Lemon and Thyme Chicken Breasts

 

Lemon and Thyme Chicken Breasts

I thought I would share with you one of my new favorite recipes--Lemon and Thyme Chicken Breasts.  This recipe is so simple to make, yet tastes so yummy that I can eat it for days in a row.  I believe that this was tailored from an Ina Garten (my favorite) creation in order to be 100% paleo, but of course I found it on good old pinterest (via fortheloveofcooking.net).  Enjoy!

Lemon and Thyme Chicken Breasts

Ingredients:
1-2 tbsp olive oil
5-6 cloves of garlic, minced
1/3 cup of chicken broth
Zest from 1 lemon
Juice from 1 lemon
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
Two sprigs of fresh thyme
1 lemon cut into 4 wedges

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat a baking dish with cooking spray.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; add the minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute, making sure not to burn the garlic. Add the chicken broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, and thyme leaves to the pan. Pour the mixture into the baking dish. Season both sides of the chicken breasts with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Place the chicken in the baking dish along with the lemon wedges and the two sprigs of thyme.
Place into the oven and bake, basting occasionally, for 30-40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear. Remove from the oven and let the meat rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Drizzle the pan sauce on top of the slices of chicken and serve. 

Grammy's Favorite

While the Grammy's is not my favorite fashion night of the year, it is always a fun red carpet to watch to see what crazy outfits people will come out wearing.  Last night there were a few interesting choices (nice grill, Madge), but nothing exceptionally bizarre.  Same goes for those who knocked it out of the park...nothing majorly spectacular on this year's red carpet.  There were a few I liked:  Pink's red Johanna Johnson and Taylor Swift's Gucci chain mail gown were both winners in my book.

For me, though, there was only one true winner: Ciara.  Dear Lord, if I can look this incredible while pregnant, I will never complain about another body issue again.  She is glowing and she is stunning in this custom-made for baby bump Pucci.  Incredible.

Weekend Wrap-up

What a great 3-day weekend!  I took full advantage of the somewhat warmer weather this weekend, and then today, woke up to a snow day in Washington, DC!  This weekend, I did some closet purging, saw some art, went to a game, had a great girl's lunch and gave back to my community in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 

I must get better at taking more photographs (wasn't that a New Year's resolution?  Oops!), but I did take one from the Wizards game this weekend.  Got spoiled with suite tickets, but still managed to totally behave myself (two more weeks until I get a drink!). 

Also if you are in DC in the next few weeks, make sure to see the Van Gogh exhibit at the Phillips Collection.  They've extended the exhibit for a few more weeks, so hurry and get to Dupont to see some of his most famous works.  Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Obsessed: New Style Icon

 

First, apologizes--I was one sick puppy at the beginning of this week, and am only feeling totally back to normal today.  Thank God.

Now to all I missed this week--originally, I was going to do a best dressed of the Golden Globes post, but after seeing the photos from last night's Critic's Choice Movie Awards, I have decided to focus on just one gorgeous woman--Lupita Nyong'o.

Wow, does this woman have style.  She has killed it on red carpet after red carpet this year, and I am so excited to see what showstopper she pulls out for the Academy Awards.  Gorgeous skin, amazing body, and her style--she wears what I would wear if I had 1) money and 2) her figure.  Simple, elegant, perfectly tailored, sexy and stunning.  Lupita is my new favorite style guru.

L'Oreal Age Perfect Face Oil

Winter is not a friend to my face.  The combo of the cold Mid-Atlantic winds and the blasting of the radiator heat in my condo really do a number on my skin, which typically results in red, chapped and peeling skin, especially around my lips, nose and forehead.  A few months ago, I started seeing more and more articles about the benefits of face oil as an additional moisturizer, so I decided to invest.  I have been using L'Oreal Age Perfect Face Oil now since Thanksgiving, and I must say, I am a believer!

I started out using this at night, but with this crazy weather, am now using it twice a day.  In the morning, I put it on after my medicine, eye cream, sunscreen and moisturizer.  It works to seal all of that in, and adds a nice glow to your skin under your makeup.  I was worried about this making my face greasy or prone to additional breakouts, but I've experienced none.  At night, I put on my medicine, then slather it on my face, neck, and decolletage.  The best part is, I haven't had to break out my humidifier yet this winter!  True believer in this product, so thought I would share my newest great beauty discovery!

Little Corn Island

 

 

 

These frigid temperatures here in Washington is making me long for my upcoming vacation even more, and last night I started researching lodging options (primarily to look at the gorgeous, sunny scenery).  We have pretty much nailed down our itinerary, and then I came across the Yemaya Island Hideaway & Spa on Little Corn Island, Nicaragua.

