Greetings!

It’s been a long time, and I definitely do not have a good excuse. My absence has been due in part to starting the ketogenic way of eating. It was time to take charge of my health and listen to my body in a way I never really had. But, that left me in an odd position. This blog is entitled With a Side of RICE. Can’t have that on keto, eh? (I sorely miss it, by the way.) So while I have been cooking some extremely yummy foods, I didn’t think it right to share them here.

I’ve moved beyond that thinking now, after a few conversations with close family and friends. This isn’t going to be my way of eating forever. I’ll have rice again and pasta, and all those other yummy carby foods. Meanwhile, you’ll see a lot more high fat and greens-centric recipes here. Avocado, bacon, eggs, and spinach will be very present!! (Maybe I should change the name to With a Side of Bacon? Haha.)

That said, please stick around, and feel free to adapt the recipes to suit your own dietary needs if you are not low carb/keto. And share your changes in the comments because I’m always curious about how people cook!!

Now, today I do have a recipe for you that isn’t keto-friendly, but is very healthy and I made it in hopes to clean out some of the pantry items that I’ve had for way too long. It’s also lower in carb than a lot of other foods out there, and quite frankly it was delicious. It felt like an indulgence!

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Moroccan-style Chicken Stew (Instant Pot recipe)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, frozen
1 cup chicken broth
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 tbsp Harissa paste (I like a LOT)
1 can full fat coconut milk
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
4 cups spinach
1 medium onion, sliced thinly

Add chicken, broth, garlic, Harissa paste, and a dash of salt to the IP, set at 30 minutes on Poultry setting. Let naturally release pressure for 10 minutes. You may still have to manually release some pressure after this.

Drain chicken, reserving half a cup of broth. Add the coconut milk and other ingredients to the IP and mix well. Set at 10 minutes on the Stew setting. Let naturally release if desired, but the manual release method can used here also. Use caution, as always!

Works well on its own, but I served it with tricolor quinoa. Some flatbread would also be delicious. And grilled peaches to remember the fact that it is summer and I just made a stew hahaha. (None of these are low carb, but hey.)

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I was so happy with this recipe, considering it was kind of a dump-the-pantry idea. I’m also currently obsessing over Harissa paste. And if you don’t have an Instant Pot and want to make this recipe, just bake the chicken first, shred it, and then go from there on the stove.