Egg Roll Bowls

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I’m always on the look out for healthy, flavorful, QUICK meals.  Since I avoid dairy products, a lot of what I eat regularly is Asian inspired.  In addition to generally not containing dairy, Asian food is delicious!  Stir fries and curries are my flavor jam!  I love just about anything with garlic and ginger.

However, I’ve never been a huge fan of traditional fried egg rolls.  I know, I know…there’s just always been something a little off-putting about them to me flavor wise.  Then add in the often greasy outer fried shell, and it’s a no-go in my books.

Recently though, I stumbled upon this recipe from Peace, Love, and Low Carb that I found intriguing.  Upon looking through the ingredient list, I thought that this was an egg roll variation that I could on board with.

Garlic, ginger, soy, and sriracha form the base of the flavors so what isn’t there to like about it?  I keep many of the ingredients on hand so basically just have to grab the coleslaw and broccoli slaw mixes(and maybe fresh ground pork and ground turkey if I don’t have time to thaw out the frozen stuff) to prepare.

You can also make it both Paleo or Whole30 compliant, so along with being dairy free, many types of eaters can fit this into their eating style!  If you avoid soy or soy based products, you can use coconut aminos.  A little about coconut aminos – clearly from the name, it is made from coconut.  More specifically, coconut sap.  While I do enjoy soy sauce, I try not to consume too much soy based products because of my thyroid disorder.  Coconut aminos is a pretty good substitute and is Paleo and Whole30 compliant.  It is MUCH lower in sodium (about 75% less, which is generally a good thing) and also has a slightly sweet flavor.  It doesn’t taste like coconut, but if you use it in place of soy, be prepared to need a bit more salt in your recipe than if you use traditional soy sauce.

So, back to the recipe:  it comes together really quickly thanks to using convenient items such as bagged coleslaw mix!  And since it makes a pretty large quantity, you’ve got lunch taken care of for the next couple of days!

egg roll in a bowl meal prep

We’ve been enjoying this around our house regularly (at least every other week) for the last couple of months and I don’t intend to quit anytime soon :).  Enjoy!

*Note – you need a pretty large skillet or wok for this!  Alternatively, you could use 2 smaller skillets and split it evenly amongst them.

egg roll in a bowl in skillet

*Second note – if you use a lot of fresh garlic, I highly recommend investing in a good garlic press!  My mom bought me one from Pampered Chef for Christmas, and it’s a total game changer!  You don’t even have to peel the garlic!  Just pop the clove in, press the handle down, and scrape off the perfectly minced garlic!  Remove the skin, and repeat!  Find a similar one here, with great reviews!

egg roll in a bowl served up

Egg Roll Bowls

Servings: 6            Time: 30 min

Ingredients:

  1. 1 lb reduced fat ground pork
  2. 1 lb lean (93% or higher) ground turkey
  3. 5 cloves garlic, minced
  4. 1 large onion, large dice
  5. 14 oz bag coleslaw mix
  6. 14 oz bag broccoli slaw
  7. 1 T ground ginger
  8. 1 t ground pepper
  9. 4 T coconut aminos or reduced sodium soy sauce (I used 2 T of each)
  10. 3 T rice wine vinegar (I’ve also used apple cider vinegar)
  11. 2 T sesame oil
  12. 3-4 T sriracha (or Whole30 compliant chile/hot sauce)
  13. About 5 green onions, white and green parts, sliced
  14. 2 T sesame seeds
  15. Fresh cilantro for topping, optional

Instructions:

  1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the turkey and pork and cook until no longer pink.  Drain the fat from the skillet.
  2. Add the onion and garlic and saute a few minutes.
  3. In the meantime, whisk together the ginger, pepper, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, sriracha, and soy sauce or coconut aminos.
  4. Add the bag of coleslaw mix to the meat and onion mixture.  Pour about half of the liquid mixture to the skillet, and gently toss it, allowing the coleslaw to cook down a bit and make more room in the skillet.  This is where it gets a bit tricky to keep it all contained in one skillet so be patient.  🙂 Start adding the broccoli slaw mixture, in smaller batches, to allow room in the pan.  It helps to use tongs and just kind of flip portions of the mixture around.  Continue adding the liquid to help flavor and steam the veggies down.  Once it’s all added, test for seasoning and add more sriracha, salt, pepper, etc. as needed.
  5. Portion into bowl, top with green onion, cilantro, and sesame seeds.
  6. Dig in!

