My family and I started to make the switch to whole foods about 4 or 5 months ago. We already ate decently well, fresh fruits and vegetables and whatnot. So our major change was adding even more fresh produce, eliminating processed foods (like cream soups for recipes, canned or jarred spaghetti sauces, ready-made pizza sauce, frozen pizzas, store-bought bread, etc), and buying organic when possible. To my surprise, I have been able to eliminate my medication for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) which has plagued me with severe stomach pains for nearly 10 years. I even had to have an upper endoscopy procedure in my mid 20's due to prolonged use of acid-blocking medication -- that's just not right.
So why the sudden cure now? Is it because I'm eating less chemicals and more fresh vegetables? Well, probably -- at least, that's the only thing I've changed in my lifestyle, so it makes sense. Even when I was on the medicine, I'd sometimes get sharp stomach pains, but now as long as I eat well, my stomach feels great. When I think back to what I was putting inside my body, it's no wonder it was hurting (even though we didn't even eat that bad compared to a majority of America).
So since this last weekend, I haven't been eating as many fresh vegetables with my meals or as a snack. I'm not sure why: I guess it was just a busy weekend and I either ate quickly or away from home without the option of carrots or a salad. And boy, I am feeling it today. I'm still amazed at how the body becomes used to healthful food and then almost rejects anything else. It's not even that what I ate was not healthy, it just wasn't a fresh vegetable. Today after my lunch, I ate the equivalent of 4 medium to large carrots with a couple tablespoons of roasted red pepper hummus. I'm drinking my water and waiting for relief. Carrots and peppers and broccoli have become my new medicine instead of the generic Prevacid I was taking, and I thought I'd never get off that medication!
On a different note, a friend of mine on Facebook jokingly asked if I was going to follow-up my last recipe for roasted chicken with another recipe to help use up all of that extra chicken. So, Chris, this is for you.
Chicken Enchiladas
1 lb shredded chicken
1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce (red or green), divided
1 cup (4 oz) feta cheese
1 (4-oz) can chopped green chiles
1/2 cup cilantro, minced
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
vegetable oil spray
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (about 4 oz)
lime wedges for serving
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2.. In a medium bowl, place shredded, 1/2 cup enchilada sauce, feta cheese, green chiles and cilantro. Stir to combine. If the ingredients are all cold (such as leftover chicken), microwave for about 45 seconds to warm chicken mixture.
3. On the baking sheet, place six corn tortillas on the parchment paper and spray both sides with vegetable oil spray. Place in oven for 2 minutes until softened. Remove from oven.
4. Working quickly, spoon 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture into each tortilla. Tightly roll up and place seam side down in a 9x13 baking dish. Do this for remaining 11 tortillas. Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees.
5. Pour remaining cup of enchilada sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheddar. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 15-20 minutes until heated through. Remove the foil and bake another 3-5 minutes until cheese is melted. Serve with lime wedges.