Fasting. So risque. So controversial. Some people think it’s freaking weird, some people love it, and some people call it anorexic. Either way, I wanted to try it. I wanted to try a 24 hour fast because I never had. So many paleo bloggers talk about intermittent fasting and how much they love it, so I thought I’d give it a try.
Intermittent fasting times range from just a couple hours to multiple hours. I chose the ladder. There are a balls ton of benefits out there, none of which I care a ton about, I mainly just wanted to see if I could mentally do it and see how my digestion would feel after. No, I didn’t weigh myself. That’s not what I really care about. People just rave about sleeping better and mental clarity and better wods, so why not? So I did it. 24 hours of fun on Sunday. Making 3 meals…not consuming any of them….hilariously fun. But it surprisingly didn’t bother me.
So here was the run down. I woke up, had some tea, did a disgustingly brutal wod that pissed on me and laughed at me, then coached a couple classes, did my grocery shopping, drank water to confuse my stomach (best tasting water I’ve ever had), cooked for hours, watched the Food Network, worked on my computer, drank more tea, and then finally got to eat at night. Thank.Goodness. But I was surprisingly not that hungry. I ate a small meal and was satisfied.
So this is what I learned from fasting. I don’t mind it. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be after the morning hunger pains went away. It made me feel like my food from the previous day was digesting a bit better. And it helped me control my food instead of my food controlling me. I tend to eat when I’m not hungry because I just really like food and the happy endorphins I get when I eat, so controlling my consumption was needed. I also did notice that I slept a lot better than usual. I went to bed around 11:30 and woke up at 1:30 feeling super rested and happy to be able to go back to sleep, then woke up at 4:30 to get ready for work and was super alert the rest of the day. Who knows if that had to do with the fasting or if I was just excessively hyper like I usually am, either way I was loving it. So will I try fasting again? Surely. Maybe a couple times a month. Nothing crazy. I like doing things that I’m good at. And I’m good at eating. Really good at it.
That was kind of a boring story. Wanna hear a good story? Of course you do! I made pecan coconut butter over the weekend. Genius idea. Overloading fat happiness, that’s what that is.
Paleo Creamy Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken, diced into 1 inch cubes
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1–2 jalapenos, seeded and minced (depending how spicy you want it)
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1–1.5 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup canned coconut milk
- 1 (4 oz) can green chiles
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sage
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
Instructions
- Grab a large soup pot, put over medium heat, and add your olive oil and minced garlic.
- Once the garlic is fragrant, add your chicken to begin to cook down. Mix as needed with a wooden spoon to cook on both sides.
- Once your chicken is half way cooked through, add in your peppers, onions, jalapeños, and green chiles. Mix together and let cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Now add your chicken broth and coconut milk, along with all of your spices.
- Stir together.
- Cover and let simmer for about 5-7 minutes to let the flavors meld together.
- Consume!!
Omg this is delicious! Didn’t have jalapeno or green chilis so I just used a red chili pepper and it was plenty spicy for me, loved it and I’ll definitely make it again!
I turned this into a crock pot dish… Put the chicken in whole (I used thighs) and shredded it when I got home. I also added a couple table spoons of coconut flour to make it more like a stew. Its delicious! I love that your recipes are always so great it makes me seem like I can cook!
Love your site!!! super excited to make this chili. I am going to add half a head of very cooked pureed cauliflower to thicken it. I’m a crossfit lover, wish I had gotten into it sooner, and I was paleo before anyone gave it a name. And yeah, a lot of people think I’m crazy, but you know what I’m happy with it.
Update: this took way more cumin and garlic than the recipe called for, IMO, it was bland and I doctored it. I dicd add boiled, pureed cauliflower to thicken this. All in all, I do not miss my beans and dairy based white chili now that I’ve found and edited this recipe. Without the cauliflower and extra cloves of garlic and cumin this was going to be watery and bland, at least to my taste. I took this to a potluck and had rave reviews.
This was yummy! I, too, added more ‘kick’ and seasoning to it…and that is what is great about a recipe like this – everyone has different taste buds and recipes like this are easy to ‘fix your way’. Mine was soupier than I thought it was going to be, but it’s no big deal. I love it! It was easy, healthy, and delicious. Thanks!
I also crock potified this recipe. Spot on flavor. I dig it. I will go tell all of my friends about it now. Thanks for creating so many awesome eats.
Thank you for the recipe! I haven’t had White Chili/Chicken Chili in so long since going paleo. I’m sure this will be delicious!
I think mine was too salty and wasn’t very creamy. But the flavors are nice!
So Good! My husband just raved about it. Also good because it’s quick.
Has anyone tried making this recipe in a slow cooker?!