you’ve made our Thai Pineapple Coconut Curry recently, you might have some left over! It’s the same stuff. If you prefer Sriracha, Michelle over at Nom Nom Paleo has a great recipe for a paleo version of this favorite spicy sauce! As always, if you’re a fan of spicier dishes, you can add both of these or more of them to your sauce to turn up the heat.

For veggie skewers: use your favorite grilling veggies. Mine are…

• 1 zucchini sliced into medallions
• 1 yellow squash sliced into medallions
• 1/2 red onion cut into large chunks
• 1 bell pepper cut into 8ths
• 6 whole button mushrooms, halved
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil
• 1 tsp (5mL) salt

Equipment:

• tongs
• cutting board
• knife
• 2 mixing bowls
• skewers (if you’re skewering your food)

*Note: If you don’t have skewers or a grill, don’t sweat it! You can still make this recipe in the oven or in a pan on the stove top.

• If you’re making it in the oven, follow the cooking directions from step 2 and 3 here.
• If you’re making it on the stove top, follow the cooking directions from here.

Instructions:

1. Combine lime juice, curry powder, olive oil, and salt in one of your mixing bowls. Mix it up with a fork and set aside.

2. Grab your chicken, knife, and your cutting board. Cut those bits of chicken into one or two bites big in size (about 2in by 2in chunks). You don’t have to be 100% accurate with the measurements here.

3. Place the cut-up chicken in the sauce you made a little earlier, and mix it up to coat the chicken with the sauce. Don’t be shy!

4. Wash the chicken muck off of your hands, and set that bowl in the fridge. Cover it with something to prevent disaster (like a stick of butter falling into it next time you open the fridge).

5. IMPORTANT: Wash your knife and cutting board with hot soapy water or grab new ones.

Also If you’re using wooden or bamboo skewers, now is a great time to soak those in water so they don’t burn. Grab a shallow dish, pan, or whatever will fit your sticks, put some tap water in it, and place your sticks in the water. Move on with your life.

6. Cut your veggies so that they’re easy to put on skewers. Need a reminder of how to cut something? Kapow!. And more skewering tips here.

• 1 zucchini and yellow squash slice into medallions
• 1/2 red onion cut into large chunks
• 1 bell pepper cut into 8th’s

7. Toss your veggies into another mixing bowl (or a soup pot if you don’t have another big bowl – it is okay to improvise) with olive oil and salt. Mix them around to coat and set aside.

8. Now for the final preparation piece: the sauce! If you haven’t yet, mince your garlic cloves.

9. Grab yet another bowl (a cereal bowl sized one is fine this time) and mix together your coconut milk, cashew butter, lime, minced garlic, coconut amigos, and curry paste or sriracha.

If it all mixes well, great! Mix it up with a fork and set it in the fridge (you should probably cover this one too). If it’s not mixing well (i.e. if your coconut milk is a little cold and therefore won’t incorporate into the sauce), you’ll want to put all your ingredients on the stove and heat them up until they mix together. Then you can transfer it to a bowl and stick it in the fridge.

10. Light your grill, or if you’re not in the grillin’ mood, start heating up your pan or pre-heating your oven.

11. Pull your chicken out of the fridge. It’s time to skewer! Skewer all your chicken together on their own sticks and skewer veggies together on separate sticks.

Five to six pieces of chicken together should be good (depending on the length of your skewers). Or you can alternate chicken and veggies on the sticks. Whatever. Take those beautiful suckas out to the grill and place them on the heat.

If you’re cooking in the oven, check out steps 2 and 3 here.

If you’re cooking on a stovetop, do this.

12. Cook your chicken skewers on the grill with the lid closed for approximately 10 minutes. Crack open a beer, a coconut La Croix (oh yeah, I went there), or pour yourself a glass of ice water with lemon. So fresh!

13. After 10 minutes has passed, it’s time to flip your skewers! Flip them, close the grill, and wait for another 10 minutes. To check if the chicken is done, you can test it with a food thermometer or take one of the skewers off the grill and cut open to make sure it’s no longer pink inside. I know, this isn’t a pretty way to do it, but you gotta do what you gotta do to stay foodborne illness free.

14. When your food is cooked, remove it from the grill. Take your sauce out of the fridge, mix it up, and serve! You can drizzle the sauce on top of the skewers or dip them. Serve along side cauliflower (or regular) rice.

15. Pat yourself on the back because you rock.

Done like dinner!

There you have it. A fairly simple chicken and veggie dish with a tasty sauce that you can make for one or many people. Almost everyone loves kabobs, and they’re easy to make. Chop up your ingredients, let them soak in a marinade for a few minutes, mix together an easy sauce, cook, and dip.

The sauce will keep in the fridge for approximately 2 weeks. Pour it in a jar and stick it in the fridge when you’re done eating. If you’re one of those people who meal preps or thinks ahead, you can make this sauce ahead of time for the week and put it on just about anything you want.

If you choose to make this sauce with peanut butter instead of almond or cashew butter, I won’t judge you. Peanut butter is WAY less expensive than other nut butters (but, not Paleo).

Any fictional feasts you want to recreate?

Have you ever tried to make a food or drink inspired by a story? How did it turn out?

Let us know in the comments!

-Noel

###

Scott Smith: Late Night Sweet Tooth, DANNY CHIAM: Satay

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If you’re drowning in a surplus of zucchini right now — whether from your garden or CSA delivery — I’ve got a sweet solution for you: lemon poppy seed zucchini muffins.

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As soon as August hits, we start to get that unwelcome feeling: Summer will soon be over. And sure, autumn has its perks, but before we turn to apple picking and hot cocoa, we want to squeeze every last drop that summer has to offer.

We’re talking lemonade, of course — and iced tea, sun tea, sangria, iced coffee, Arnold Palmers, Captain Palmers, and all other manner of thirst-quenching beverages. To dole out quick servings of your cold beverage of choice, we’ve rounded up 10 lovely pitchers, from impulse buys to wedding registry-worthy. We think they’re all, ahem, pitcher-perfect.

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Originally Posted At: https://breakingmuscle.com/feed/rss

For all the women reading this, you might have noticed over the years both you and fellow members of the fairer sex find it more difficult to lose fat over a sustained period of time than your male counterparts. Annoying, isn’t it?

Luckily, there is an extent of reliable information as to why this is the case and plenty of countermeasures to make up for the inherent fat loss setbacks of being a woman.

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