Zina Hermez has authored the best-selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. Sheās been featured in numerous articles, guest posts, podcasts, websites, newsletters, and magazines. Sheās also been featured on the Intuitive Edge podcast as well as ESPNās āSolutions from the Huddleā broadcast and on Grace and Truth Radio World! Zinaās written several hundred articles and has taught thousands of students of all ages from many different backgrounds and cultures. Sheās appeared in Christianity Today, the Suite T blog, and the Southern Writers magazine among other places. She writes on faith, science, and overcoming adversity. She also writes on health and diet and loves to help others. Her latest book, Not Without God: Hope In the Storm is live and for sale! You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Not-Without-God-Hope-Storm-ebook/dp/B09P9T2DLT
Today I made a single piece of chicken thigh. Yes, thereās fat on it. Donāt let the fat freak you out! You can see I surrounded it with veggies. A little healthy fat wonāt kill you! Itās actually extremely healthy for you, contrary to popular belief. I seasoned it with thyme leaves, kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, and a little table salt. I have about one to two cups of peas and carrots surrounding it. I also added a half cup of water to the bottom of the pan while cooking and added ābutterā flavored cooking spray to the bottom also. I baked it at 400 F for about 40-45 minutes. Cooking times can vary. Youāll have to check on it. I used a cake pan to keep it all together.š Butter has health benefits, so does meat and veggies are low carbs!!! I drizzled extra virgin olive oil over the veggies along with a little salt and pepper. I also have a cup of rice sprinkled with mini cubed potatoes and curry seasoning on the side. Itās a mini version of my ākaree,ā dish, in other words, my tomato beef stew sauce that I like to put over my rice. Of course, this is a cup of brown riceāto have optimal health! Total calories: a low 502 (and I didnāt finish all the chicken) but this is not including drinks or condiments.
About Zina
Zina Hermez has authored the best-selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. Sheās been featured in numerous articles, guest posts, podcasts, websites, newsletters, and magazines. Sheās recently been featured on the Intuitive Edge podcast! Sheās also been on ESPNās āSolutions from the Huddleā broadcast and on Grace and Truth Radio World! Zinaās written several hundred articles and has taught thousands of students of all ages from many different backgrounds and cultures. Sheās appeared in Christianity Today, the Suite T blog, and the Southern Writers magazine among other places. She writes on faith, science, and overcoming adversity. She also writes on health and diet and loves to help others. Her latest book, Not Without God: Hope In the Storm is live and for sale! You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Not-Without-God-Hope-Storm-ebook/dp/B09P9T2DLT
Finally, when a baby terrorizes your living space!ššš¶ Itās OK.šāāļøš āāļø We just cleaned it right up!šā„ļøš
About Zina
Zina Hermez has authored the best-selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. Sheās been featured in numerous articles, guest posts, podcasts, websites, newsletters, and magazines. Sheās recently been featured on the Intuitive Edge podcast! Sheās also been on ESPNās āSolutions from the Huddleā broadcast and on Grace and Truth Radio World! Zinaās written several hundred articles and has taught thousands of students of all ages from many different backgrounds and cultures. Sheās appeared in Christianity Today, the Suite T blog, and the Southern Writers magazine among other places. She writes on faith, science, and overcoming adversity. She also writes on health and diet and loves to help others. Her latest book, Not Without God: Hope In the Storm is live and for sale! You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Not-Without-God-Hope-Storm-ebook/dp/B09P9T2DLT
Yesterday night I made Kaāree, a very traditional meal. The best way I can describe Ka’ree is it’s a tomato (beef or chicken) stew to which some spices and veggies are added. When I was younger, my mom made this type of ethnic dish, (beef stew) around once to twice a week. One of my favorites has always been Kaāree. I love the deliciousness of the curry, the hidden spice in the potato and what it adds to the tomato sauce, as well as the tender beef (or chicken) that shreds into the heated stew.
Ingredients
0.75-1lb chuck roast or chuck beef steak or chicken
4-5 large potatoes
an onion, medium-large sized (chopped)
6oz tomato paste
15oz tomato sauce
4-6 cups of water (for sauce)
2-3 tbsp of curry spice
1 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsns lemon juice
1 tspn dried lime (or Noomi Basra)–this is optional
1 tbsp oil
Kosher salt or table salt (I like to use a little of both!)–1 – 2 teaspoons
Black pepper–1-2 teaspoons is fine
chopped garlic cloves (no more than 2-3 chopped cloves, or it may be too hott)
2-4 cups cooked brown rice or long grain wild rice (I steer clear of white)!
