Vegetable Stir Fry
Weeknight meals can be a nightmare, but with some planning, you can make nutritious meals in 30-minutes or less by choosing almost any combination of roughly chopped bright and colourful vegetables, with a quick homemade sauce. Not only is stir fry a family favourite for supper, but leftovers make a delicious and easy packed lunch.
This is not necessarily a recipe but more a reminder for mothers, dads, wives, husbands, students or whoever is reading this post, to know that adding nutritious items in a pan can make a great meal. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on expensive cuts of meat, you don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen. A couple of loose vegetables mixed together with a can of beans can be a nutritious, satisfying meal.
Recipe – Without too many dos and don’ts please use the ingredients your family loves and more importantly use ingredients currently in your fridge. Ratios of vegetables also vary to taste. Kids may prefer more mild items while adults may prefer more chillies…
Step one: Use a good quality non-stick pan or wok, add some onions, mushrooms, garlic, chilly and a pinch of turmeric to the pan. You can use 5ml of olive oil (if necessary) to brown the onions and mushrooms.
Step two: Add broccoli, cabbage, spinach, bell peppers, sugar snap peas, baby carrots, julienne sliced carrots and baby marrows or pumpkin, cook for 10 – 15 minutes. Vegetables should still have some texture. I like mine with some crunch. Remember with longer cooking times, more nutrients are lost. Adding some water may help to steam vegetables and prevent them from burning.
Step 3: Add a tin of rinsed black beans and some homemade sauce, made with about 4 tbsp soy sauce (reduced sodium), garlic, ginger and optional 1 level tsp honey or sugar if some sweetness is needed, when using seasonal vegetables sugar should not necessarily be needed. Add 1 – 2 tbsp of toasted sesame seeds or ground flax seeds to add flavour and increase the fibre content.
Step 4: Serve with a side salad, or on a bed of brown rice, quinoa or whole wheat pasta. Use approximately 1/3 to 1/2 cup of starch and enjoy a healthy serving of vegetables.