Nutrition Info:

380 total cal, 21 g fat, 10 g carbs, 31 g protein

 

Basil Chicken Coconut Curry {DF, GF}

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I love curries of just about any type.  Curry is also surprisingly versatile, especially when paired with chicken, which naturally lends itself to being flavored in just about any way imaginable!

Last week, I was feeling a bit uninspired, and happened upon a recipe for basil chicken with coconut curry sauce, which sounded delicious!  I saved it, thinking I would come back to it at some point.  That some point happened to  be that very evening!

While at the grocery store, I was perusing the vegetable and produce section and realized that asparagus season is upon us!  I don’t know about you, but for me, asparagus is just SOOO much more enjoyable during the spring months when it’s in season.  So I put a few bunches of it in my cart, and aha!  inspiration hit!  Why not bump up the vegetable factor in that basil chicken recipe and add some seasonal vegetables such as asparagus!  I also knew I had some frozen peas in the freezer at home, so I ran with the idea.

What a great decision it was!  This smelled DIVINE while simmering away and was oh so delicious and flavorful! It was pretty hard to sit there and let it simmer as my mouth was watering from the smell!  I nearly burned my tongue because I didn’t wait long enough to dig in after serving it up.

It’s actually pretty mild as far as things in the curry department go, so if you’re new to curry, give this a shot!  Even if you’re a curry aficionado, I guarantee you will love this!   It’s a curry that just about anyone could get on board with!

Basil Chicken

Basil Chicken Coconut Curry

Servings: 4          Total active time:  ~ 30 minutes

Ingredients:

  1. 1 lb chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
  2. 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  3. 1 lb fresh asparagus, cut into 1 inch peices
  4. 1 C frozen peas
  5. 1 14oz can light coconut milk
  6. 5 cloves garlic, minced
  7. 1/8 – 1/4 t cayenne
  8. 1 1/2 T dried basil
  9. 1/2 t chili powder
  10. 1 t ground ginger
  11. 1 T curry powder
  12. Salt and pepper to taste
  13. 1 T cornstarch (gluten free)
  14. 2 T olive oil
  15. Fresh basil for serving
  16. 3 C riced cauliflower** or cooked white rice

Instructions:

  1. Combine chili powder, curry, cayenne, salt and pepper in a large bag or bowl.  Toss with chicken to coat and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  2. Heat 1 T olive oil over medium heat.  Cook onion, garlic, and dried basil for a few minutes until onion is soft and translucent.
  3. Add chicken, asparagus, and peas and continue to saute until chicken is cooked through.  Add about 1/2 of coconut milk.  Thoroughly mix remaining coconut milk with cornstarch and add to pan.
  4. Bring to a simmer and allow to thicken, about 10 minutes.
  5. Serve over cooked, riced cauliflower or rice, top with finely chopped basil, and enjoy!

**For the cauliflower rice, I used a bag of frozen riced cauliflower.  I heated a small amount of olive oil in a small saute pan over medium-high heat, added the frozen cauliflower, and sauted until it was heated through.  I lighted salted it and added a few grounds of fresh black pepper as well.

Nutrition info (including 1/4 of the riced cauliflower):

396 total cals, 36 g protein, 30 g carb, 16 g fat

Note:  CeceOnTheGo participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.  The products linked are products actually used when preparing this recipe

Miso Ginger Salmon

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Miso… Ginger… Salmon

What more do I need to say about this?!?  So many delicious flavors combining to bring this beautiful flavor bomb!  And what could be easier than baking salmon and serving it along side a simple side of roasted vegetables.

