Your Beef and Broccoli Substitute!

Are you on the Meatless Monday's bandwagon yet? If your answer is no - why the heck not? Not only has my weekly grocery bill gone down since going full-time veg, I no longer suffer from daily heart burn or cramping and gas (yeah - I know you wanted to know that!) Any-who, I have been trying to take it a step further lately and healthi-fy my family's meals, 'cause everyone knows a can of Coke and a Snickers bar is "vegetarian". It also has to do with the fact that I am never home for dinner now - so when I am - I want to try and make it the best meal possible. Being in nursing school kind of makes you want to be a better person as well! I mean sheesh - I am learning about our bodies and how they work, what kind of risk factors different types/sexes/ethnicitys people have - and it makes you want to be a better person! A better person for my patients, for my family, for myself! Just take 2 short minutes to browse through my medical dictionary - the pictures alone will make you want to change your lifestyle to the healthiest possible, in hopes that you won't develop or catch some of the scariest looking medical problems you have ever seen!

So, in my quest to make a healthier dinner, I came across the site eatbetteramerica.com, (suggested by my Aunt Mary Jo actually - she also suggested the avocado soup that turned out yummy). Yeah, sure, it's a General Mills website (so you know there's an agenda), but at least they are trying, right? AND - if you are coupon-wiz, there are tons of coupons to download and print! On this site you will find your regular-run-of-the-mill healthy recipes, and there are also "healthified" recipes, taking old favorites and substituting a few ingredients to make it nutritionally better!

The following recipe is a stir fry - Portobello-Broccoli Stir-Fry that I found in the 30-minutes or less section. And YES! It took less than 30 minutes to prepare (I hate it when it actually takes longer than the stated time because of all the veggie-prep - but this one was true to it's word!) Now that I have eaten it (obviously - lol) it reminded me of a beef and broccoli dish I used to get for Chinese take-out. Reading the reviews on the site confirms this thought as well! Okay - first things first : I make up the sauce so it can meld a bit before I add it to the dish. The sauce was simple, but I did make some changes - I used everything in the recipe - water, soy sauce, hoisin sauce (found in the Asian isle of any well-stocked supermarket, I got mine at Biggs), cornstarch and honey. My family likes rich and bold flavors, so I doubled the hoisin and honey, and added a couple extra shakes of soy sauce as well.

Then it was time to wash and cut the vegetables. Onions, portobello mushrooms, red bell peppers, and broccoli! Really this is a great combo for any stir fry!

I get out my wok and let it pre-heat. I also spray it with some nonstick spray (instead of using oil). This makes the recipe "healthier" as I am not using large amounts of oil to saute the veggies. I start out by sauteing the onions, mushrooms, and red bell pepper first along with some minced garlic.

Once the onions and peppers have started to soften (about 5 minutes) I add the broccoli and about 1/4 cup of water and then I cover the wok with the lid. This is a steaming/stir frying technique that I had never tried before but it worked out really well! I keep the cover on the veggies for about 5 more minutes, or until the broccoli has turned bright green and has softened ever so slightly.

After the veggies have been softened (but not too soft!) I add the hoisin sauce mix. I let this cook for about 2 minutes tops and we are ready to eat!

If you didn't notice, there is not a picture of rice being prepared, that's because I was already-ready this particular day. A lot of times when I make rice, I will make a double batch and put the plain leftovers in the fridge. Rice will keep for a while in your fridge and it's super easy to reheat in the microwave!

The verdict - VERY TASTY! I will say though - next time I am going to add some crushed red pepper flakes to give it a kick!

If you are ready to get on the Meatless Mondays (or Tuesdays, or Thursdays, or whenever) bandwagon, and you want to try something familiar and not too out there, make this stir fry your go-to for the first week! You won't be disappointed!!!

The Stir Fry's Alright!

Stir fry's are a great way to get lots of vegetables into your belly and can be made in a variety of ways. To be honest - this isn't my normal stir fry. I usually like to add soy sauce and teriyaki to the veggies. But as I try to steer my family towards more healthy options, I opted for a stir fry that relies on dried herbs and spices for flavor rather than a sodium-filled sauce. This is an adaptation from a garbanzo bean stir fry I found on, you guessed it, allrecipes.com, (SERIOUSLY - I LOVE that site). To cater to my family's likes and dislikes I changed things up a bit. Needless to say, neither Ronnie or Matt were the biggest fans of my healthier-option stir fry - I on the other hand enjoyed it enough to think it was good enough for my blog! So, it just depends on your preferences and if you like the fresher taste of lightly seasoned vegetables over rice, this is your stir fry.

To start out I prep the vegetables, washing a chopping a red onion....

A zucchini....

And some mushrooms...




I open a can of garbanzo beans and rinse them in a colander.

Once all the prep is done, this really is a fast and easy meal to get together. Once olive oil is warm in the wok, I add minced garlic, dried oregano, and dried basil.

After about 5 minutes, I add the onions, zucchini and garbanzo beans to the oil mix. I let this cook until the veggies are starting to soften while stirring every few minutes.

On the left of me I boil some water and add two bags of brown rice. I'm not proud, I have been known to use the rice bags - they are easy and fast!!! I really need to invest in a rice cooker though... I had one, but then returned it because I want one with a timer so I can set it in the morning and have it be ready when I get home... I am still searching for that...

Once the original stir fry veggies are cooked through, I add in the mushrooms, dried cilantro, and a pinch of cayenne pepper for a little kick of flavor.

As the mushrooms start to soften, I add in about 3/4th's of a can of diced tomatoes, undrained.

When the rice is done I drain the bags and return it to the pan, fluffing it with a fork. I plate the rice and then top it with the stir fry mix! Dinner is served!

As I said before, my meat-eating finance and son didn't care that much for the meal - they ate it, but I am pretty sure they want me to try something else next time! I looked at them and said - Welcome to healthy eating suckas!!! LOL - anyway - I enjoyed this meal, and if you want a quick weeknight meal that won't bust your calorie or fat grams for the day - TRY THIS!!! You could do any veggies and play with the herbs and spices yourself! Let me know what you come up with!!!

Broccoli, Carrot, & Tofu Stir Fry

Last night was nice and relaxing. Ronnie was staying with his dad. I got home and went through the mail in peace. Yay, the new Design Within Reach catalog came in. I can't afford a darn thing in there, but it's fun to browse. (So I guess it's not really "within reach", at least not for myself.) I then proceeded to make dinner. But what to do when you're cooking for one? STIR FRY! I found a recipe in my favorite vegetarian cookbook, "Student's Vegetarian Cookbook" by Carole Raymond. I cook out of this book more than any others. It's not at all just for students, it's great for any beginner vegetarian on a budget. I stir fried some broccoli, carrots, and tofu and at the end dumped (by mistake) some soy sauce on. I also cooked up some Uncle Ben's Instant Brown Rice. I then toped it all off with some slices of green onions. The recipe calls for cashews for a garnish also, but I didn't want the added fat. I was just about to dig in and I thought, 'Why not do what all the other food-bloggers do?'. So I took out my camera and snapped a picture of my dinner. (You like my Martha placemats? I do.) I then proceeded to eat. Mmmmmm... It was yummy. After the dishes were done I sat on the couch for a minute. What to do, what to do. I went for a walk. It was close to dark already, and getting cool outside, but it was a perfect evening. I'm glad I got up and moving. The TV was still there when I got home...