We all have extremely busy lives. Hours are spent commuting back and forth to the ‘Grind’. We depart in the wee hours of the morn and arrive home at dark. Therefore, it’s not surprising that we often grab prepared meals at the neighborhood eateries. They are fairly inexpensive, quick, let’s confess, tasty. We can’t avoid these fast food joints. They are at every nook and cranny within our neighborhoods.
But, lets face it, a diet that consist of these fast foods overtime can cause havoc on our cardio vascular health. A large percentage of these meals are loaded with saturated fats, high sodium and sugar. Moreover, overtime, these amounts put a dent into the food budget.
One great way to combat this is to cook your own food. It takes virtually minutes to prepare the pictured meal (stir-fried chicken/assorted veggies). Chicken tenderloin pieces were purchased. These were further sliced into strips and seasoned with salt, pepper and crushed garlic.
In a hot skillet, a drizzle of olive oil was added along with chicken strips. A little grated ginger and teriyaki left-over sauce was added. Within a few minutes, chicken pieces were thoroughly cooked. This was set aside on a plate.
Next, an added drizzle of oil was placed in skillet. Then, assorted vegetables were added. On medium to high heat, a quick stir-fry was done, making sure to season along with salt, pepper, a slash of soy sauce, and dried basil. Cooked stir-fried chicken was added back to skillet and all the ingredients were combined.
A few minutes to towards the end, linguine pasta (took minutes to cook) was added and folded into stir-fried chicken and veggies. Meal was completed faster than it would take to place order and pick up at the drive through.
The beautiful thing about this dish is that I had control over the input of the ingredients which were wholesome and healthy. Moreover, I had left-over for next day and more time on my hand to do something with loved ones.