Absolutely delicious, versatile and so easy! This is a special fast version for busy people and the carb count is Kimkins low carb diet friendly!  Make an extra batch and add some to broth for an instant soup on busy days.

Ingredients (serves 8)

• 4 chicken breasts, pounded & sliced thin
• 2 green bell peppers, seeded & sliced thin
• 1 onion, cut in half & sliced thin
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded & minced (optional)
• . 5 cup chicken broth
• 2 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped (optional)
• 2 baby carrots, finely chopped
  
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground chili pepper
• 1 tsp each black pepper & salt
  

Put chicken broth, garlic and spices into a small bowl, mix well and set aside. Place chicken, onion and bell peppers in a large mixing bowl and add chicken broth mixture. Marinate for 15-30 minutes.

Pour chicken & veggies into a large skillet, cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes, checking occasionally. When veggies are fork tender, remove cover and turn heat up to high until most of the liquid is gone. Sprinkle with cilantro, stir and serve!

For even lower calories, add extra Kimkins friendly veggies. Perfect for an easy lunch the next day! Use butter lettuce or romaine lettuce and enjoy a Tex Mex wrap!

Here's a Kimkins friendly and absolutely yummy Caramelized French Onion Soup to boost your antioxidant intake. Super simple, chock full of onions and delicious reheated the next day!

Ingredients (makes 4 servings)

• 4 cups onion, sliced thin
• 4 cups beef broth
• 2 oz grated parmesan cheese
• 2 oz grated Swiss or Gruyere cheese
• 2 Tbsp garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup red wine (optional)
• 1/4 cup green onion or chives, chopped
• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
• 1 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp butter

In heavy stockpot melt butter and oil, add sliced onions. Cook on low until caramelized (about 30 minutes), stirring often. Add garlic and cook 5 additional minutes.

Add beef broth, wine, Worchestershire sauce and thyme. Heat through, check for seasonings. Ladle into oven safe soup bowls, place on baking sheet. Sprinkle soup with parmesan cheese and top with Gruyere cheese.

Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Garnish with green onion or chives and enjoy!

 

Are you a stress eater? How about an emotional eater? It's a frequent topic of conversation in the Kimkins low carb forums since it's the underlying basis for a large percentage of obesity.

A pioneering book that deals with the underlying psychological reasons we overeat is "Mindless Eating". In his new book, Brian Wansink, a food psychology professor at Cornell University, explains why we eat with our eyes and not with our stomach, and how this can affect our weight.

The following is an excerpt from "Mindless Eating." Do you see yourself?

The Mindless Margin

Did you ever eat the last piece of crusty, dried-out chocolate cake even though it tasted like chocolate-scented cardboard? Ever finish eating a bag of French fries even though they were cold, limp, and soggy?

It hurts to answer questions like these.

Why do we overeat food that doesn't even taste good?

We overeat because there are signals and cues around us that tell us to eat. It's simply not in our nature to pause after every bite and contemplate whether we're full.

As we eat, we unknowingly -- mindlessly -- look for signals or cues that we've had enough.

For instance, if there's nothing remaining on the table, that's a cue that it's time to stop. If everyone else has left the table, turned off the lights, and we're sitting alone in the dark, that's another cue.

For many of us, as long as there are still a few milk-soaked Fruit Loops left in the bottom of the cereal bowl, there is still work to be done. It doesn't matter if we're full, and it doesn't matter if we don't even really like Fruit Loops. We eat as if it is our mission to finish them.

A Kimkins member asked about the health benefits of MonaVie juice so we investigated:

What's the buzz about MonaVie? A special blend of 19 fruits including acai -- the new antioxidant buzz word -- that's supposed to improve energy, memory and uplift your mood.

Actually it seems the claims have little scientific basis. From a health perspective you'd be better off eating a variety of fresh vegetables according to J. Bomser, associate professor of molecular nutrition at Ohio State University.

The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry showed that the antioxidant potency of MonaVie is pretty much the same as plain acai juice, pure cranberry juice (not Oceanspray "drinks") or black cherry juice.

Which fruits have more antioxidants than MonaVie? Both red wine and pomegranate juice! 

It was March of 2007 and my family and I had just had professional pictures taken. I got those pictures back and could not believe how heavy I had gotten. I wasn’t exactly in denial, but I never really thought that I was that overweight. I thought that I carried my weight well.

These pictures were a real eye-opener. I sat looking at those pictures and just started to cry. How on earth had I gotten to this point? What the heck was I going to do about it? I had already tried all of the “miracle pills” that were on the market. I didn’t want to have to commit to an expensive plan where you had to eat special food. A girl that I knew had recently lost 30 pounds so I asked her what she had done to lose the weight. She referred me to the Kimkins website.

On June 25, 2007, I made a promise to myself that I would commit to the Regular Kimkins plan and follow it 100% for 1 month. If I didn’t see results in that time, I would try something else. The $60.00 wasn’t a worry, I’d spent more than that before on those “miracle pills” and exercise machines.

I kept things very simple. I followed the plan to a “T”. I didn’t venture out and try lots of different recipes. I ate clean and drank a lot of water. After 2 weeks I had already dropped over 15 pounds. I could not believe the results that I was getting. I sat down and figured that if the plan continued to work, that I could possibly be at goal before summer was officially over! Unbelievable!! At the end of the first month on plan I made the decision to continue on my downward slide with Kimkins.

I joined a challenge group and had lots of on-line friends. The last week of September, 2007, I reached my goal of 135 pounds. I lost a total of 52 pounds in just over 3 months. All of the success I experienced, and the support from the threads, is what kept me motivated. Not a day went by that I didn’t check in with my on-line friends. Giving and receiving kind words and pick me ups everyday was a huge key to my success.

I just recently celebrated 1 YEAR ON MAINTENANCE!! I still continue to be an active member of the forums so that I can teach and inspire others to keep it simple and reach for their goal, too.