Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Coconut Chicken Curry and NAAN Bread!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Are you looking for a thick, tasty beverage? or something to add to your protein smoothie? Try this. It has less calories than skim milk, and only 3 grams of sugar (versus 12 for skim milk...skim milk is high in lactose, which we slowly lose the enzyme after childhood to break this down..."lactose intolerance"). It also has 10 live and active cultures for good bacteria. Feeding your body delicious fermented foods and drinks is a great way to boost your brain-body connection. Did you know that the health of your intestines affects your moods,behavior and brain health?

Our moods are directly correlated to the intestinal flora of our gut...the nervous system actually come from the gut to the brain (in the pasted they thought it was the other way). Check out the nutritional analysis compared to regular yogurt! WOW!


Yoplait Yogurt = 175 calories, 35 carbs, 28 sugar, 0 fiber
Plain Yogurt = 120 calories, 17 carbs, 10 sugar, 1 fiber
Coconut Milk KEFIR = 70 calories, 6 carbs, 3 sugar, 3 fiber

This dish is real comfort food! In the curry recipe, I substituted Coconut Milk Kefir in place of 1 cup yogurt and 3/4 cup coconut milk. I save a TON of calories, carbs and fat (for those of you who count fat grams:). Kefir is a cultured, enzyme-rich food filled with friendly micro-organisms that helps balance your "inner ecosystem." More nutritious and therapeutic than yogurt, it supplies complete protein, essential minerals, and valuable B vitamins. Just make sure to purchase the "original" version...the vanilla has a ton of unwanted sugar.



3 TBS coconut oil
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 TBS curry powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp paprika
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger root
1/2 tsp Swerve (or a drop of stevia glycerite)
Celtic sea salt to taste
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast - into bite-size pieces
1 TBS tomato paste
1 3/4 cup coconut milk kefir
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until lightly browned. Stir in garlic, curry powder, cinnamon, paprika, bay leaf, ginger, sweetener and salt. Continue stirring for 2 minutes. Add chicken pieces, tomato paste, and coconut kefir. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove bay leaf, and stir in lemon juice and cayenne pepper. Simmer 5 more minutes. Makes 4 servings.

NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per serving):
Traditional Chicken Curry = 313 calories, 14 carbs, 3.8 fiber, 21.7g fat
"Healthified" Chicken Curry = 207 calories, 10.75 carbs, 3.8 fiber, 11.9g fat

NAAN Bread is an oven-baked flatbread. It is one of the most popular varieties of South Asian breads and is particularly popular in India. It works great for picking up food instead of using utensils. It makes for a fun dinner...unless you are in charge of clean up!

3 eggs, separated
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 cup unflavored whey
3 oz zour cream or coconut cream
OPTIONAL: 1 tsp curry powder


Separate the eggs (save the yolks for a different recipe), and whip the whites in a clean, dry, cool bowl for a few minutes until VERY stiff). Blend in the whey protein and sour cream (or softened coconut cream).

Heat the oil in a fry pan on medium high until a drop of water will sizzle. Once it is hot, place a circle of dough on the pan. Fry until golden brown on both sides. Remove from heat and place on a plate. Enjoy! Makes 6 servings.

NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per serving)
Traditional Naan Bread = 312 calories, 46 carbs, 1.9g fiber, 3.4g protein
"Healthified" Fry Bread = 168 calories, 0.8 carbs, 0 fiber, 4.6g protein

21 comments:

  1. Looks delish. I just recently stocked up on Indian spices too. Will have to add this to the growing list of recipes to make.

    M

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  2. Can I do the naan bread without whey protein?

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  3. Yep, the bread works without the whey added to it. I just work with so many people that are needing the extra nutrients, I try to sneak it in.

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    1. so if were not using the whey, what should we replace it with?

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  4. wow! Naan with coconut chicken curry a yum combo.

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  5. Nutrition Consultancy

    Nutrition consultancy helps in improving the lifestyle in a healthy and active way

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  6. Made this last night and it was quite tasty. Have a feeling it will taste even better tonight! I was nervous about using the full amount of curry powder but it was not too strong at all. Mine required quite a bit of salt, and I think next time I will use a little more sweetener as well, to balance the flavor of the seasonings.

    I didn't do the naan, will save that for the leftovers. Also, I'm going to make some cauliflower "rice" to go with -- the recipe, which I doubled, made lots of yummy sauce.

    BTW, the "So Delicious" brand kefir is now called something else... "fermented coconut beverage with pre and probiotics," if memory serves.

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  7. Thanks for the tips Susan!

    I appreciate your interest;)))

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  8. I just stumbled on this recipe and can't wait to try it! I have a question though - the naan recipe calls for whey powder but I don't see it in the ingredients list? How much? I assume plain whey powder. Thanks!

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  9. Hey Pam...I just fixed it. Thanks for your help!!!

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  10. Can you use greek yogurt in place of the sour cream?

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    1. Yes, just make sure to use a full fat low sugar greek yogurt. :)

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  11. This looks delicious Maria, but is there something wrong with using full-fat coconut milk? I usually make my curries with coconut milk and a bit of water. I didn't think I needed to worry about the fat. Does coconut milk have too many carbs? Thanks for all you do!! :)

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    1. Nope, nothing wrong with full fat coconut milk. I am using coconut kefir in this recipe as a replacement for yogurt (it is fermented). :)

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  12. Maria, what's underneath the chicken?

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  13. I made this dish last night and it was delicious. Even my fiance who is anti my gluten free diet liked this meal. I served his on brown rice and mine on cauliflower rice. My recipe didn't turn out white like your picture, Why is that? I followed the recipe exact. Either way it was good.

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    1. Thank you! This might have been an earlier revision of this recipe. I tweak and take photos as I go and I would guess that this photo was before I added more spices. :)

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    2. ok great. I wanted to make sure I didn't mess it up. My fiance loved this dish. He went back for seconds. I am slowly winning him over to my new diet/lifestyle. Tonight we are eating your spinach and artichoke tart.

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