Comunidad Health Foods

I warned you that I wouldn't have any enticing pictures of today's post, and it turns out that I wasn't lying. However, what I do have is a satisfyingly simple chicken . salad (as opposed to chickensalad, if you get my drift) that you don't have to feel guilty about eating. Yesterday, I told you about my Tzatziki/Yogurt Chicken Salad and hinted at my idea of a Thai-Inspired/Peanut Butter Chicken Salad, which I am here to tell you about tonight.

This chicken salad is much more savory than the yogurt one from yesterday, and although I used virtually the same base ingredients, simply changing the sauce made today's salad an entirely new meal. I think this one might be my favorite of the two. Also, even if you can't see it, believe me when I tell you that it's pretty darn attractive to boot - salad greens, orange carrots, red peppers, creamy tan peanut butter. The colors are perfect. It packs a double dose of protein - one a very lean source, and the other healthfully plant-based - some good, unsaturated fats, and lots of vegetables for all (okay, most) of your vitamin and mineral needs. The meal is low in saturated fat and sodium (depending on the peanut butter you use), as well as sugar. I can't swear on my life that this is an honest-to-goodness Thai flavor profile, but I'm going out on a limb here and saying that it should at least be loosely inspired by that cuisine. Whatever the cuisine, it's delicious, and way more exciting than any mayonnaise-based chicken salad you could ever dream up.

Thai-Inspired Chicken Salad
Yield: 1 Serving
The Ingredients
1/2 C (approx.) cubed, grilled chicken
1/8 C (or roughly 1 segment of a medium-large) red bell pepper, chopped
1-2 Tbsp. zucchini, coarsely chopped
1/2 carrot, washed, peeled, sliced thinly & then halved
1 C (approx.) salad greens (I used a combination of a packaged romaine mix and spinach)
Salt & pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp. all natural peanut butter (beware of hydrogenated oils in the ingredient list)
Hot sauce (a few healthy splashes)
Cinnamon & Red Pepper Flakes, a pinch each
Cumin, a dash
Olive oil, to create a more liquidy consistency


The Method
1. Combine the first four ingredients in a small or medium bowl.
2. Combine the last five ingredients in a separate, small bowl. Adjust flavorings for taste.
3. Add the sauce to the meat and veggie mixture, and stir up to fully incorporate.
4. Serve over the salad greens, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper if necessary, and enjoy!

Feel free to add actual peanuts or your own mix of spices and/or veggies, or using homemade peanut butter (which I am impatiently waiting for a good time to try)! I've made pita sandwiches with this general "theme" before, with excellent results. So really, the possibilities are endless, you just have to use your imagination a little bit. I could imagine a Curry Chicken Salad, a Tropical Chicken Salad, and - a combination that disgusts my family but intrigues me - a savory chocolate chicken salad. Maybe. That last one could wind up being a total flop.

Or it could wind up being the most spectacular combination of flavors and tastes ever.


You never know if you don't give it a shot.

I know that my last post hinted of heaps of dessert recipes and maybe even some non-chicken dinner entries, but I decided I would do something a little out of the ordinary for me and share with you my breakfast. Breakfast and lunch can be some of the most creative times for me, because I'm cooking just for me in small "batches." It's my time to experiment with combinations of impulses. There are no recipes here, and it's a freedom that dinner and desserts don't give me. I suspect that when I become more acclimated to cooking and baking, dinner in the Floptimism kitchen will look a lot more like the current breakfast and lunch affair, but that's looking pretty far down the road, I'd say.

So, here it is, my breakfast this morning:
Scrambled Egg Whites with Edamame, Green Beans, and Mushrooms
Yield: 1 serving
The Ingredients
1/3 C egg whites (or 2 large eggs)
3-4 Tbsp (or as much as you see fit) combination of cooked and cooled edamame, green beans, and mushrooms*
A pinch each of ground mustard and cumin
A hefty pinch of garlic powder
Ground Black Pepper, to taste

The Method
1. Place the vegetables in a skillet and cook over medium heat.
2. While the vegetables are reheating, combine the eggs and spices (minus the pepper) in a small dish (I always just use the measuring cup used in doling out the egg white from my trusty carton of egg whites).
3. When you start to hear the veggies sizzling a little bit, and the skillet seems hot enough for scrambling, add the olive oil and spread it around.
4. Pour the eggs in, and allow to sit for several seconds to begin to set (this is unnecessary if using whole eggs).
5. As the eggs set, move them all around (real technical terms we have here, I know) until they're all cooked up.
6. Serve, add a little ground pepper, and enjoy!

*Note: Last night, my mom microwaved one of those frozen packs of edamame, green beans and mushrooms for dinner. We had leftovers (does this happen to anyone else, or just in my vegetable-averse family?), so I heated some up this morning. I would imagine that any combination of them, even fresh ones, would work.

Now, all of that being said, I found these to be a little bland. I don't know if I need to stubbornly add a little bit of salt like most normal people who eat scrambled eggs, or if I need something like paprika or some onion in there to kick the flavor up. I used these spices in some random ratio a while back with whole eggs, and it was delicious, so maybe removing the yolks means that the spices need to be cranked up a notch. I also considered adding a little bit of pesto to the eggs just before scrambling, but was afraid that I would wind up with a pile of green mush, since most of the veggies were green, too; feel free to test that out, though, as it might give an appropriate flavor and even saltiness to the end product. I will continue experimenting with it, but wanted to show you guys something a little less structured coming out of my kitchen, especially during a meal that I tend to not share with you for some reason.

There's something else I'd like to mention, though - and mind you, I'm feeling and intending no "woe is me" portion of the post, by a long shot. If I never receive a "follower" (I don't really like that term - it makes me feel a little cult-ish) or a comment, I'll keep posting. I know that occasionally someone glances over my posts, and hopefully takes away a new recipe to try out even if they never acknowledge it. However, I'm starting to feel as though I've been around these parts long enough to have acquired a small group of readers, and that's just not the case.

I'm wondering if any more successful bloggers out there have any tips for me, I guess. I know that I get wordy, and have wondered if maybe that detracted from it. I also know that my photos leave a lot to be desired from, and I, myself, often choose to save or overlook a recipe based on how the picture turned out; I can't blame any superficiality on that front. I also know that my recipes aren't always so stellar - a lot of times they aren't finished products, and even more often they're pretty standard. See, I can think up some potential issues with this blog's failure to catch on, but I can't say with confidence if any of those reasons are the real ones.

If you are out there and reading, I would love to hear from you. There's so much potential on these blogs to share experiences and help one another, and I really would like to become a part of that.

That's all for today, I think. I still have those dessert and dinner plans, so I'll be back again soon...hopefully with a success story. If I don't manage to get on here before Sunday, I hope everyone has an enjoyable July 4th!