How is maintenance going for you? I hope you're loving the extra freedom I talked about last week and enjoying some of the extra holiday treats that are abound these days!

Earlier today I got this little message from a client of mine who we recently switched to maintenance and was super pumped for her!

“Interestingly during this time of maintenance I feel like I’m actually doing better with my eating and my goals. Not sure why. I’m also feeling like I’m starting to hit my goals with weight and measurements or at least they are seeming more responsive than they were before.”

— Kick Ass Client

Did you catch that?! She is seeing more progress in maintenance than she did before! And you know why? Because she can be more consistent, her energy levels are up, and she's feeling less worn down and more READY to tackle what needs to be done in order to get her where she wants to be! This is why maintenance can be so powerful!

If you want to learn more about this make sure you click on over to last week's blog post so you can learn how to create this success for yourself!

White Chicken Chili

Onto the good stuff... I shared a picture of a piping hot bowl of white chicken chili last week and when I asked if you wanted a copy of the recipe I got a resounding YES!

This recipe is comforting, delicious, and SO easy to fit into your macros since it's lower in fat than traditional chili but still full of protein and healthy veggies.

I love having the freedom to add other toppings based on what my body needs more of on any given day.

Need carbs? Throw in some rice!

Need fat? Avocado or sour cream to the rescue!

Need both carbs and fat? Why not add some tortilla chips?!

I think you can see why this recipe is so flexible for your macros... but you haven't even heard the best part yet - which is this is one of those magical recipes where you can dump it all in one big pot, a slow cooker, or (in my case) an instant pot and let it just do it's thing while you go on about your business.

Admittedly, I totally stole this recipe from my brother and his fiancee. They have made it for our family a few times before and it's always a hit so I figured it was high time I make it myself.

The Recipe

Crockpot White Chicken Chili

2.5 lbs chicken thighs or chicken breasts
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 onion (red or yellow), diced
2 jars of tomatillo salsa (12 oz jars)
1 can diced tomatoes and chilies (14.5 oz can)
1 can corn (15.25 oz can)
1 can garbanzo beans or white beans (15.25 oz can)
1 cup chicken broth
1 TBS chili powder
2 TBS cumin
1 TBS salt
Optional: 1 can diced green chilies (4 oz can)

Suggested Additions:

Carbs: Rice, Potatoes

Fat: Avocado, Sour Cream

Carbs + Fat: Tortilla Chips

Directions:

Add all ingredients into a slow cooker, instant pot, or large pot.
Cook on low heat until the chicken is fork tender and shreds easily. On a slow cooker this will take several hours, in the instant pot it will take about 20 min on manual high pressure. Once it is done cooking, let it naturally depressurize for 10 min then release steam before opening the lid.
Optional: Remove the chicken from the pot and shred with two forks, then add it back into the chili to serve.
Add your favorite toppings and enjoy this flavorful dish knowing you're nourishing your body and it took basically no brain power to do it :o)

Healthy Nutrition With Ease

Letting good nutrition be an extension of your life, your food preferences, and your culture is a HUGE part of my mission at ABFN.

This isn't something that can happen overnight, or with a meal plan. It takes practice, learning, trial and error... but when you finally reach a place where you can identify which foods work for you, how much you need of them, how to automatically build healthy meals for yourself and create a food environment that not only supports your body, but also supports your lifestyle - MAN, is that payoff WORTH THE EFFORT.

If I can do it, so can you! Enjoy the chili!

Ash