Healthy Twists

In my last post I talked about one of my two “go-to” meals, a big pot of yummy soup. I mentioned my other "go-to” was a big stir fry. Just like with my soup-making skillz, I feel like I’ve gotten pretty good at making a decent stir fry.

I press a block of extra-firm tofu between paper towels and heavy books for at least 30 minutes. I then cut the tofu into bite-size blocks and marinate for at least an hour. Usually my marinade is a mixture of low-sodium soy sauce, sesame oil, Bragg’s, and chili garlic sauce. A few weeks ago I won a sample pack of sauces from Annie Chun’s (thank you, Twitter) so I used their sesame-soy-shitake sauce for the stir fry I made last week. The  nutritional stats are decent but it’s a bit high in sodium.

P.S. I used to do tofu/chicken to make my carnivorous man happy, but lately we’ve begun eating organic chicken about once a week so I’ve been making stir fries with all tofu to save the chicken for something else…and to my surprise, the BF does not mind at all.

In a wok I heat about 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil or coconut butter in a pan over medium-high heat. I know you aren’t supposed to use olive oils at high heat, but I do and I’m still here to talk about it. Anyway, I cook the protein until browned (usually 4-5 minutes) and then I remove them to a plate a set aside.

(woah, bad photo! I have got to get better lighting in my kitchen,)

I then spray the wok with PAM add all my vegetables in order of “toughness” to the wok Broccoli or cabbage and onions usually go in first (since I like onions well cooked) followed by carrots (thinly sliced), celery, bell peppers, bok choy, or anything else you like. I add a splash of soy sauce, a splash of rice wine vinegar, and half a bottle a touch of Sriracha to help “steam” the vegetables and add some extra flavor. I don’t use garlic too much because it tends to burn on me.

When the vegetables are 90% done (and this depends on how crunchy you like your veggies, so taste-test!) I add the protein back in and cook until everything together for a few more minutes.

And we’re done! I served my dinner with some quinoa and more Sriracha (and the old, “use a salad plate to make it look like you have more food” trick. Which in case you were wondering, doesn’t work so well when you pile your plate to the brim and  have to move it into a bowl and photographing in order to eat it.). You could also serve this with rice or noodles (whole grain, of course!).

And that’s how I stir fry

This bottled sauce was just OK as a tofu marinade. It smelled great, but the flavor on the tofu wasn’t that strong even though I marinated it all day. I have 5 more flavors to test out, though, so we’ll see.

Do you make stir fries often? How does your method compare to mine? I’d say I do some sort of stir fry at least once a week. I love testing out new recipes,  but sometimes you gotta go with what you know.

In other news…is anyone as glad as I am that Monday is over? Today was pretty hectic at work…the bosses are all doing budgets for the next year and that process is about as fun as it sounds. Budget time makes me happy I’m just a “worker bee.”

Also, in case you’re keeping track, I am sticking to my New Year’s goal of trying one new restaurant a month. But I was camera shy for February and March! Last weekend we went to Vagabond, where I had “Peruvian-spiced pork shoulder oven-roasted in banana leaves served with sweet potatoes, plantains, and au jus” which sounds somewhat better that it tasted. The sweet potatoes were undercooked which was a major bummer, but I really like the plantains! Can’t win ‘em all.

On the exercise front, I’m solidly in Stage 2 of the New Rules of Lifting for Women, and I can definitely feel I’m increasing in strength, but I’m not going to lie. I was hoping that upping the weight training would lead to some weight loss (due to increased metabolism and muscle mass) but I haven’t seen it yet. That might be due to a semi-new habit of nighttime snacking I’m trying to nip in the bud, but still. I exercise a good amount and I eat pretty healthy, so I’m not sure what else I can do differently at this point. I have one month until “official” half marathon training starts so I’m stick with this program for now.

This less-than-super day has left me with a bit of a headache so I think I might try to get to bed early. I have a date with my pup and a big hill in the morning!

XOXO

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