Thai Chicken Ramen Soup

Hello and welcome to the first post of 2019 (cue outrageous applause)

I have never been one for New Years resolutions. I'm a bit spur of the moment in my habits and therefore tend to neglect my resolutions quickly. In school, my New Years resolution was to properly right the date on the top of my notes. It always took me until about April for my muscle memory to grasp the year change. This year, I think I just happened to have good timing with this new pledge for 2019. I have been reading like crazy. Who knew it was such a great hobby? I hopped onto the bandwagons of book trends. I read Harry Potter, Hunger Games, bawled my eyes out reading The Fault in our Stars and various Nicholas Sparks novels, but I never made it a consistent hobby. I think it is because it's Winter and the sun sets at 4pm, leaving you with no other option but to sit on your couch under a blanket. My cat has really come to appreciate my newfound hobby. The fact that I'm spending more and more time sitting and being quiet is a great start to his New Year. They say it takes two months to make something an automatic habit, and I think I have achieved that status of a self proclaimed reader, bookworm, nerd or what have you. It's actually incredibly entertaining. My first thought was to challenge myself to read 50 books this year. Simple. Then I realized that would mean a consistent book a week and I quickly changed my mind. Let's make it a bit more simple. 25. Two books a month. That is still a challenge but I am up for it! I will keep you posted on the status (let's hope) throughout the year. 

 The most common New Years resolution is weight loss and I can't help but jump onto that bandwagon staring Jan 1. After all, we have spent close to a month stuffing our faces with decadent holiday food. I'm not staring any Whole 30, juice cleanse, or keto diet but it feels good to eat clean. The problem with clean eating is that it often times comes hand and hand with bland tasting food. Well, fear not, because this Thai chicken soup is 100% healthy certified but is packed with flavor. I don't think anyone has ever complained that their Thai food is bland, so I have adopted some of their techniques in my cooking. This recipe can be 100% vegan if you omit the chicken. I added the chicken to make it a more filling heartier meal. My college self feels ashamed to admit that I have never purchased a pack of ramen noodles. Gasp. I actually had really really good food in college. I felt young again throwing that plastic wrapped rectangle into my cart the other day. I only used the actual noodles for this recipe and tossed the sodium dense packet into the trash. If you can find pure ramen noodles that would be perfect. Even rice noodles, or spaghetti would work perfectly for this recipe.

2 squares of Ramen Noodles
1 14oz can of coconut milk
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 boneless skinless chicken breast
8 oz sliced cremini mushrooms
2 tbsp thai red curry paste
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 red bell pepper sliced
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp honey
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1 tsp ground ginger
1 lime juiced
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
handful chopped cilantro (for garnish)
chopped peanuts (for garnish)

Heat chicken broth, coconut milk, honey, peanut butter, soy sauce, ginger, red curry paste in a large soup pot over medium high heat. Add in the chicken breast, red bell pepper, and mushrooms. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 25 minutes. Remove chicken from the pot and shred with two forks into bit sized pieces. Add chicken back into the pot. Bring to a boil and add in the noodles and spinach. Cook for five minutes or until noodles are soft. Remove from heat and add in fresh lime juice and sesame oil. Top with fresh cilantro and crushed peanuts.