Saturday, January 7, 2012

Chicken Stir-Fry...and Weight Watchers Diet


I have to be all honest with you...although, I've been good this week keeping up with my points system and staying away from unhealthy snacks, but last night I kind of "fell off the wagon"...NO! not the drinking "wagon" since I decided even with my favorite Chardonnay white wine, I am only enjoying that, once a week...even if that! Every point counts, and I don't want to jeopardize it with empty points, but I did. Last night, I just didn't feel like making dinner, so I bought some freshly made sushi, from our local supermarket. Ate the entire 8 pieces...will get to that, later!

Still loving my Weight Watchers Diet, the points are easy to keep track of, knowing that every recipe in the book gives you the points per serving. I made the Stir-Fried Chicken this past Thursday, and I was really proud with my progress of eating healthy, since I started the diet this Monday. When things go wrong, my problem is munching on snacks, that I normally don't do...I end up throwing out bags of chips, crackers, (no boxed cookies), peanuts, things of that nature, but this Friday, I ended up finishing all the chips, peanuts, crackers w/ cheese, so I lost track of my points. I will go into explaining "why" in another post, just want to concentrate on putting this post up, before my train of thought gets carried away.


Chicken Stir-Fry 
 adapted slightly from; Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook

2 Tbsp. low-sodium chicken broth
( I used 1 Tbsp. organic vegetable soup base
and stirred it in 1 cup of water)
1 Tbsp. minced peeled fresh ginger
1 Tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
(I also added 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar)
2 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp. corn starch
1 teaspoon Asian (dark) sesame oil
3/4 lb. skinless boneless chicken breast
cut into strips (I used skinless boneless chicken
thighs, cut into small chunks)
2 teaspoon sesame seeds (optional)
1 Tbsp. peanut oil (I used canola oil)
8 scallions cut into 1 inch length
(I used sweet onions cut int halves,
and sliced into thin strips)
2 garlic cloves minced
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
(I used 1/2 teaspoon)
12 asparagus spears, cut into 2-inch length
I used a bunch of fresh green beans,
cleaned one ends, (you can cut them in half)
1 cup trimmed watercress
I used fresh organic carrots sliced (about 3)
also, I used yellow squash sliced thin



To prepare the marinade, in a zip-close plastic bag,
(I used a medium size bowl) combine the broth, ginger, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, (cider vinegar) brown sugar, corn starch, and sesame oil.Add the chicken. Seal the bag, squeezing out the air.(If you are using a bowl, add the chicken and turn to coat with the marinade.Cover with a plastic wrap.) Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight, stirring occasionally, or if using the bag, stirring the bag, occasionally.






Drain, and discard the marinade. (I kept 1/2 cup of the marinade to add 1 more teaspoon of cornstarch, and add at the end.

Heat a large nonstick skillet (I used a wok) until very hot.
If you're using sesame seeds, add to stir-fry until golden.
2-3 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl.







 In the same skillet, heat the peanut, or canola oil,. Stir-fry the scallion, or (onion) garlic, red pepper flakes for 2 minutes.( Add the asparagus, sliced carrots yellow squash, and (or if using beans, boil them first till still crisp for a few minutes) add these to the skillet, or (wok) and stir-fry.
Add the chicken and (watercress if you're using it)
Stir-fry until chicken is cooked through, 6-8 minutes.
Add the 1/2 cup of the reserved marinade, if you would like to have a nice thickened sauce, and let it come to a boil. (you can omit this process if you don't want the sauce)
Serve sprinkled with sesame seeds. (optional) I served it over Jasmine rice.
Weight Watchers points value: 4 with sauce, and rice, 6 points
4 servings

linking to: Cookbook Sundays #5 @ Couscous-Consciousness



My choice was the mango topped,sushi, with shrimp, and seaweed salad
Yesterday, late afternoon...I was on a mission to cook something healthy from my Weight Watchers cookbook, but I was feeling so "low" and sad because my poor Prince (kitty) is rapidly getting worse, and I have to make a serious decision to have him "put down" Dr. Eric wanted to do this 6 months ago, and I wouldn't let him, so now it's time because he has serious kidney failure, although he is not in pain, he is "wasting away"
 (...again, I postponed it but time is running out...sigh!)
 Here's the talented sushi chef, Tang, who makes theses sushi rolls fresh, every day. Prices range from $6.99 to $10.99, which are the fancy ones, that I bought! The advertisement for Publix, is "where shopping a a pleasure" and believe me, it is a huge pleasure to shop at my local Publix market, where they always greet you with a smile, and ready to help you in any way!

Enhanced by Zemanta

33 comments:

Kay @ The Church Cook said...

Diet foods can be so scrumptious when you make it, Elisabeth! Happy New Year, friend.

Torviewtoronto said...

delicious looks wonderful

Veronica's Kitchen said...

I'm so sorry to hear that your cat is not well, pls give hug and kiss for me to him.

laurie said...

that chicken looks really good, I fell off the diet wagon today, back on tomorrow, sigh,,,,,

Jill | Dulce Dough said...

I am so sorry about your cat Elisabeth.

Your chicken stir fry looks so good!

SKIP TO MALOU said...

congratulations for keeping your weight watcher's diet. It's so much easier making them and knowing that it's healthy and getting the results are the greatest benefits ... i should get inspired by YOU!
malou

Pegasuslegend said...

Sorry about the kitty.... we are big cat lovers here ours had crystals in his kidneys which we had him on dialysis very sad didnt work. Its been years now and we still miss him. We have two now. Diets are so hard I am on two minths into it now 12 pounds ago and its worth the slow take off I have so much energy.I will enjoy this recipe for sure sounds right up my alley,!

Quay Po Cooks said...

Elisabeth, I think this will be the type of food we should be eating after Chinese New Year. I am so so sorry you have to make the difficult decision to put your kitty down:( HUGS!! We have recently adopted a kitty which we rescued from the drain in our house. He is now almost four and half months old. He is so naughty but at the same time very adorable. I must write a post about him soon and show him off to the world:D

ping said...

Oh dear, I'm so sorry to hear about Prince. It is such a difficult decision to make, isn't it? To put him down or not. Reminds me of the last moments of my little Pretzel .... so sad. I'm sorry. Didn't mean to get all down.
On the bright side, the chicken dish looks real good. Love baby beans!

Jane said...

Your stir-fry looks (& sounds) delicious! I respond best to colourful food.

So sorry to hear your cat is ill - it's a very hard decision to make. Three years ago we put down our cat Rosie (we'd had her for 19 years) - in retrospect I'm glad we did - she was not enjoying life anymore.

Petra said...

Ez mennyei! Pontosan valami ilyesmire vágyom! Nagyon gusztán tálaltad. Az a baj, hogy túl messze laksz, pedig szívesen bekopognék...;DDDD

Nami | Just One Cookbook said...

Hi Elisabeth! I'm following your path. I'm watching on my diet (although I'm not with WW) and try to live healthily by exercise and eat healthier food. Your posts are so motivational! I have to stick with it and get used to the new norm. Your stir fry looks fantastic! Lots of veggies and very light!

Emma said...

Elisabeth! your stir fry looks amazing ... I love chicken stir fry.

Regarding falling off the wagon - we all do that sometimes, we just have to get back on track and put the past behind us. And the sushi would have been fine surely?

I'm sorry about your poor kitty .. no wonder you felt down. I hope you can sort things out soon.

Becky said...

Elisabeth- I love your stir fry with all of the colorful veggies, Gorgeous! We make stir fry often, because you can make it healthy.

Sorry about your kitty.

wanna said...

Nagyon szeretem a "stir fry" dolgokat, a de a sushit is ...gyakran csinálok is, a tiéd csodásan néz ki!
Kitartást és erőt kívánok a diétádhoz.

Kati said...

Hát ez a csirkés saláta-féle nagyon finom lehetett.

Kathy said...

Elizabeth, Your stir fry looks wonderful. So incredibly delicious! I could diet with no problem eating like that.
I'm so sorry about your kitty...I had to put my dog down last year for kidney failure. It was so hard to do. So sorry ☹

Miz Helen said...

Hi Elizabeth,
I could eat your Chicken Stir Fry every day, it looks awesome. I would just love it if someone would just sit that in front of me. Hang in there Elizabeth, don't you give up now, I'm cheering for you! Hope you are having a great week end and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen

Lizzy Do said...

Oh, Lizzie, I'm so sorry to hear that Prince is failing...our furry family members are such a big part of our lives, I know your heart must be breaking. Know I'm thinking of you, my friend...

PS...your stir fry looks excellent!

Couscous & Consciousness said...

Elisabeth, this is a great looking dish - it looks so beautifully colourful and flavourful, and healthy as well. Thank you so much for sharing it at Cookbook Sundays :-)

I'm really sorry to hear about your poor Prince - it is heartbreaking to see them suffer, and to have to let them go. Thinking of you.

Sue xo

Chic & Gorgeous Treats said...

Chicken stir fry is one of my quick and favourite meal that I use to cook for myself when I was living out. I just love the natural crunchy and sweet french beans and just eat a whole plate to myself. It's great to hear you are keeping up with the weight watchers plan. Like the Japs would say it GAMBATE or Koreans *Fighting!* and if it's me.. I say Keep it Up!! You really inspire me to do so too dear friend.. hugggsss, Jo

Chef depaprika said...

Bocs, hogy nem válaszoltam hamarabb, nem is tudtam hogy elvárod ;)
Tetszik nagyon, szép, színes és szimpla.
Ha fogok a te recepteidbol készíteni valamit majd meglinkelek ;)

A multi-dimensional life said...

Happy New Year Elisabeth! I love the quote at the top! I'm so thankful to have met you this past year and so looking forward to what God has in store for us next! Blesings galore!
This recipe is a great way to start the year...it looks so fresh and healthy and full of flavor...just as I hope for this year to be!

Angie's Recipes said...

o boy...isn't the stir-fry great! I would join the program if I was served this with Chardonnay every day!

Angie's Recipes said...

Sorry to read about your Prince, Eli.
(((HUG)))

mangiabella said...

i am soooooo sorry to hear about your beloved kitty. It's never easy, they are such wonderful companions to us and it's just heart breaking. I've had to put two dogs down in my life and even though we knew it was best, I sure do miss them. I forgot to tell you that I love your quote up top, so true, every passing moment is a chance to turn it all around.....hugs to you today bella, keeping you in my prayers

Junia said...

awww elizabeth - i'm totally an emotional eater too. but i always remind myself to get back up and not give up once i've eaten something wrong or too much of something! hugs to you! ps - sushi is super healthy! pps - poor kitty :(

mia maria said...

I am so sorry about Prince, Elisabeth! Your stir fry looks delicious! I am sure it tastes really good too:)

Rosita Vargas said...

Me encanta este salteado luce exquisito y saludable una mezcla excelente,abrazos hugs,hugs.

Rosemary said...

Looks absolutely delicious, whether you're counting points or not! If there was good sushi near me, I'd be in trouble, too -- sorry to be reading here about your Prince. Putting a pet down is the hardest thing I've had to do. Feeling for you.

Magic of Spice said...

I so sorry about your kitty...such a difficult thing.
Your stir fry looks wonderful and love the marinade!

Christine's Pantry said...

Looks like a great meal.

Anonymous said...

Hi! Someone in my Myspace group shared this website with us so I came to give it a
look. I'm definitely enjoying the information. I'm book-marking
and will be tweeting this to my followers!
Exceptional blog and superb style and design.

Stop by my weblog - date-online-today.com