Curry Craving

Last night I was so tired and went to bed earlier than I had in weeks. I was hoping it was just tiredness and not illness but on waking I was even groggier but as always, I commit to get up, shower and dress to see how I really feel. I did all that and still felt groggy. My head was heavy and my eyelids like lead. Was this payback from all the wheat I ate/drank on Monday? If so, I only had myself to blame. I suspected however, it was just fatigue post-race so the plan today was to eat for energy. That means no processed foods, high quality protein and lots of fluid.

Breakfast
Instant oatmeal
Due to the aforementioned grogginess, I was running late again and did not eat breakfast at home. I have a stash of instant oatmeal packets at work for this occasion and a quick boil of the kettle provided my morning sustenance and my all important green tea hit. Technically I fell at the first hurdle with my goals today by eating the instant oatmeal as it is somewhat processed but it's not got additives or stuff added and it's still inherently a grain, just rolled out a lot.

Lunch
Tuna rice mix
I threw together an assortment of things for lunch. Brown rice, avocado, canned tuna and hot sauce. I actually love this lunch but usually I make it with salmon for the calcium hit seeing as I don't do dairy. It's clean, tasty, very balanced with carbs, fat and protein and most importantly.....there's hot sauce!
My hot sauce of choice is Franks Red Hot although I haven't tried many others really but I'm totally satisfied with Franks so why look elsewhere?
My friend and co-worker Ms MJ had a huge bag of snap peas with her so I tucked into them too and as we chatted I accumulated quite a sizeable pile of snap pea pod ends and then proceeded to throw them one by one across the room into the huge garbage can hoping I did not accidentally spear anyone who walked in mid throw.


Dinner
Chicken Curry on Baked Potato
I had defrosted some chicken thighs overnight and had been thinking all day which direction I wanted to go in. I opted for a curry seeing as the weather has been distinctly un-Spring like and more November like so comfort food was where my craving was at. I knew I had all the ingredients I needed except a curry paste to base my sauce on so I stopped at the grocery store on the way home. Who knew curry paste was so expensive? This one set me back $45. Well, technically the paste was only a few dollars but I walked out of the store $45 poorer but with a bag jammed full of other food purchases including spicy chorizo sausage, Yogi chai rooibos teabags, cocoa powder and canned artichoke hearts...all staples in the cupboard Chez Sally.
I was very happy to discover that the store now stocks organic crystallised ginger in the bulk section. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this stuff and previously had only found one pre-packaged version which, while very tasty, was quite pricey at $3.99 for a 3.5 oz bag. The bulk ginger was the same price but for 5.5oz which basically means I will be eating more of it from now on.
Back at home I set to work on dinner by first putting my baked potato in the microwave for 10 minutes to pre-soften before putting it in the oven to crisp and fluff up. It's not quite the same as cooking a potato slowly and at low heat for hours but I did want to eat my curry before midnight.
As that was in progress I chopped the onion into wedges and fried them in my dutch oven briefly before adding the quartered (boneless and skinless) chicken thighs.Most people use chicken breast for curry but I prefer the richer flavour and texture of the thighs. I put the curry paste in as well as some tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, frozen peas and carrots and a mini can of coconut cream. it all simmered away until ready to serve when I added some spinach and fresh cilantro leaves as well as a little bit of spelt flour to thicken the sauce a touch. The curry was a success although not spicy in the slightest but that didn't bother me today, I just needed big flavour and I got it.
As usual I made a big batch and so have enough for lunch tomorrow and another spare portion too. I might not need it as I am on a course all day where lunch is provided but that usually means sandwiches with cheese and mayo and of course, bread. My triad of allergies/ intolerances all rolled into one delicious, mouthwatering temptation on a platter. They key to success here? Assume there will be nothing I can eat and take my own food. And hope they have a microwave. My curry was good but I have no desire to eat it cold.

In case you were wondering, I did consume some chocolate too. MJ shared her last square of Lindt Dark Orange Intense with me mid morning. She is a true friend. I also had the last few chocolate covered pomegranate seeds from yesterday although in order to get them, I had to crawl under my desk, move my desk drawer unit out and stick my hand through a very small hole for cables to get the packet. My office mate accidentally threw the packet down the back of the desk yesterday in her attempt to not eat the whole lot mindlessly as she worked. Unfortunately she misjudged the throw and assumed they were gone forever. With some verbal direction from above the desk, I was able to retrieve the packet and pull it through the hole and we both tucked into the salvaged treasure.