Jan 28 2017

Cucumber Cups with Creamy Chicken Whip

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Easy, Healthy, Lo-Carb and Seriously Delicious are what these Cucumber Cups with Creamy Chicken Whip are all about! Cream cheese, chicken and spices whipped to a light mousse pipped into a cucumber cup. Um HELLO! YOU CAN EAT THE BOWL!

*WARNING – this post is deep and emotional* Wow, the end of January already. I’ll be glad when this month is over because this month has sucked for me royally. The only thing that has been keeping me going is all of the healthy and delicious foods I’ve been whipping up. With my sister’s recent passing I did something for the first time in my life – I went to food for comfort. Food for comfort, not comfort food. Big difference. To me comfort foods make you feel all snuggly and hugged from the inside. They remind you of a memory, something that made you feel safe, loved, secure.

Yeah, no, food was nothing like that. I was (am still) so devastated that I literally was empty; numb. It’s like you are so sad that you can’t even cry if that makes sense. Mr. Fantabulous did everything perfect (and still does) to help me through the initial days after she passed to even now however I still felt … empty. I would just wander around the house, tissues in hand not really looking or focusing on one thing. Even though not once did he ask for anything I would go out to the kitchen, cook/bake but it was like *I* was just going through the motions. I had no appetite yet somehow all I did was eat.. non-stop. So desperate to “feel” something other than sadness and pain.

…and that’s where food came into play. Food tastes good. It provides a type of satisfaction that is almost euphoric at times; it made me feel something other than pain. If it wasn’t nailed down or frozen solid I ate it. I did this for honestly about a day and that night I was sick as a dog. My body isn’t used to that. That night I didn’t sleep much (from being so sad and from being so sick – god my poor stomach) and started to think about what I had done.

So the next morning as I was making him his breakfast I started to reach for the jar of peanut butter and wheat bread (even though I literally ate a yogurt and protein shake like 10 minutes prior). I wasn’t hungry but it was like something my head triggered a “food = no more sadness” thought however this time I caught myself. So I figured if I was going to eat (because honestly I cared but not really) I’d at least make healthy stuff that wouldn’t make me gain 50 pounds overnight or make me sick as a dog. Plus you know me, I firmly believe that eating healthy does not mean you have to sacrifice flavor.

That day I probably made 15 different recipes ranging from smoothies to protein cookies, poached chicken and baked wings, yogurt bowls and fruit kabobs, sheet pan steak and roasted veggies and then these Cucumber Cups with Creamy Chicken Whip. The easiest way to describe what “Creamy Chicken Whip” is that it’s extremely similar to “Underwood chicken spread”. I can remember the first time I had Underwood chicken was in 10th grade French class. Mrs. Ertle was our French teacher and for the end of the year we had a class party. We all brought in various foods. This one girl brought in this Underwood chicken dip that OMG was addictive. All it was, was this small can of this type of processed chicken (?I think it was chicken) that you mixed with cream cheese. Simple, delicious but um.. really not that healthy.

Thus that’s where these came into play.

Now I haven’t bought that canned stuff in at least a decade. But I wanted it; needed it and since there was no way in hell I was putting on real pants or leaving the house I went with making my own version of it. Since I already had poached chicken I was good to go on that. Cream cheese and mayo (you can use greek yogurt as well) to blend it along with a few spices and some green onions. The first pass it was eh… good but missing something. I walked around my kitchen looking into the fridge, cupboards and pantry.. about 37 times before I went with the soy sauce. That was just.. just a bit of the soy sauce helped give it that zip/zing it needed.

I’m telling you what guys, this stuff is a thousand times better than the stuff I had in 10th grade. You HAVE TO MAKE MY HOMEMADE VERSION! But one problem… I had over processed it and turned it into a light mousse. It was no longer a dip. Now it tasted AMAZING but it was “too” smooth for a cracker. And that’s when I spied my cucumbers. I decided to go with a canape type set up. When I initially made it I didn’t let the mousse whip chill so when I put it on the cucumber it just kind of was ‘there’ as a blah splotch. Chilling it allows it to firm up while still keeping it really light and um.. moussey. LOL

After it had chilled for about an hour I then was able to pipe it into these beautiful little cups, snap some pics and then honestly I snacked on these all day. For 4 days straight I ate these because I was still in that I need food for comfort mode and they were so, so, SO good!

So yeah this dish, you can eat it without feeling guilty and also know that it’s healthy. Side note – if you wanted it more as that standard Underwood chicken spread, just don’t process as much in the food processor.

Thankfully that whole going to food for comfort mode has passed (trust me, my clothes are happy about that) and my heart is healing. And if this post wasn’t my normal jovial kind, please know that I’m human and one of my biggest/best qualities/flaws is that I have a huge heart. And since you’re family, I can open up with you about stuff.