Lunch Time - Italian Chicken and Wild Rice

So I started preparing lunch right after I finished eating breakfast.

ITALIAN CHICKEN & WILD RICE

PHASE 1

SERVES 6 - 8 (PORTION SIZE 1 1/2 TO 2 CUPS)

2 1/2 LBS OF SKINLESS, BONELESS CHICKEN BREAST, CUBED

2 CUPS CHICKEN BROTH

1 CUP WILD RICE, RINSED AND DRAINED

1/4 CUP DICED ONION

1/2 TSP MINCED GARLIC

2 CUPS CHOPPED FRESH MUSHROOMS

14.5 OUNCE CAN DICED TOMATOES

1 TSP SEA SALT

1/2 TSP DRIED OREGANO

1/2 TSP DRIED BASIL

1/4 TSP FRESHLY GROUND BLACK PEPPER

Put chicken breat, broth, wild rice, onion, and garlic in a slow cooker.

Stir in the mushrooms, tomatoes, salt, oregano, basil, and pepper.

Cover and simmer for 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low.

(I only ended up using the baby bella mushrooms. 2 cups is not as much as I thought it was.)

(I actually used a larger slow cooker because this was too much for my little one.)

(cooking... mmm)

I was planning on cooking all the food organic but after this shopping trip I have realized I can't afford it on my meager wages. I typically spend this much on food for an entire week rather than a meal and a half.

Some things I will have to buy at Whole Foods though because it just isn't sold in normal grocery stores like Barley and Steel Cut Oats.

The most expensive part was probably the chicken. I typically buy chicken when its buy one get one free at Publix or Winn Dixie.

They only had one regular skinless boneless organic chicken breast. The other was air cooled which was significantly more expensive. I have never even heard of that before, so when I got home I looked it up.

"Conventionally raised chickens are typically dunked in iced, chlorinated water to bring down the chicken's temperature after it's been slaughtered. Compare this to air-chilled chicken, which have been eviscerated, sprayed with chlorinated water inside and out, and then rapidly cooled in cold air chambers in an effort to keep bacteria to a minimum.

In the US today, only a handful of smaller plants use the air-chilling process, a production method that is just beginning to catch on in the mainstream. Although air-chilled chickens cost significantly more, producers claim the result is a better-tasting bird that's retained its natural flavors and boasts a crisper skin after roasting." 

source: http://www.yumsugar.com/What-Air-Chilled-Chicken-6882699

I'm sure the air chilled chicken is probably better but I just can't afford it for as often as I will need it for this diet. I hope non organic food won't have much an effect on the experiment.