January comes around and it’s inevitable: I am a whale. I float around, not fitting into jeans, eating everything in sight. I sing my sad, sad song to mourn the end of another holiday season. I stock my fridge with veggie platters, pat myself on the back, and snarf peppermint Oreos when no one is looking. My yoga pants tore the other day and I almost cried at the thought of wearing non spandex material. My motto: if it doesn’t have an elastic waistband, I burn it in a fit of rage.
During one of these tantrums, I made an attempt to find healthy recipes to ring in the new year right, gut wise. I made it half way to BetterChoicesVille, which for now is good enough for me. I filled the rest of the journey with mood-lifting peanut butter and rice noodles, neither of which are fully on the “good” or “bad” side of the 2015 food resolutions board. So, suck it, end of 2014 lumps.
Healthy or not (you decide, fair reader), this is a pretty taste-tastic recipe. The peanut sauce, courtesy of everyone’s favorite gal Rachael Ray, does this lovely melty thing that coats the turkey, veggies, and noodles quite nicely. Rice noodles are super sticky, so be sure to work quickly when they are ready to be drained or else you will have a clumpy mass of disappointment on your hands.
- Peanut sauce:
- ½ c peanut butter
- 3 T soy sauce
- 3 T honey
- 1 T grated fresh ginger
- 1 t sriracha sauce
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ¼ c orange juice
- Rest of recipe:
- 1 large yellow onion, cut in half and slivered
- 1 lb ground turkey (I suggest dark meat)
- 4 T coconut oil
- 1 small head broccoli, washed and trimmed into florets
- 1 bunch asparagus, washed and trimmed into 2" pieces
- 2 mini bok choy bunches, washed and trimmed into bite-size pieces
- 14-16 oz fresh rice noodles (you don't have to use fresh, but we recommend that you do)
- Garnish:
- chopped peanuts
- Sriracha sauce
- Place a large pot of water over high heat.
- Mix all of the ingredients for the peanut sauce together in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Place a medium skillet over medium heat and add 2 T of the coconut oil. When hot, add the onion slivers and cook until they start to turn brown.
- Crumble in the ground turkey and cook through. Mix in the peanut sauce until hot, then turn off the heat.
- Heat a large dutch oven over medium heat and add the remaining 2 T coconut oil. When hot, add the broccoli, stir, and put the lid on. After a few minutes, add a couple of tablespoons of water and add the asparagus stalks. When both broccoli and asparagus are almost cooked through, add the boy choy and put the lid back on. When the vegetables are done, add the turkey/peanut sauce and mix thoroughly. Turn off the heat.
- Cook the noodles in the boiling water and drain when done, reserving ⅓ c of the cooking liquid. Immediately add to the noodles to the vegetable/turkey mixture and toss until thoroughly combined, adding the reserved liquid if it needs it.
- Serve hot and garnish with lots of hot sauce and peanuts. Nom!
Burn it in a fit of rage! haha too funny! Love your blog Elspeth! Good to see the CoHo alums still out there cooking… I think I’ll make this for dinner tonight! 🙂
Molly! What a blast from the all too distant past! How lovely to see your name pop up. I am glad you got a chuckle out of the old frontier and hope you enjoy the noodles. They are quite tasty– big thanks to Rachael Ray, that clever girl. Hope you’re doing well!