Lunch for One?

Caring for yourself the way you do for others might just make you happier and healthier!
Spicy Chicken and Angel-Hair Pasta Stir Fry with a home made Lemon-Ginger Tea drink.

Whether you live alone or just eating alone for the moment, your meals should be special. I hear so many people talk about cornflakes in bed, chips, a pint of ice cream, etc., whenever it's just them. Yet when feeding others, they go all out.

After getting back on my workout regimen this morning I was ready for lunch. Now I could have grabbed something from the back of the fridge or pantry, but I decided to treat myself better than that. After all, I do it for everyone else so why shouldn't I have the pleasure of my own inspired creation? The added bonus is that with no one else to consider I can make it just the way I like it.

My motivation was one of my favorite things--some leftover angel hair pasta, ready to go.  This got my mind to working so I came up with a hot and spicy stir fry with a side of avocado.

Ingredients:

• 1 Individually Frozen Chicken Breast-Defrosted and sliced length-wise
• (I love having these on hand for just such a moment)
• Sweet Peppers
• Red Onion
• Fresh Tomato
• Fresh Ginger
• Fresh Garlic
• Olive Oil
• Favorite Seasonings:
• Organic No-Salt Seasoning
• Black Pepper
• Hot Pepper Flakes
• Angel Hair Pasta (cooked)
• Mr. Yoshido's Sauce (sweet and thick) or any soy of your choosing.

Have you noticed that I leave out salt when something else I am using already contains salt (like the soy sauce)? I try to always be conscious of this. I took the salt out, but looked over at the Mr. Yoshido's Sauce and left it alone. Why add salt unnecessarily? This is one of the problems with prepared foods, especially soups or eating out in general. The sodium content of your food will almost always contain an astronomical amount of sodium. Check some of the nutritional values on your labels or restaurant websites  and you will see what I mean. 

"A diet high in sodium increases the risk of increased blood pressure, a major cause for heart disease and stroke, which are the first- and third-leading causes of death in the United States."  From About.com: Heavy on the Salt? You May Be Eating Too Much Sodium

Chop all veggies. Slice Chicken into strips.

Add some olive oil and heat pan (not too high--olive oil smokes easily).

 Add chicken, season and stir away until fully cooked (no pink).

 Add all veggies and continue to stir quickly.

I love buying bags of these little colorful peppers. They are easy to add into any dish.

Add the cooked pasta and stir into mix.

Then add the Mr.Yoshido's Sauce or other soy sauce. 

Just enough to give flavor and color. Continue to stir quickly. 

Now it's ready to serve!

But wait! You want a nice drink with it right?

LEMON GINGER TEA DRINK RECIPE

Before I started this meal, I made half a cup of Lemon Ginger Tea 

(1 tea bag filling a mug 1/2 way with boiling water) 

Both Bigelow and Stash make this tea.

I then added a few teaspoons of Organic Raw Sugar--okay let's be honest, I added 4!!!

Now that may sound bad, but at 15 calories per teaspoon 

we are talking about a 60 calorie drink. 

McDonald's 16 ounce Sweet Tea, according to their website, 

will cost you 150 calories. 

The large 32 ounce will cost you 280 calories!

Making it before I began cooking allowed the tea to steep 

all of that delicious flavor and then cool down nicely

In a glass of crushed ice, I added the juice of a whole lemon and 

then poured in the Lemon Ginger tea and added a straw. Delicious!

What a treat for me. A delicious meal, a tasty drink and some quiet time.

Aren't you worth your own time and effort? I say yes! 

Turkey Wings with Coconut Mango Basmati Rice and Peas

Turkey Wings with Coconut Mango Basmati Rice and Peas. Delicious!!

My sweetie took turkey wings out of the freezer the other day with good intentions, but was too tired to follow through when dinner time rolled around. No worries because my mind went into overdrive cooking up the meal of my dreams.

INGREDIENTS

Turkey Wings:

1 package of turkey wings (fresh--not smoked)

Garlic powder

Salt (if desired)

Black pepper

No-salt organic seasoning mixture or

 Other herbs and spices of your choice

Flour

Oil

Sauce:

Juice from one orange or orange juice from container

Duck Sauce or Saucy Susan

Soy or Mr. Yoshido’s Sauce

Basmati Rice:

(Feel free to use other types of rice.

Note that Brown requires longer cooking times.)

Rice 1 ½ cups

1 Can of Coconut MILK

Chicken stock or broth

(measurement of liquid to rice is 2 to 1. For 1 ½ cups of rice, I needed 3 cups of liquid. I used a full can of coconut milk and for the remainder, I used chicken stock blending thoroughly with a wire whisk).

1 ripe mango peeled and cut into small pieces.

1 Can of pigeon peas (rinsed and drained)

Season rice to taste (I used cayenne and my organic seasoning mix)

Other Tools:

• Frying pan
• Baking pan
• Aluminum Foil

Some of you might be intimidated by turkey wings, but I guarantee they are a lot easier to work with than a whole turkey. This package only included the wing and tip--not the drum piece of the wing. I separated them, cutting at the joint. Be careful with this. The idea is to cut between the two bones as opposed to cutting the bone itself.

You don't have to cut it, but it does make them easier to handle. My hubby enjoys eating the tips of wings (both chicken and turkey). You can also put them aside and use as a flavoring for a soup or broth.

Wings with tip still attached.

Take out a few seasonings and flour. I used garlic, black pepper, and a no-salt organic seasoning from Costco which includes a variety of herbs and spices. I try not to use salt, especially when I am going to use other items that already contain salt. Season and flour both sides of the meat.

 Cover the bottom of your pan with oil and heat. 

Brown wings on both sides. The object is to brown the skin a bit.

No need to overdo it or you may risk burning the wings 

and ruining the flavor and texture.

Remove from the fire and place in a baking pan.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, prepare a sauce using the juice from one orange, 

duck sauce and a little soy or Mr. Yoshido's Sauce 

(a sweet, thick soy or teriyaki sauce).

Brush onto both sides of the wings. Pour remainder over wings and 

cover pan with aluminum foil.

 Bake at 350 degrees until tender. This could take a while so be patient. 

A fork should go through easily.

While waiting, let's prepare the rice. I used Basmati rice (1 1/2 cups),
1 can of coconut MILK--not Cream of Coconut, which is a sweet mixture for drinks. 

Peel a ripe mango and cut into small pieces.

Rinse and drain a can of pigeon peas. I used brown, but if you like green or some other type of peas or beans, feel free to try.  That is what this blog is about--the freedom to try new things.

The measurement of liquid to rice is 2 to 1. I added chicken stock to the coconut milk to bring the liquid up to 3 cups stirring it to blend well. Season the rice with items of your choice. I used my staple organic no-salt seasoning (Trader Joe's also has this. I believe it's called 21 seasonings), and Cayenne (some like it hot!).

 I also used a rice cooker, one of my favorite tools! You just set it and forget it--no pre-boiling and worrying about sticking.  

If you don't have one, be sure to check the rice often, stirring on a low fire. 

• Bring liquid to a boil
• Add all other ingredients
• Stir and return to a boil
• Cover and cook on low fire stirring often to prevent burning

Enjoy! I know I did