I named my newsletter, haha. Welcome to The Doable Autoimmune Life! I've been working on something special and slowly rolling it out and next Wednesday, I’ll tell you more.
But I got news this week I wasn’t expecting. For the first time in years, my labs showed I’ve gone HYPERthyroid.
So now my doctor and I are trying to figure out what’s going on. Is my Hashimoto’s flaring, or has my medication just been too high? We’re starting by lowering my dose and seeing what happens.
I feel fine other than some heart palpitations, anxiety, and insomnia, which ironically I had been writing off as perimenopause. Guess it wasn't, and that's why it's important to get labs at least once a year.
I’ll keep you posted. But honestly, weeks like this are exactly why I meal prep the way I do. When my body is doing something unpredictable, the last thing I want is to figure out dinner from scratch.
Which brings me to this week’s video...
I’ve been freezing rice, chicken, and two different sauces in portioned cubes, then mixing and matching them whenever I (or my son in high school) needs a quick meal. Pull out a cube of rice, a cube of chicken, and whichever sauce I’m in the mood for, and dinner’s ready in minutes.
Having two sauces means it doesn’t feel like the same meal every time.
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The "recipes" are simple:
For the Chicken: Season boneless, skinless chicken thighs with salt and pepper and if desired, an herb blend. I used Primal Palate's Garlic and Herb Seasoning (it's also AIP-friendly)
Roast at 425F for 25 minutes or grill over medium-high heat for 5 min a side, or until an instant-read thermometer says 165F.
For the Rice: Cook according to package directions. I made mine in the Instant Pot - with white rice I like to do a ratio of 1 cup rice to 1.5 cups water or broth and with brown rice I do 1:1 - and then cook on the Rice setting. I added a can of coconut cream (this one) and a pinch of sea salt after cooking.
2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar 1/2 cup Pineapple Juice 2 tbsp Coconut Sugar, Maple Sugar, or Honey 2 tbsp Coconut Aminos 1 tbsp Arrowroot Powder Mix all of the ingredients into a small saucepan and heat over medium, stirring occasionally, until it simmers and thickens.
Freezing and Storing
The thing that makes this whole system work is my Souper Cubes. They’re the silicone freezer trays with portioned sections, and they’re what I used for the rice, chicken, and sauces in the video.
I used to use silicone muffin trays, which were fine, but they freezer burned pretty quickly if I didn't get to them right away (and I often forget to get to them within a few days of initially freezing).
The Souper Cubes are so hefty that I can forget about them for weeks and they're still fine. Plus they're in specific sizes, so I can freeze just 1/2 cup of something or a full cup, or even just 2 tablespoons.
In addition to these sauces, we've also used some storebought ones as well, especially for my son Oliver's lunches. Some of the sauces he's loved have been:
Tomato salsa
Italian dressing
Queso (he eats dairy)
and Herdez makes a guacamole salsa that doesn't have the cleanest ingredients but is quite tasty on this as well
But really, you could use any sort of sauce. And as you'll see in an upcoming week, you can freeze cooked pasta too, so a tomato sauce also works well if you want to switch things up and do something like:
cooked pasta + chicken + tomato sauce
cooked pasta + chicken + pesto sauce
All of these make SUPER fast meals when you're exhausted, flaring, in pain, etc, and you can customize them to whatever dietary needs you have!
Hope you enjoy!
xo, Michele
Thriving Autoimmune, LLC
600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246