Asian Turkey-Veggie Sauté

Don’t you love it when an experiment in the kitchen turns out to be WONDERFUL???  I do!  I am so excited to share our dinner recipe from tonight with you. 

(a little preview!)

Today was the first day of school!  It went very smoothly and was a great day!  It’s always nice to have the first day down.  My only mishap for the day was forgetting my comfortable shoes for recess duty!  DOH!  I was wearing pointy-toe shoes with heels.  Not great for recess duty!  Luckily, a coworker let me borrow some flip-flops! :) 

Tonight I taught a super-fun Zumba class!  I was tired when I arrived, but by the end, I had so much energy.  I love how exercise does that for you.  You think you have nothing in you… but when you get started, it’s like a rush of adrenaline hits and BAM!  You’re on fire!  Love it!

So anyway, on to our dinner!  When I bought these ingredients, I was originally thinking about making some sort of Asian lettuce wraps for dinner, but since I have been eating Lunchtime Lettuce Cups so much lately, I decided to try something different.  Before I went to Zumba, I actually had about an hour at home, so I was able to prep the ingredients before I left.  When I got home, this was a cinch to put together!

I think this meal is a great alternative to takeout.  I LOVE Chinese takeout, but when you cook at home, you can control the amount of fat and sodium that goes into your meal.  Plus, you can add in whatever veggies you like the best!  I couldn’t decide what to call this meal… because it’s not technically a stir-fry… and it’s not a one-dish meal… so I am calling it a Saute, for lack of a better word!

Asian Turkey-Veggie Saute

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. extra lean ground turkey
• 1 head of Bok Choy, chopped (will make about 3-4 cups)
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 large carrot (or 3-4 small ones) grated
• 1/2-1 cup of chopped water chestnuts
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger root
• 1 Tbsp. Sesame Oil (I used dark—more flavor)
• 2-3 Tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce

Preparation: Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet.  Add ground turkey, carrots, and onion.  Cook, stirring often and breaking up meat as it browns.  (I use extra lean turkey so there is not much fat at all—in fact, you may not even need to drain the meat afterwards.  When meat is brown, add garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant (stirring), about 1 minute.  Add soy sauce.  Stir.  Add water chestnuts and bok choy. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until the bok choy starts to wilt.  The recuce heat to low and allot the bok choy to get a little more tender—about 3 minutes.  Serve over brown rice or in lettuce cups.  (You can also add extra soy sauce if you like, just before serving.)

I am so excited that we have leftovers!  I am planning to eat this for lunch tomorrow—in lettuce leaves, of course!