I am NOT a foodie photog. Â I can’t quite seem to get the picture perfect food shots like Rachel over at Following in My Shoes or Alysa over at InspiredRD. Â {Seriously, go check out their amazing sites and images} I’m mostly ok with that… and somewhat hoping that with enough practice, maybe I’ll get better. Â Until I do, you have my apologies for the image I’m about to share… it really was the best of about a dozen pics I took night before last.
I’d also like to state for the record that anything in a peanut sauce will NOT photograph well… don’t argue with me, just take my word for it. {And yes, for those who follow me on Facebook, THIS was the dish I burned my hand trying to take the picture of}
So this week is the kick off the latest Mamavation Mom Campaign. Â We are throwing a LOT of information at this round of Moms in a short amount of time.
One of the first questions I’ve seen on twitter and Facebook is “What do I eat” – you see, with Mamavation, we are all about teaching you to fish. Â That makes it easier to stick with after the 7 weeks. Â We work off of a set of exchanges – similar to the Mayo Clinic’s Diabetic exchange plan. Â It’s awesome really but when you are first learning and you see that your dinner might be :
-3 vegetables-1 fat-free milk-3 lean meat-2 fat
It’s easy to get lost… I mean sure, you can pile your plate with veggies, 3 oz of chicken, a glass of milk… but after a while that might get old…. and what about recipes? Â How do you take a recipe and see what it translates to when it comes to exchanges??? Â I know these questions because they are the ones I asked.
So, I’m challenging myself to come up with recipes that fit in with the meal plans – mostly for myself but hey, if it helps you, AWESOME.
The other night I was in the mood for peanut sauce. Â I love peanut sauce but I wondered how would I fit it into the meal plan… not to mention, anything off the store shelves would be laden with chemicals and crap I don’t want to eat… so to the kitchen I went to play.
Keep in mind that I am often cooking for 1… 2 with leftovers. Â so this recipe serves two – which is perfect if you make something different for your kidlets or easy enough to multiply for the whole family.
Recipe: Chicken and Veggies in Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic – chopped
- 6 oz chicken – breast or thigh cubed
- 1 cup broccoli
- 1 cup brussel sprouts
- 1 cup mushrooms
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter
- 1/2 cup of water
- 2 Tablespoons Lime Juice
- 2 Tsp Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a pan (I prefer a cast iron skillet so I can transfer to the oven which is an optional step) and add chopped garlic, Brussels sprouts, Broccoli, coriander, and cumin
- Cook for 2-3 minutes on medium then add chicken
- Cook another 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, before adding the mushrooms
- Cook until chicken is cooked through because no one wants raw chicken
- move chicken and veggies off to the sides of the pan, making an opening in the middle
- Add water (which BTW helps to deglaze the pan you are using – a fancy way of saying it gets the good bits o’ flavor off the bottom) int he opening you just created
- Add peanut butter – It really doesn’t matter if you use crunchy or creamy in my opinion… I like the fresh ground I get from my store because I like chucks of peanuts for added texture
- Stir until water and peanut butter are combined.
- Add in Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce if you so desire (some don’t like it, I think it makes so many things that much better)
- Stir everything to give all of the veggies and chicken a nice coating of sauce
Preparation time: 30 minute(s)
Cooking time: 20 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 2
My rating 4 stars: ★★★★☆ 1 review(s)
Microformatting by hRecipe.
Nutritional info provided by CalorieCount.com
This recipe is very flexible… make whatever changes you need to to suit the tastes of your family or yourself. Â I was on a quest to make a delicious dinner with items I had on hand that fit within the constraints of the meal plan.
If you don’t like the veggies I used, pick the ones you prefer.
Not a fan of Sriracha? Â Leave it out (but I personally think it adds a nice kick)
How does this play in with the meal plan I mentioned above? Â Unless I can’t count – exchanges for this recipe are 2 fat, 3 protein, 1.5 veg. Â That means you still have room for a salad on the side to round things out nicely.
Or, add even more veggies to the mix to get them all in.
**side note – the nutritional information provided is courtesy of CalorieCount.com and used chicken thighs for the calculation. Â Obviously this would be different if chicken breasts were used**
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