but fat is flavor!

Dear Mom,

One of the biggest and best surprises of going Whole30 is that fat is actually your friend.  The no-fat/low-fat trend of the 80s/90s has been shot down by many experts which is great news!  While this doesn't mean that I should run out and slather everything I eat in vast quantities of butter and bacon fat, it does mean that I need not feel ashamed that I put a little butter (or ghee, dairy is verboten on W30) on my roasted sweet potato.  I have a good friend who is also a chef (the best possible kind of friend) who says "Fat is Flavor" and I can't agree with him more.  The biggest thing that I learned while on W30 was that I didn't need to put cheese on everything!  It is of course necessary at times (pizza, lasagna) but not required for everything, and if I'm going to splurge on cheese you can bet that its not going to be the low-fat variety (unless it is naturally a lower fat cheese like feta - yum!).

I found this recipe in a magazine and tweaked it slightly to be W30 compliant.  Its really easy and a slow cooker recipe to boot!  I recommend making the sauce the night before and then before heading to work the next morning just put everything together in your slow cooker, set to low and its pretty much ready when you get home.  You could make it with chicken breast to be lower in fat, but chicken thigh has so much more flavor.

chicken tikka masala

2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
1 medium onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. ginger, grated
2 tbs. tomato paste
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 tbs. garam masala
1 1/2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground red pepper (less is you like it a little less spicy)
1 tbs. arrowroot powder (or 1/3 cup water and 3 tbs. flour)
4-5 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
cooking spray
1 cup coconut milk

cilantro
cooked rice (or cauliflower rice)

Heat the oil in a deep skillet, add onion, ginger and garlic.  Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until fragrant and translucent.  Add the tomato paste, cook until the paste gets darker in color (2-3 minutes).  Add the crushed tomatoes, spices and salt.  Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.  Remove pan from heat and stir in arrowroot powder (if using flour, mix flour and water together and stir into sauce, cook sauce with slurry at a simmer about 5 more minutes).

Coat the slow cooker with cooking spray.  Add the chicken thighs and top with the sauce.  Cook on low heat 8-hours.

Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred, return to slow cooker.  Turn heat to high and add coconut milk, cook uncovered for 15 minutes.

Serve over rice and garnish with cilantro.