Holy hot batman! Oh, and chicken & string beans too

It is HOT this summer.  And I mean, hot! I’ve been sweating in places that I didn’t know I had and taking 16 showers a day (okay, maybe a bit of an exaggeration.  But if I had time, I probably would!).  I truly think someone needs to invent boob, back, and butt deoderant.  Too much information?

And what’s worse, we don’t have air conditioning.  Which means when it’s 30 degrees outside, it’s 45 degrees in our house.  We live in a little older character home with only a few windows that actually open and a sauna for a bedroom.  I’ve been spending countless evenings and nights lying on the floor or my bed covered in a towel soaked with cold water.  According to Cosmo magazine, it helps to put your underwear in the freezer and wear them to bed.  Ummm….LOL.  I would like to go on record and say that doesn’t work.

Okay okay, I know I shouldn’t be complaining.  When winter comes around I’ll be wishing for that hot summer air again.  It’s already been getting darker earlier and cooling off quite a bit in the evening.  Here’s hoping for a warm winter like the last one!

Enough about the weather.  The Saskatoon Exhibition is in town this week (basically our fair, for those of you who don’t know) and I went with a small group last night.  Four things about the Exhibition:

• Never eat before you go on rides.  I learned this lesson a few years ago when I threw up all over myself and everyone around me.  Oh yeah, I’m not kidding.  I was that person.  We arrived late at the ex so I downed a delicious souvlaki and went on my first upside down ride ever.  I hopped on thinking I was so cool and the ride was going to rock my world.  Within 30 seconds I was nauseated as hell and within 40 seconds I was throwing up like a boss.  All over myself and all over the people around me.  Can you say hot mess??

•  Never ride the small horse on the merry go round.  No joke, your arse will hurt like you just rode a bike for 5 hours. And if you’re a man, apparently it hurts even more.  According to the guys riding behind me, getting drunk first is the key to riding the kid’s merry-go-round – they seemed to be having the time of their lives.  Good to know for next time.

• You cannot put lipstick on when you’re on the octopus.  Nope.  Not gonna happen.  Now I know this makes me seem high maintenance but the first time I rode it, I really just wanted to see if I could do it.  I don’t recommend this.  You will come out looking like Lady Gaga gone wrong (or maybe right??...who knows)/something out of a horror film.  Again, super hot mess.

• Watching high school girls is my favourite part of the Ex.  Seriously, I’m not trying to be mean, but it is hilarious 90% of the time.  I definitely remember being that girl who spent 2 hours getting ready to go to the Ex in high school.  The fair seems to be a large gathering of bump-its, bar makeup, and 3 inch stilettos.  And then there’s those moments you see parents walking towards their teenagers while they're with their friends.  Ha! It is a display of horrified looks and red cheeks and "don't embarrass me mom!"'s.  Oh, how I remember those times.

All in all, we had a good time. Annndddd….there was plenty of gluten free food!  Of course, none of it was exactly healthy, but there was a Mexican food truck with gluten free tacos.

This evening I decided to make one of my favourite dishes – Pistachio chicken and String beans with hazelnuts & lemon.

String Beans with Hazelnuts & Lemon

Ingredients:

• Green/yellow beans – preferably fresh, but can be frozen
• Olive oil
• Lemon zest
• Hazelnuts
• Salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. If you have frozen beans, boil them in salted water until tender.
2. Place about 1.5 pounds of green beans in a bowl.
3. Mix with 2 tbsp olive oil, 1.5 tsp’s of lemon zest, 1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts, and salt and pepper.

Green vegetables are a very important food to incorporate into your meals at least once a day.  This includes green beans.  Green beans are a good stress fighting food because they consist of a high amount of anti-oxidants, as well as variety of Vitamins, including A and D.  Vitamin A is known to improve chronic fatigue and depression, while Vitamin D can help stabilize mood and irritability.  Green beans also provide healthy amounts of Iron, Magnesium, and Potassium, which are important for your metabolism. 

Yellow and green beans are also known to help prevent colon cancer.  They contain a high amount of fiber that help keep the toxins moving out of our bodies at a fast pace.  The minerals and vitamins that the beans hold also assist in keeping polyps and other cancerous growths from forming.  These beans are a super food that can also aid inflammation and digestive issues.

Pistachio Chicken

This is probably one of the easier and yummiest chicken dishes you can make.

Ingredients: 

• Chicken breasts 
• Pistachios 
• Salt and pepper 
• Olive Oil

Instructions:

1. If you can find pistachios that are shelled, then that’s great!  If you can’t, buy a bag of pistachios and shell them.
2. Put the pistachios in a plastic bag and smash the hell out of them with a rolling pin.
3. Lay the crushed pistachios out on a plate and press each side of the chicken breasts into the pistachios.
4. Put some olive oil in a frying pan and fry each side of the chicken breasts until browned.
5. Put the chicken breasts in the oven for about 45 minutes or until baked throughout.

Simply and delicious!

In my opinion, pistachios are the best nuts you can eat.  They have one of the lowest fat contents out of all nuts, and have many health benefits.  Pistachios are most known for their excellent heart healing skills, but are also great for eyes and the skin.  They contain lutein and zeaxanthin, which are two carotenoids that aren’t in most nuts.  These two carotenoids have been linked to decreasing visual impairments.  Pistachios also an excellent source of vitamin C, preventing skin damage and premature aging.