WIAW...and WWRD?!

Alright, with a raise of your hand, show me how many of you have been sticking to your resolutions?
If you are raising your hand right now, you suck.

No, just kidding. Actually, I envy you! You see, I have been procrastinating as much as ever lately, and I even missed a deadline for a huge scholarship (by 1.5 hours!!). I haven't been exercising as much as I would have liked, I am not being as social as much as I would have liked, blah blah blah. My new year resolution list is just one big FAIL. And to top it all off, I have been a very very bad blogger. Sure, I have been making tasty recipes in the kitchen, same as before, but I haven't post a single one. I still haven't gotten the "take picture" and "post blog" part down yet. I've only mastered the "bake" and "eat" part.

Oh, well. I'm not perfect and there is nothing that will change that.

Now, what you really wanted to read about was food, right? Yes, yes, I am getting to that part.

But first, let's talk about Richard Simmons.

"What?" For those of you who do not know who Richard Simmons is the title of this blog post has probably left you a little skeptical. I forgive you though, because Richard Simmons would forgive you, and my mantra in life is: What Would Richard Do WWRD? (okay, not really...) In all seriousness, this is Richard Simmons:

 

 

I told you I was being serious.

 

Seriously.

Richard Simmons is the god of the exercise world. He is old, he is kinda wierd, but he is super fit. And he made exercising cool. Okay, so make that another person I am jealous of today, a 63 year-old exercising god....

Alright, alright, now onto today's recipe, courtesy of a Richard Simmons cookbook:

First Recipe for today:

 

Low Calorie Chicken and Dumplings

Adapted from Richard Simmon's coobook

Total: 1519 calories, 174g carbs, 19g fat , 153g protein Per Serving: 217 calories, 25g carbs, 3g fat, 22g protein
 

 Ingredients:

• 4 skinless chicken breasts*
• 1 cup carrots chopped
• 1 cup vidalia/sweet onion chopped
• 1/2 cup celery chopped
• 1/2 cup mushrooms chopped
• 3 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or all purpose if you prefer)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 Tbsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp each of garlic powder and onion powder
• pinch of salt (optional for lower sodium)
• 1/2 cup skim milk*

Directions:

1. Put 4 cups of water on high.
2. Once the water starts to boil, put the chicken breasts in, partially cover, and let simmer on low.
3. While the chicken cooks (about 15 minutes for chicken breasts), chop the vegetables.
4. After 15 minutes, remove the chicken and let cool on a plate (doesn't need to be completely cooked as it will be added later)
5. Measure out 1/4 cup of all purpose flour in small bowl and slowly add the chicken stock to prevent clumps.
6. Pour out the water from the chicken and add in 2 1/2 cups of chicken stock (remaining amount). Heat on high.
7. When the chicken stock begins to boil, add the chopped vegetables. Keep on medium heat.
8. Tear apart the cooled chicken into small strips or chunks.
9. Stir the flour/broth mixture into the chicken stock and veggies on the stove. (It should start to thicken)
10. Add the chicken.
11. In a medium bowl, combine the whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, parsley, onion powder and garlic powder. Stir in the milk just until moistened. Drop by tsp into the simmering broth. (They will puff up a lot while cooking)
12. Cover the pot tightly and let simmer for 15 minutes.

 *Substitutions:

• You can also use 8 chicken tenderloins or about 1 pound of any other type of chicken, but the cooking time in step 3 will vary.
• Vegitarian/vegan substitutions: Replace the chicken with 2 cups chopped mushrooms, meat substitute, roasted tofu, or even falafel would be great.
• You can also replace the milk with any type of non-dairy milk. I used almond milk today.

This is a very versatile recipe. You can use any type of vegetable you want and it will come our tasty. I have also made this recipe with broccoli and peas with great success.

 
 

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Hope you enjoy this made-over recipe! Now with WWRD on my mind, I'm going to go play Just Dance 3!

 

What kind of comfort food makeovers have you created?