First, you cook the meat: Cut the meat into cubes ( I used beef chuck steak) and you set it aside. I also used extra virgin olive oil (2 tbspns) and dashed the meat with Kosher salt and ground pepper to cook.
Oh, I also included the chopped garlic cloves before I started cooking!š§
Voila! Should take no longer than 15-20 minutes. Make sure meat is tender (heat on high) you can add water.
After youāre done cooking set the meat aside. Now, use the same pan to carmelize the onions. Just cook them in an additional tblspn of extra virgin olive oil (classic olive oil is ok too) until they turn slightly brown. Try not to use vegetable oil; not the healthiest choice by far.
Cooking time to slightly carmelize onions should be no more than 5-10 minutes!
Next you add the curry (2-3 tbspns), salt, pepper, and tomato paste TO THE ONION MIX. Use the same pot (use a big one). The stew will eventually rise. AFTER you add the curry, 6 oz. tomato paste and 1-2 tspns of salt and pepper (each) to the pot, the pot will start to burn a little. The ingredients will brown. That is OK. It’s normal. See below.
You can see that once I added the tomato paste, curry, salt and pepper I mixed them together some (you can just add a dash of salt and pepper). After this you have to add the tblspn of vinegar. Be careful. It will smoke. Also have all ingredients ready to go at this point you have to work fast. As soon as the vinegar makes this mixture bubble, add the TOMATO SAUCE, 15 oz. can. This will stop the splash from the vinegar!š„«
Here I have added the tomato sauce and 4 cups of water. No more splash keep heat on high here.
Finally, add the potatoes and beef to combine all together. Add everything slowly, the water, little by little, gently add beef and potatoes. Combine all together.
You can even add an additional 2-4 cups of water depending on how much stew you want to have. You can use more salt and pepper. Table salt is fine to use at this point. I used kosher salt when I cooked the meat. Spice it how you would like, but donāt make it too salty. Keep in mind if it is under salted you can always add more later. You donāt want to use too much salt and ruin all your hard work!
Oops⦠and I almost forgotādonāt forget to cook the rice! Kaāree is put over a bed of rice. Here I have cooked 4 cups of brown rice.šš¾ And below is also a photo of the finished product! Have fun! There will be lots of leftover!š
About Zina
Zina Hermez has authored the best-selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. Sheās been featured in numerous articles, guest posts, podcasts, websites, newsletters, and magazines. Sheās recently been featured on the Intuitive Edge podcast! Sheās also been on ESPNās āSolutions from the Huddleā broadcast and on Grace and Truth Radio World! Zinaās written several hundred articles and has taught thousands of students of all ages from many different backgrounds and cultures. Sheās appeared in Christianity Today, the Suite T blog, and the Southern Writers magazine among other places. She writes on faith, science, and overcoming adversity. She also writes on health and diet and loves to help others. Her latest book, Not Without God: Hope In the Storm is live and for sale! You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Not-Without-God-Hope-Storm-ebook/dp/B09P9T2DLT
Todayās #healthychoice meal. A cup of grilled chicken pesto w/vegetables (145 calories)! A quarter cup of āminuteā brown rice (58 calories), and a chopped Roma tomato (17 calories). I love raw tomatoes!š This lunch follows a heart-healthy āMediterraneanā plan with a total of a low 220 calories you canāt go wrong. I guess the only downside (if there is one) would be the pasta combined with the brown rice. They are both considered āgrainsā so that would account for two-grain servings for the day. More than enough. The chicken accounts for the protein and the tomato, the vegetable. Accompany this with some water to drink and you are on your way to living a healthier lifestyle! š¾ššæ
About Zina
Zina Hermez has authored the best-selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. Sheās been featured in numerous articles, guest posts, podcasts, websites, newsletters, and magazines. Recently she was featured on ESPNās āSolutions from the Huddleā broadcast and on Grace and Truth Radio World. Zinaās written hundreds of articles and has taught thousands of students from all over the world spanning many different backgrounds and cultures. Sheās appeared in Christianity Today, the Suite T blog and Southern Writers magazine among other places. She writes on faith, science, and overcoming adversity. She is also a major foodie and loves to help others. You can connect with her on Instagram, Facebook, Linked In, or Twitter.