Paleo Creamy Chicken Chili

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.

What you need:

• 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

What you do:

1. Grab a large soup pot, put over medium heat, and add your olive oil and minced garlic. 
2. 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.
3. Once your chicken is half way cooked through, add in your peppers, onions, jalapenos, and green chiles. Mix together and let cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Now add your chicken broth and coconut milk, along with all of your spices.
5. Stir together. 
6. Cover and let simmer for about 5-7 minutes to let the flavors meld together. 
7. Consume!!