Today's Fit Friday recipe is about the Zone Diet. This is really how we prefer to eat at our house. Why? Because the Zone Diet is all about portions and being well-rounded in your meals. Of course it also means using minimal sugar and fats, being careful on salt and processed foods. Where possible, I try to use simple ingredients, whole grains, and lean meats. It might seem complicated, but it really is not. It might also seem like it takes a while to cook this way, but it doesn't. I have a policy in my meals - if it takes me more than an hour to get dinner on the table, it's not going there during the week. I might make a fancy meal on the weekend, but during the week when I pressed for time and have other obligations, I make meal preparation as simple as possible.
So today's recipe, Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry, is exactly that. Simple, easy to prepare. I used asparagus, mushrooms, and onion as my vegetables. Fresh and compliment the chicken and sauces. I like to use water chestnuts in my stir fry to mix up the textures. If you don't like water chestnuts, it's not a deal breaker. It still tastes great without them. But I like variety, and crispy is a nice change up in this recipe. One note though - for photography purposes, I used white rice. But with a true Zone Diet recipe, you would have brown rice. Or better yet, Quinoa.
Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry
Ingredients:
2 Tbs. canola oil
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 medium white onion, thinly sliced
8 oz. sliced white mushrooms
1 can water chestnuts, drained
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup stir fry sauce
1/4 cup oyster sauce
Brown Rice (or Quinoa)
Directions:
1. Prepare rice. While rice is cooking, prepare stir fry. Add oil to a wok or large skillet and preheat over medium high heat.
2. Add chicken. Stir fry for 5 minutes or until center is no longer pink. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon and place on plate. Set aside.
3. Add asparagus and onion to wok and stir fry for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms. Stir fry for 3 more minutes. Add water, cover, and allow vegetables to steam for an additional 3 minutes.
4. Return chicken to wok. Add sauces and toss with vegetables and chicken to coat. Serve immediately over rice.
Serves 4
