I love Food Renegade and yesterday she posted a recipe for “Tom Kha Gai: Thai Coconut Soup”.   She indicates that it is from Nourishing Traditions and I was like, “OMG, I’ve got that book!”  You must realize the book has >600 pages, so it is easy to overlook recipes.  FUN FACT: This book is actually part of my curriculum at school…I was very happy when I heard that.  Anyways, the soup looked so good and I was craving something Thai-ish, so I cracked open Nourishing Traditions (p198) and busted out this gem.  I’ve modified it to include chicken (as per Food Renegade’s version), kelp noodles and kale.  Another bonus….This recipe is SO EASY!  I think this would be really good with lemongrass too, but I didn’t have any on hand.

Ingredients (serves 3-4)
– 1 whole roasted chicken – meat removed and shredded (i picked up a Beretta roaster from Loblaws)
– 1 L of chicken stock
– 1 and 1/2 cans of coconut milk
– 2 bunches of Kale – stems removed, leaves chopped
– 1 bag of Kelp Noodles – rinsed
– 1 bunch of green onions – chopped
– 1 Cup of chopped cilantro
– 1 Tbsp of minced ginger
– 1/4 tsp of chili flakes

Directions:

  1. In a large pot, heat stock.  Once it reaches a simmer, add coconut milk, ginger, chili flakes and kale.
  2. Stir around and wait until kale shrinks (about 5-7 minutes).
  3. Add kelp noodles and chicken.  Bring to a simmer and let it go for 7 more minutes.
  4. Add green onions and cilantro.  You could top it with this afterwards, but I just added mine right into the pot.
  5. You may need to add more stock or coconut milk if there is not enough liquid or you prefer it soup-ier.
  6. Enjoy!

You may be wondering why I haven’t posted any Fully Primal Husband testimonials as of late…we just haven’t eaten any of these meals together (plus, I often make these recipes for my lunches at work), so I’m not capturing his candid reactions.  I refuse to post his second thoughts.

Now onto the Whole30 + no caffeine update:

DAY 11!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We are more than 33.333333% through!  WOOOOT!  I think I am finally getting accustomed to my zen state in the mornings and don’t notice the lack of caffeine as much.   I’m able to converse with co-workers and piece together sentences without stumbling on my words and drifting off into space (seriously, that was happening ).  My productivity at work has been better this week, although I could use an afternoon nap.  My AM workouts have been going well and I didn’t try to murder anyone with a kettlebell & skipping rope this week….this is also because I started bringing an herbal tea with me to class (thanks to my readers who suggested this!).  My sleep continues to be AMAZING.  I am hitting the pillow, passing out right away and sleeping solid through the night.  The real challenge is going to be this weekend.  Last weekend was HARD, so I’m bracing myself for a similar experience this weekend.  The weekend is tough because it is not just the lack of caffeine…it’s the fact that I’m not having my glass of red wine with my steak….Or my weekly dose of Healthy Butcher pulled pork (because I am certain there is some sugar in their sauce)…or my dark chocolate ( i usually indulge in a 80% bar).   grrrrrrrrrrrr.  I am hoping that this weekend will be better.

How is everyone else doing?? Any struggles??

My friend Amy sent me this picture and I had to post it.  I love it. I think it sums up my “before” situation very well: