After a long day of work the last thing we want to do is spend two hours in the kitchen preparing a gourmet meal. This is why stir-fry recipes are the best solution to the go-out or eat-at-home dilemma. Stir-fry’s allow you to eat a home-cooked nutritious meal without spending too much time in the kitchen after a long day.
In this blog, I will share with you five reasons why stir fry’s are the best meals to make when you are short on time and share with you some of my favourite stir fry recipes.
5 Reasons Why Stir-Fry Recipes Are The Best Ever
Picture this, you have had a long day at work. Your boss gave you a hard time today, you have a ton of work to do tomorrow and you don’t feel like going out to eat. You just want a nice, quiet night at home to relax and decompress.
The thing is, you don’t really want to spend the night slaving in the kitchen either. So, what do you do?
The perfect solution? Make a stir-fry.
These dishes are by far my favourite meals to make because of many reasons. Stir-fry’s are the best ever because they are…
1) Quick. Including prep time to sitting and eating your delicious creation a stir fry may take you 30 to 40 minutes max! This is just enough time to open a bottle of wine, pour it into a decanter and let it sit while you prep your meal. By the time your are done prepping your wine in ready and voila…you have a gourmet meal at home.
2) Easy. The hardest part about your stir-fry will be cutting up all your veggies. However, if you use the chop setting on your food processor, if you have the essential must have’s for your kitchen, chopping will be easy. It is very easy to boil some water to cook rice, place some veggies in a pan, stir until cooked and throw everything one bowl. Then, all you need to do is top with a delicious dressing, or sauce, and you are ready to eat!
3) Versatile. A stir-fry is one of the most versatile dishes you can make. All a stir-fry is, is a variety of vegetables warmed up into a skillet. Often if I am not sure what to make for dinner I will pull out all the veggies I have sitting in the fridge that need to be eaten, chop them up and throw them in a pan. Then, voila… dinner is served. You can choose to pair your veggies with quinoa, rice or any other grain. You can also add tofu, seitan or tempeh to boost the protein content of the dish for a well-balanced meal.
4) Nutritious. Because you are able to throw a variety of nutritious ingredients into ever stir-fry they are extremely nutritious. Eating a wide variety of vegetables each day can sometimes be challenging; however, with a stir-fry you can pretty much chop up whatever is in the fridge and throw it in. Not only do you get the nutrients from a variety of fruits and veggies but also a healthy carbohydrate and protein for a well-balanced meal.
5) Tasty. With the variety of ingredients that go into a stir-fry the variety of flavours bring about an abundance of taste. By changing a few ingredients you can completely transform the taste of any stir-fry you make. From a curry-base, to ginger undertones, to something very simple topped with a little tamari sauce your taste buds are sure to be satisfied.
3 Delicious Stir-Fry Recipes
With so many wonderful benefits, and options, it’s no wonder that stir-fry’s are a popular meal choice. These recipes are every easy to make and will reinvigorate your love for making a quick, home-cooked meal that will taste like you went out to eat at a fancy restaurant.
Below, I will share with you three very different stir-fry’s. Please note, the ingredients in these recipes, and with any recipe, are a guideline. I encourage you to have fun with them and substitute any ingredient you wish. Out of these three recipes you could end up with many different recipes of your own.
Rainbow Veggie Stir-Fry With Miso-Tahini Dressing
This stir-fry is very colourful and tasty and it was created by pure accident. All I did was pull out all of the veggies I had in my fridge, chopped them up, paired them with one of my favourite dressings and this tasty dish was the result. The sauce, is absolutely one of my favourites and can be used as a salad dressing if you have left overs.
Stir-Fry Ingredients:
- 1 cup dried quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 1 Tbsp. Coconut oil
- 1/2 sweet onion, diced
- 1/2 red or yellow pepper, diced
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups frozen mixed veggies (peas, carrots, beans and corn)
- 1 cup purple cabbage, chopped
- 5 crimini mushrooms, chopped
- 1/2 tsp. Sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. Ground black pepper
- 1/2 ground garlic powder
Miso-Tahini Dressing Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup chickpea miso
- 3 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1/4 tahini
- 2 Tbsp. Bragg’s Soy Sauce
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 cup water (or more as needed)
Instructions for veggies:
- Place quinoa and water in large pot, cover and bring to a boil on high heat.
- Reduce heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes or until all water has been absorbed.
- While quinoa is cooking, heat large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add coconut oil, onion, pepper and celery and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Reduce heat to low-medium.
- Add garlic, frozen veggies and cabbage. Stir and cook about 2-3 more minutes.
- Add mushrooms and spices.
- Stir occasionally until all veggies are cooked.
- Remove from heat or reduce to low until ready to serve.
Instructions for dressing:
- Place all ingredients in high speed blender and blend until thoroughly mixed.
- Leave as is, or add more water for desired consistency.
- Pour into glass dressing container until ready to serve.
- Dressing will keep in fridge for about 5-7 days.
Instructions for serving:
- Place 1 cup of quinoa in a bowl.
- Top with veggies.
- Add desired amount of dressing.
- Optional: for extra spice add a touch of hot sauce.
NOTE: This stir-fry and dressing keeps for about five days in the fridge and is just as delicious warmed up for another meal.
Pineapple Curry Stir-Fry
This pineapple curry dish is made with nourishing veggie broth, a variety of vegetables, flavourful curry powder and healing pineapple that is abundant in enzymes that aid digestion. The flavour of the pineapple, curry and coconut milk together is absolutely divine. You may choose to make more sauce if you want to add to rice. The rice will soak up the sauce nicely.
Stir-Fry Ingredients:
- 1 cup green brown rice
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 3 tablespoons organic coconut oil
- 1 medium sweet onion, diced
- 2 large ribs of celery, chopped
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 1 head of broccoli, chopped
- 1/2 head green or red cabbage, chopped
- 1/2 head cauliflower, chopped
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- 4 Tbsp. mild curry powder
- 4 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
- 1 can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
- 1 fresh ripe pineapple, diced
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper
Coconut Curry Dressing Ingredients:
- 1 cup organic coconut milk, canned
- 1 cup organic vegetable stock (or more if desired)
- 1 Tbsp. Bragg’s soy sauce
Instructions for veggies:
- Place 1 cup brown rice and 2 cups vegetable broth in large pot bring to a boil over high heat.
- Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer until lentils are soft and all liquid has been absorbed (about 30-40 minutes)
- In a large skillet heat coconut oil over medium-high heat.
- Add onion and celery and allow to cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes.
- Add all remaining ingredients except pineapple.
- Stir until thoroughly heated.
- Add pineapple and stir occasionally until warm.
- Add brown rice, when cooked, and stir util throughly mixed.
Instructions For Sauce:
- Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender until thoroughly mixed.
- Pour sauce over veggies and allow to simmer until warm.
Instructions For Stir-Fry:
- Serve in a bowl.
- Enjoy.
NOTE: This stir-fry will keep for about five days in the fridge and is just as delicious warmed up for another meal.
Mexican Spice Black Bean & Asparagus Stir-Fry
This stir-fry is a play on Mexican rice and beans or chilli. Feel free to swap out the asparagus, or add a variety of veggies, such as corn and tomatoes, to give it a different appeal. I like to add asparagus to stir-fry’s because of their health benefits including: good source of fibre, folate, vitamins A, C, E and K, as well as chromium, is a trace mineral that enhances the ability of insulin to transport glucose from the bloodstream into cells.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup brown rice
- 2 cups vegetable broth or water
- 1 Tbsp. coconut oil
- 1 sweet onion, diced
- 1 yellow pepper, diced
- 3 gloves garlic, minced
- 1 can organic black beans, rinsed
- 1 portobello mushroom, chopped
- 1 bundle of asparagus, chopped into ½ inch bites
- 2 tsp. chilli powder
- 1 tsp. cumin
- sea salt and pepper to taste
- 1-2 Tbsp. Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- ¼ cup cilantro, minced
Instructions:
- Place rice and water in a large pot over high heat and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer, about 30-40 minutes, until all liquid is absorbed.
- In a large skillet, heat coconut oil over medium-high heat.
- Add onion and pepper and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Add garlic, beans, mushroom, asparagus and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add spices and stir thoroughly (adjust spices as needed until desired taste achieved).
- Reduce heat to low.
- Add Bragg’s, bean sprouts and cilantro and toss.
- Enjoy!
Optional:
- If you want this dish to have a little more zip to it add a little hot sauce before serving.
Until next time,
May the magic of living nutrition bring you a lifetime of healthy abundance.
Namaste,
Rachel Joy Olsen, BSc., MBA
Author, Blogger, Health & Wellness Coach
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