Coconut Milk Braised Turkey

I had started out tracking what I was eating again last week.  I deleted what I'd had.  It served its purpose in letting me realize just how much extra fruit and snacks I was indulging in, hence my inability to get off this plateau.  So for this week I decided to just forget about recording and be more mindful of what was going in my mouth.  I've cut back on some of the apples and other fruits I was snacking on and started buying berries again.  I skipped a couple of somewhat planned cheats and I've cut back on the artificially sweetened stuff.  Not perfect, by no means, but do-able.  Something else that sort of helps me is to discover new recipes and experimenting in the kitchen.  I made this super yummy supper tonight!  I had my serving over 1/4c of jasmine rice.  But next time I intend to try making cauli-rice... because I wanted to eat more!  Note my measurements for the soy and tamarind sauce - I used one measure cup and just used a 50/50 combo that equaled 1/3c (first time trying tamarind).  This served 6 of us with no leftovers.

Coconut Milk Braised Turkey
(adapted from Rachel Ray Magazine)
2 Tbsp olive/coconut oil
2 & 1/2 lbs turkey parts
s&p to taste
1 (14oz) can coconut milk
1/3c cider vinegar
1/6c soy sauce
1/6c tamarind sauce
1 head garlic, skins removed and smashed
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
8 oz kale, roughly torn from stems

In Dutch oven, heat oils on medium to high heat.  Add s&p seasoned turkey, in batches if necessary, and brown.  Add remaining ingredients, except kale, and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat, cover and simmer, turning meat after 10-15mns.  Cover again and let simmer until turkey's cooked through, maybe another 15mns.  Remove bay leaves.  Add spinach, squashing it down into the liquid.  Heat until just wilted. 

All right. I tried them.

 This is the "before" shot of fresh kale rubbed good with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt.

 

This is the "after" shot of the kale after it was baked.  Yes, some got a little overdone.

  

Recipes abound on the internet for Kale Chips.  I've come across them on nearly every low-carb blog or forum that I visit.  They're suggested as a sub to appease your potato chip cravings by some.  I would not go that far.  They're nothing like a potato chip.  I'm not a huge fan of cooked spinach and that's what I thought of as soon as I had my first taste, and the texture... I don't know what to compare it to.  Yes, it is dry and crispy.  But I did not like how it broke down almost instantly in my mouth like a mouthful of dried parsley flakes.  Unfortunately my veggie loving daughter didn't even like these and I ended up dumping it all into the compost bucket.  Of course, to each his own.  They're worth a try as everyone's tastes are not the same.