Urban Remedy Signature Cleanse: The Night Before

Today has been a whirlwind of many things. Not only was it my first official day at Marin Magazine as the new Digital Content Editor, but after my first day, I drove on down to Central San Rafael to pick up my three-day Signature Juice Cleanse from Urban Remedy.

What does this juice cleanse consist of? Well, I have to drink 6 drinks per day every two hours. I’m not allowed to consume any processed foods. If I get hungry, I’m only allowed to eat raw vegetables, as well as raw almonds. Oh, I forgot to mention that I CANNOT have coffee… I frankly don’t know what I’m going to do without coffee for three days. I must have one cup per day. We’ll see how I’ll do. I can have green tea with stevia, and drink tons and tons of water with lemon.

Over the next three days, I’ll be documenting the process here on Much Ado About All Things. I’m such a foodie, so I’m hoping I can last the full three days. Just as long as Max (the boyfriend) doesn’t consume goodies in front of my face, I think I’ll be okay.

– Stay Tuned –

Crock Pot Recipe #2: Balsamic Chicken

Last year during the Superbowl, or shortly after, I posted my crock pot recipe for turkey chili. I figured I’d start posting some of my favorite crock pot recipes that I’ve tried and love here for you guys to try it, too. That being said, tonight’s dinner was balsamic chicken with Israeli couscous. This particular crock pot dish is one of my go-to dinners for the week. You cook 4-6 boneless chicken breasts in this recipe and it lasts you at least two days.

The recipe is from the website Skinny Ms, and this recipe is delicious. I follow the recipe almost exactly, but tend to add more balsamic vinegar and a little extra thyme. Here’s the recipe from Skinny Ms:

Ingredients:

• 4-6 boneless skinless chicken breast. I recommend the Eat Right chicken breast from Safeway. It doesn’t have as much fat on it.
• 2 cans diced tomatoes (14.5 oz) or you can use the 28 oz can
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon olive oil. I use extra virgin.
• 1 teaspoon dried basil, oregano, rosemary; 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar
• Black pepper and salt to taste
• Cook time: 4 hrs

Steps:

1. Pour the 1 tablespoon of olive oil on the bottom of your crock pot.
2. Salt and pepper each chicken breast and then place into the crock pot. I tend to put salt and pepper on the bottom of the crock pot and flip the chicken breasts over after one side is salt and peppered.
3. Place the sliced onion on top of the chicken breast. Make sure the onion slices are spread across every piece of chicken breast.
4. Put in the 1 teaspoon of dried basil, oregano, rosemary, and the 1/2 teaspoon of thyme on top of the onions.
5. Place the 4 cloves of garlic on top of the dried herbs.
6. Pour the 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar over the chicken, herbs, onions, and garlic. Add some extra balsamic vinegar if you like the taste. (I tend to.)
7. Top with the 2 cans diced tomatoes.
8. Cook on high for 4 hours. I always recommend to cook this as long as you can, because the chicken will be even more tender.

Many side dishes work well with this crock pot recipe. Max (my boyfriend) likes this dish with Israeli couscous. It goes well over angel hair pasta, brown rice, and even by itself with a side salad of your liking.

Here’s the final result. We had it over Israeli couscous tonight:

The nice thing about this particular crock pot dish, is that it will last you two nights (if you’re just two people) and it even tastes better the next day! That’s just my opinion, though.

Give this recipe a try, and post a photo of your dish!