Friday Drop: Thai Chicken Noodle Soup
You want me to cook on one leg?! I'll cook on one leg!
*Flips Table
With the winter Olympics in full swing, I had the incredible pleasure of introducing my Irish roommate to Miracle this week in every glorious form.
The new doc on Netflix.
The 2004 film with Kurt Russell in a (somewhat comical) wig as Coach Brooks.
Most importantly, the Barnhart family legend that my dad was offered tickets to THE game, but passed on the opportunity to go because he was a broke college kid in Vermont.
Oh, and a bonus fourth option you should watch: The 30 for 30 doc from the Soviet player’s perspective: Of Miracles and Men.
Needless to say, I think I’ve watched Miracle (the 2004 version) about 100 times, and as I’m sitting down to write this week’s article, there is one scene playing on a loop in my brain.
If you haven’t seen it, you can watch the full clip of that scene here.
Here I am, flipping a table, asking you to cook on one leg.
The good news is the recipe this week offers a lot of sit breaks if you need them.
Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup
This recipe comes from Damn Delicious. I make it with lo mein noodles instead of rice, because I think they absorb the flavor better.
Also, don’t forget to shake your can of coconut milk before you open it. Otherwise, you’ll get little chunky bits that never seem to blend in. They taste fine, but looks… off. See below 🥲.
Why I like this recipe:
It feels good because you’re doing “real” cooking, but it’s about as easy as you can get. You can also make it easier by buying an onion and/or pepper pre-chopped or pre-cooked chicken.
It tastes just as good on day 3 as day 1.
The lime and cilantro give leftovers a fresh feel.
Your Performance Plate:
No matter your phase, adding chicken or shrimp to this recipe completes your leucine/protein source. I also think this would be an easy soup to blend tofu into, which is a nice vegetarian leucine source.
IMMOBILIZATION FRIENDS:
Load up on the greens and veg in this soup. You could easily add mushrooms or bok choy. Top generously with cilantro or basil, too.
NOTES ON BONE:
If you’re healing a bone injury at the moment, don’t forget your dairy source in this meal. You may want to try tofu as your protein source!
Breakfast:
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Hash
I was about to put another smoothie recipe on here for you until I realized… smoothie for breakfast, soup for lunch?! No way.
Instead, grab some scrambled eggs, pico de gallo, shredded cheese, cubed potato or sweet potato, and black beans and throw it all together.
Hopefully you recognize that is an AI-generated image of this burrito bowl, because I, a forgetful human, put the smoothie ingredients on my grocery list this week, not this bowl.
Make it easier: Grab potatoes from the freezer! The only thing you should have to “cook” in this recipe is the scrambled eggs.
Lunch:
Soup :)
Again, that recipe is from Damn Delicious.
Dinner:
We’ve gone to Latin America. We’ve travelled to Asia. Let’s check out the Mediterranean for dinner.
CAVA
You can’t really go wrong with CAVA’s menu, but for the sake of providing an opinion, the Harissa Avocado bowl with half harissa chicken and half falafel is my choice. It’s so good.
Easy Mediterranean at home:
A fan favorite with some teams I’ve worked with is a Chimichurri Couscous bowl. Grab your favorite chicken or salmon, and create a bowl with greens, pearled couscous, a touch of olive oil, hummus if you’d like, asparagus or eggplant, cherry tomatoes, etc.
Snack Spotlight:
While I got to introduce my Irish roommate to the great American past time of watching Miracle during the winter Olympics, he introduced me to a fantastic form of Irish potato: Taytos.
They are a lovely way for me to remind you that sometimes snacks can just be a tasty treat. However, if you’d like to turn (or any snack) this into a more balanced form, add a fat or protein. I’d suggest adding onion dip powder to plain greek yogurt, especially full-fat yogurt.
Last but not least, your prompt for this week:
How do snacks fit into your routine? Are you a “snack all day” type of person, to the point where sometimes you haven’t had a full meal during the day, or are you a “never snacker”? Do you think there is a “right” or “wrong”?