Some time ago I came across a recipe for a miso salmon in a magazine in the waiting room of my doctors’ office.  I’ve kicked myself ever since for not taking a picture of that recipe or at least writing down the name of the magazine!  However, last week a memory of that flashed through my mind when I was trying to decide on how to make some frozen salmon I had on hand and I decided just to give it a shot.

Fortunately, I don’t think it could have turned out any better!  My normal taste tester (aka husband 🙂 ) even commented it was some of the best salmon I had ever prepared!  I’d call that a win! Especially since I prepare salmon so frequently!

I paired this with a simple side of roasted broccoli and cauliflower, sticking with the Asian theme and roasting it with a little soy sauce and a few other spices.

This recipe also features one of my favorite condiments, Chile Crunch.  This condiment is so versatile and delicious, and even better it has minimal ingredients! It contains just garlic, onion, chiles, canola oil, salt, and spices.  It contains no preservatives or MSG and is gluten free!

Miso Salmon Chile Crunch

I will definitely be making this again, and soon, and often! 🙂  Especially because I bought a rather large container of miso paste – any suggestions for how else to use it are welcomed!!!

Of course, fresh salmon is typically best, but that can be hard to find, especially in the mid-west, so I’ve had good luck with individually packaged and frozen fillets, from either Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s.  To thaw them, place them in the refrigerator the day prior to preparing or if you forget (like I often do!), place the frozen fillets, still in their packaging, in a bowl and run some lukewarm water over them for a bit.  Don’t get the water too warm or else you’ll start cooking the salmon, which is no good!

If you like to top it or like a little crunch for some extra texture, I highly recommend lightly toasting some sesame seeds and sprinkling them over the top!  To toast, place sesame seeds in a small skillet over medium-low heat.  Shake pan frequently for a few minutes while seeds toast.  They will turn a light brownish hue – keep an eye on them as they will toast very quickly!

This could also be served over a bed of rice or quinoa (as pictured above) for a more filling meal!

Enjoy!

Miso Ginger Salmon

Miso Ginger Salmon

Serves:  6      Total Time:  30 minutes

Ingredients:

For the salmon:

  1. 6 4oz salmon filets, fresh or frozen
  2. 2 t olive oil
  3. 2 t white miso
  4. 2 t rice wine vinegar
  5. 2 t reduced sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos (if using coconut aminos, reduce sweetener to 1/2 t as coconut aminos tends to be a bit sweet)
  6. 1 t mirin, honey, or sweetener of choice
  7. 1 t sesame oil
  8. 1 heaping tsp grated fresh ginger
  9. 1/2 – 1 tsp chile crunch condiment, or more to taste
  10. Couple grinds black pepper
  11. Toasted sesame seeds for topping, optional

For the veggies:

  1. 1 head broccoli, cut into florets
  2. 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
  3. 1 t sesame oil
  4. 2 t soy sauce
  5. Couple good shakes of onion and garlic powder and black pepper
  6. You can also add some of the chile crunch condiment to your veggies, which I frequently do!

Instructions:

  1. Heat the oven to 450F
  2. Spread the broccoli and cauliflower on a foil lined baking sheet (yay for easy clean up!)
  3. Add sesame oil, soy sauce, and seasonings and stir to combine.
  4. Spread in a single layer on the baking sheet and bake for about 20 min, stirring once, or until fork tender
  5. In the meantime, whisk together the sauce for the salmon – olive oil, miso, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil, black pepper, chile crunch condiment, and ginger
  6. Place the salmon fillets on a separate foil lined baking sheet
  7. Pour about half of the sauce over the salmon
  8. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until firm and flakes apart easily
  9. Remove from oven and drizzle with remaining sauce
  10. Top with sesame seeds, if desired, and serve!
Nutrition info:

202 total cal, 5.5 g fat, 15.3 g carbs, 25.8 g protein

 

Note:  CeceOnTheGo participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.  The products linked are products actually used when preparing this recipe