Super Easy Stir Fry Earns Points in My House!

Yay!  Another jackpot winner!  You know I am passionate about good quality food!  Organic fruits and vegetables, farm raised organic meats and non-processed foods are what I  am committed to.  Sometimes that's all well and good, but sometimes you just have to prepare what is available in a short time frame. This blog post is for those of you who don't think you can have  healthy, good food with limited time.

So, here is one way you can use some prepared foods to combine into a healthy dinner in a flash.  Ok, maybe not a flash, as there is a crock pot involved, but once you are set up it is totally doable.

Some of these products are from Trader Joe's,  however, I do know other stores are carrying versions of these ingredients.  Here they are:

If you can find this it's great as it's precooked and just needs heating

Onion

Soy sauce ... this is a great variety:  Organic Tamari

Fresh grated ginger ... there are also frozen pre-grated varities in stores

Stir-fry veggies already prepped

This is a great vinegar ... omit if you don't have but I love to use this as a condiment as well

Beef Stir-Fry

1 package of pre-cooked sirloin (16 0z)
1 small onion sliced thinly
1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1-2 Tablespoons freshly grated ginger
1 Tablespoon Ume Plum Vinegar (optional)
1 Tablespoon of olive oil, sesame oil or coconut oil
1 package of stir-fry vegetables
cooked rice

Directions:

1. Place sliced onions on a microwave safe dish.  Heat for about 45 seconds to release flavors.  You may also saute on a stove top instead.
2. Place onions in the bottom of crockpot.  Pour soy sauce, grated ginger, and vinegar over the onions.  Stir together.
3. Top mixture with sirloin.  
4. Cover and cook on low until meat pulls apart easily.  I just turn it on and walk away till the end of the day. 
5. Heat fry pan or wok.  Add olive oil, sesame oil or coconut oil to heated pan.  Add stir-fry vegetable mix to hot pan.  Stir regularly until desired consistency.
6. Optional:  add beef to vegetables to allow juices to cook with vegetables or add separately to individual plates. 
7. Serve over rice.

A grand slam on the dinner table

*I actually made this even easier by using rice from our take out Thai dinner the night before.  See, I do cheat on healthy dinner too!

** Check your package of pre-cooked beef (or chicken).  If there is added sodium, you might want to add 1 cup of water to your crockpot to thin it out.


This is just one way you can get a dinner on the table that the kids will love (and us old folks too!).  Visit your markets to see what you can come up with.  I know what it's like to be stuck in a food rut and really despise the dreaded dinner question, "What's for dinner?"  With the holiday season approaching, we tend to be even busier parents with all kinds of obligations.  You know what happens?  We eat like crap.  Yep, we eat garbage and drink too much coffee, too much wine and then it's the New Year.  Ugh.  "Why did I do this to myself?"

Stay committed to feeling great and plan your meals for your own sanity and for your family's benefit.  Cold and flu season is here, and one thing I've learned,  is food helps keep you well!  Eat well, rest, and take your immune boosting supplements and you'll be on your way to an awesome new start to 2014!

Let me hear from you with your quick dinner ideas!  I get inspired by your meals!

Have an awesome day!
Krista

November Gratitude

I've been laying a bit low on the recipes this week ... time marches on and all of a sudden the days have flown by!

Instead of a recipe, here is something that has changed my life for the past few years.  It's easy.  It's free.  It takes about 3 minutes.  You ready?  A gratitude journal.  Before you groan and think I'm getting all Oprah on you, give me a minute to explain.

Most of you know what a gratitude journal is.  It can be a fancy leather journal or a simple composition pad.  This is mine.

I just like to make sure I can fold book in half to write on both sides of the page.

I even have used apps that let you type in the things you're grateful for along with a photo of whatever it is that you're thankful for.  Those are cool too!

Anyway, what is so great about doing this list everyday?  There are so many reasons,  but here's the easiest one to pick:

IT MAKES YOU FEEL GREAT!

Some days are not as easy as we'd like them to be.  Am I right?  Some days we like to stay miserable about something not working or something not being fair ... did you ever notice those days just continue to snowball into more crap happening?  Yep, negative vibes attract negative energy.

By having some way of keeping track of good stuff, you can change your yucky day into a day that just plain feels great. Gratitude gets the pep in your step, your mojo happening and of course the ability to stay calm when necessary.  For me, that is every single day with two teenage girls! 

Simple Instructions:

1. Get yourself a simple notebook or whatever you would like to record thought on. 
2. Find a time to write.  I like the morning before the day really begins, but lately I have been writing at night before bed. That helps me drift off into a happy slumber.
3. List 10 things that you are grateful for.  They don't have to be extravagant events.  Sometimes I'm just happy to have a cozy blanket on me! 
4. Smile.

Often I feel like I have to remind myself of the things I have, instead of what I think I want or need.  Once you relax into "everything is alright" thinking, things start to happen without all the stress that sometimes we get worked up about.  Trust me.

Positive vibes breed positive energy.  Try it out in this month of November ... the month of Thanksgiving.

I cannot end this without thanking all of you who responded to my simple facebook post 12 days ago.  I had a great visit with my neurosurgeon in NYC who was happy with my latest MRI, 18 months after my radiation with the cyberknife.  Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your support!

Rockefeller Plaza mums

Conquering my fear of heights with my man!

At my favorite market "Eataly"

Much Love,
Krista