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Simple Lunch Stirfry Recipe and Siggi’s Probiotic Breakfast Review

i made this stir-fry for lunch yesterday (Tuesday, 1/24):

I decided to bring my lunch to work this week. We do have a cafeteria at the office, but it’s not that healthy. This stirfry is made up of:

  • broccoli + broccoli stalk (you don’t have to throw that part out – it’s great sauteed)
  • red pepper
  • can of tuna
  • frozen corn
  • fresh cilantro
  • garlic + chili powder
  • cooked in bacon fat (I save this each time I make bacon)

I had a sesame bagel alongside the stirfry.

I also vowed to bring breakfast. I normally shy away from drinking my calories, but I have found several drinks to be quite delicious as of late, in particular:

This is Siggi’s probiotic drinkable non-fat yogurt in plain (it also comes in strawberry). I don’t like siggi’s greek yogurt (too thick) but I did find this drinkable yogurt to have a good consistency (not too thick, not too thin — just right!) and flavor. I added some cinnamon to mine before drinking up. Only 45 calories in this small bottle which leaves plenty of room for other breakfast goodies like no-sugar scones.

What do you put in stirfrys? Do you drink your calories or save them for chewing?

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Katie says: Chopstick Covered Katie

Hi everyone! I am still doing blog maintenance and stuff, so you get to hear from one of the sweetest ladies in blogland. And she totally understands my chopstick obsession. Take it away, Katie!

(And HI to reader Lauren who I met last night!! Thanks for saying hi.)

***

Hi chocolate chips!

My name is Katie, and I write a blog called Chocolate-Covered Katie.

The recipes on my blog are for “healthy” (yet still delicious) versions of traditionally “bad-for-you” foods.

Such as the above healthy choco-Banana sundae

Basically, I eat in accordance with the Chocolate-Covered Diet philosophy, and I’ve never been happier :) .

But today, I’m not going to talk about chocolate. (*Gasp*) Nope, the lovely Maggie (Isn’t she gorgeous?!) has asked me to talk about something else: chopsticks! She and I share an interest in eating with chopsticks, because we both have a connection to Japan (mine being that I lived there for four years, and hers being that Bobby is half Japanese). I actually learned to eat with chopsticks before a fork. So even though I now can use a fork, I still prefer chopsticks, not only for conventional Asian dishes, but also for…

Decadent high-protein chocolate cake

Slurpy mushroom spaghetti

Bluebberry Breakfast Pizzert in a bowl

And even…

The breakfast feast: Chocolate chip cookie dough oatmeal

Ok, scratch that last one.

Some things are better eaten with a spoon!

In honor of Maggie and Bobby, I challenge you—this week—to try eating something unconventional with chopsticks!

Be creative and have fun! Are you up  for it?? I know these guys are. :)

And remember:

Life is better when it’s chocolate-covered!

***

Thanks again Katie 🙂 And happy early birthday! September is the best birthday month (mine is September too – maybe we are the same age!). I hope you enjoy some cake with chopsticks (healthy cake of course). I definitely will.

Do you know how to eat with chopsticks? What is your favorite thing to eat with them?

I think my favorite thing is… a stir-fry. Predictable, but delicious. (Here’s another.)

P.S. If you are ever interested in doing a guest post for Say Yes to Salad, please contact me and let me know your idea! I am always accepting submissions 🙂

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Vegetarians Beware. Yummy Thai Food.

I mentioned yesterday that my very cool boss bought us lunch, but I neglected to tell you what we ordered! We ended up ordering delivery from Spice over on 8th Avenue. Spice is a very yummy Thai restaurant. I have been to the location at Union Square and I really liked it.

I ordered the Hawaiian Ginger and Pineapple Stir-fry (with onions, carrots, and mushrooms) and I ordered it with beef. Would I have preferred this to be organic beef? Of course. Did that fact that it wasn’t (I assume) stop me? Absolutely not. It was yummy and exactly what I was craving.

I also ordered the spring rolls (fried). I had one of them and gave the other to Bobby. They came with a very good sweet sauce. I have no idea what was in it.

Last night I used the leftover beef to make a stirfry with some veggies.

I have been using frozen veggies because they make cooking prep so so so much faster. I don’t have that much time to cook, and time will deter me from cooking (I’ve been doing takeout a lot). I cooked these in some butter and spices. Yum!

Are there any tricks you do to make cooking easier? Chopping veggies in advance? Making big batches and eating leftovers?

P.S. I had another acupuncture appointment today and I will definitely update about that soon. I need to sleep now!

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Peach and Seitan Stir-fry

I made this peach and seitan stir-fry last night for dinner – I should have made more because we completely finished it. I got to use my new wok again (I love it – thanks, mom and dad) and again, I’m getting inspired by the recipes in the “Asian cooking companion” from Rob, my brother.

I love fruit, so this mix of fruits and veggies was terribly hard to resist. Adding the seitan makes for a great flavor.

So here’s the recipe… (serves 2)

Peach and Seitan Stir-fry

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 2 small cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped onions
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
  • 6-8 ounces chopped seitan
  • 2.5 cups of chopped kale
  • 1.5 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoon lime juice
  • 1 peach, pitted and chopped
  • steamed rice (for serving)

Directions

  1. I like to prepare my ingredients beforehand so I can just dump them in as I need them. It makes stirfrying much less hectic.

  2. Heat the oil in a wok over high heat. Add the garlic, onions, and chili powder. Stir for about 1 minute.

  3. Add the carrots and seitan and continue to stir for 1-2 minutes.

  4. Add the kale, soy sauce, lime juice, and peach and continue to cook for another 2 minutes.
  5. Serve hot over steamed rice.

How to make rice:

Ingredients

  • 1 cup white rice
  • 1 cup water
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

  1. Dump all ingredients in rice cooker. Press start. Just kidding! Here is how to make rice on a stove…
  2. Rinse rice first (optional).
  3. Put all ingredients in the pot and bring to a boil (uncovered). Let it keep boiling until there are craters in the rice (the water will have gone down a lot), then cover the pot and leave it to simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes. This makes about 2 cups of cooked rice.

On a side note, I bought Bobby a present yesterday: Tofurky deli slices “Philly style”. He likes them a lot – I would suggest trying them out on your next sandwich. Try adding some dijon mustard, too. I like to make Philly cheese-“steak”-s with seitan and shredded cheese, so these will be great to try.

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Vegetable and Seitan Stir-Fry Recipe

Vegetable and Seitan Stir-Fry 

Ingredients

  • Diced onion
  • Chopped red/orange/yellow pepper
  • Sliced carrots
  • Chopped bok choy
  • Fresh sliced seitan
  • Smart Ground meatless crumbles
  • Grapeseed oil
  • Soy sauce, to taste (about 2 tsp)

Directions

  1. Heat the oil in a pan on high.
  2. Toss in onions, peppers, carrots, and all fake meat. Saute for 2 minutes.
  3. Add the bok choy and saute for another minute.
  4. Add soy sauce, stir, and remove from heat.
  5. Serve alone or with rice.

Other great veggies to add: broccoli, green peppers, Brussels sprouts, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, baby corn, scallions, mushrooms, zucchini…

Note that it’s important to add the bok choy (and any other leafy vegetables) last, otherwise they become limp.