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Peppery Pasta salad & Chicken Roulade

And finally I have reached a carb-full moment. Do you see
what I did there?

If you have been following along last week I was in
basically crying my eyes out over the lack of pizza, pasta, melty cheese, and
fried goodness in my life. Don’t worry these things won’t be gone forever, just
for a little while. I had been feeling the need since fall hit to clean myself
up, you know eat things that actually make me feel better about myself, after a
summer of big beers, and parties, then I got engaged and a few months of
celebration happened. I don’t regret a thing, except maybe those 10-12 lbs I gained,
and a few drunken word vomits but its ok we are working on it all.

Last week was tough, I cut out all sugars refined sugars (I couldn’t
say no to honey with a sore throat!), heavy carbs (ie breads, pasta, etc.), as
well as red and fatty meats. I drank an excess of green and herbal teas
(English breakfast I miss you!), smoothies, and water. I drank lots, and lots,
of water, and NO WINE (don’t worryboos are back after this week). I mean this wasn’t
the detox diet of all detox diets, but I was realistic with myself, my love of
food, and I made a plan I knew I could handle. The results were pretty
astonishing.

I feel a lot better about life, including that extra bit of
chub I gained so my spirits have improved. My dry skin hasn’t sent me into a bloody
scratching fit in a few days; I haven’t decided yet whether that’s because of
the influx of healthy fats, (avocado & fish) or the excess water I drank,
but either way I’m liking it. My face is nearly crystal clear, and my hair is tamer
than its usual frizz ball.

Unfortunately I know that his diet is not one that I can
keep up forever without cheating, so this weekend I decided to cheat in the
best possible way. With pasta.

Peppery Arugula Pasta


6 ounces pasta of choice
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
1/3 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
2 cups fresh arugula

Cook the pasta according to package instructions. In a sauce
pan heat oil, broth, and pepper stirring to combine. Once fragrant (1-2
minutes) remove from heat and toss with pasta. Add cheese and arugula and toss
again before serving. (serves 2)

Chicken Roulade with Lemon, Oregano and Goat Cheese

2 chicken breasts
4 oz goat cheese
1 tbsp chopped oregano
Salt & pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
½ cup chicken stock
1 lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare chicken into piallards,
spreading goat cheese and oregano on one side. Roll the chicken up securing
with a tooth pick and season generously with salt and pepper. Heat a oven safe
pan with olive oil over medium high heat. Place roulades in the pan and cook
for one minute before turning. Allow them to cook for an additional minute on
that side before placing in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until
juices run clear. Remove pan from the oven and place on the stove top over
medium heat, remove chicken and set aside. Add stock and the juice from one
lemon to the pan cook until reduced by half and pour over the chicken to serve.
(Serves 4)

Hopefully this will tied me over for the next week or so,
while I attempt to stick to this diet and add some workouts to the mix. I’ll
post an update next week with the Operation Get Fit link up to let you know how I’m doing.

We are almost halfway through January. How are your New
Years Goals/Resolutions or non resolutions going?
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