Um, if this isn't the picture of paradise, then I don't know what is.  Yes, no matter what else we do while there, I will be staying here in August.  I can just feel the good vibes radiating through me already, can't you?  It might be 7 degrees in Washington, but staring at this incredible place warms me up just right.

Whole 30 Challenge

Last March, I decided to take the plunge on this crazy food challenge, and it ended up changing my life.  Spelled out in the book, "It Starts with Food" by Dallas & Melissa Hartwig, the Whole 30 challenge is a 30-day commitment to strict paleo eating.  No sugar, no dairy, no grains, no beans, no alcohol...and no cheating.  I won't lie, the first few days were definitely tough...I had pretty bad symptoms of the "carb flu"...but luckily, it only lasted a few days.  What happened after was pretty incredible--not only did I lose a few pounds (which is not really what this is all about), but the ways my body carried excess fat had shifted.  I was leaner and after 30 days, felt amazing.  I had more energy than I had felt in at least a decade, my skin cleared up, I was sleeping better, and my whole outlook on life had changed.  I was hooked.

Since then, I have pretty much stuck with the 80/20 paleo eating guidelines that are recommended after the 30-day challenge.  And then came December.  My birthday, Christmas, ridiculous late nights at work, holiday parties...I think that there were days that all I put in my body were cookies, bread, cheese and alcohol.  Not my best, and honestly, all that cheating has caught up with me. 

I had been talking to my sister for months now about trying it out, and she decided that today was the day to start.  Perfecting timing for me too, right?  Time to get back to business.  I'm excited and ready to get back on board and detox my body of all the junk I have put in it toward the end of 2013.  I would encourage anyone who has been thinking about taking the plunge to dive right in!  The first week or so might have you thinking that all of us devotees have lost our damn mind, but trust me, stick with it!  You will be thanking me in the end when you come out feeling more incredible than you have in years. 

Happy 2014!

Love this. Couldn't resist the Golden Girls.

 

Happy New Year!  I am incredibly optimistic and hopeful about this new year...not that 2013 was a horrible year, but more one of realization and awakening.  Yes, there were some down moments and events, but instead on dwelling on that, I have been reflecting upon how much I have learned and grown through these experiences, and now look forward to 2014 being a year of putting that all into action.

 

I've been thinking a lot about my resolutions this year, because I really wanted to come up with goals and challenges for myself.  And since the best way to stick to goals and challenges is to make them accountable, here you go:

 

1.  I will no longer put my life on hold for an unworthy man.

No matter how handsome, charming and sexy his British accent is (ahem, you know who you are)--no more!  Time and time again, I get way too ahead of myself in relationships, and end up putting my needs aside in the hopes that the dreams in my head will come to fruition.  Silly girl--I've finally learned that a woman worth having isn't one who stands waiting, and the man I want won't keep me waiting anyway.  This year, I will live my life in the now, and if a gentleman shows up during all my living, then wonderful!  If not, at least I'm doing what makes me happy.

 

2.  I will treat myself and my body with the love and respect it deserves.

This means first and foremost, I will get healthy!  Focusing first on recovering from my injuries, and once I do, not overdoing it so I don't get sidelined again this year.  I will also focus not only on clean eating and drinking in moderation (my age has caught up with me in hangovers), but I also vow to stop letting my emotions take over.  No more emotional eating, spending, or shutting myself in on the couch!  I will get outside and move more, restart my yoga practice, and work on focusing on the positive and not the negatives.  When I am eating right, sleeping well and moving more, I feel incredible--so why wouldn't I want to feel incredible every day of the year?  Duh.

 

3.  I will travel more, read more, see more and do more.

Like I said, this is a year of action!  My trip to Nicaragua is my big ticket this year, but I also will visit a friend in Brooklyn, try to get back to Arkansas a few times, get to the beach at least once or twice, and hope to explore a city in the US in which I've never been.  I also need to take advantage of all this city has to offer--go to more art exhibits, festivals, new restaurants, and cultural events in town.  There is so much to see and do in DC, and I need to get off my butt and do them!  No more endless nights spaced out in front of the TV!

 

4.  I will spend time organizing, cleaning and preparing myself for each week ahead.

This one will probably be the biggest challenge for me, because it means taking on stuff I really don't like to do.  I need to really look into my finances, set a budget, and stick to it!  Organize my condo so that I purge myself of items I no longer need, and organize what I do have.  Really deep clean, and then keep up with my cleaning a bit every day so that it doesn't become a daunting chore.  And finally, I need to spend my Sundays getting ready for the week ahead--planning my meals, fixing my breakfasts/lunches, making my to-do list, scheduling my free time, etc.--so I am not wasting time and money needlessly.

 

So I realize this is a lot to take on, but I know I can do it!  I have some lofty ambitions for this year, and I feel like if I focus on these four items first, everything else (fingers crossed) will better fall into place.  Who's with me?!?!  What are your resolutions for this year?