Healthy 12 week meal with a healthy idea for leftovers

Healthy meal of the week: Orange chicken, brown rice and broccoli

Leftover idea: Orange chicken bowl

I got hooked on Panda Express a couple of years ago and started to occasionally sample Asian cuisine from time to time. I have to admit that my favorite food is orange chicken with beef and broccoli along with brown rice. These two are among the healthiest options available at Panda Express and for those of you who eat Chinese food every now and then, I’m sure these two options are probably on offer at your places.

The funny thing is, to make orange chicken at home, it’s not difficult if you can find the ingredients at your local grocery store. I went to my neighborhood Vons after work to look up the ingredients to make an orange glazed sauce that I found on the internet that uses maple syrup, orange zest, coconut aminos, and a few other elements. However, since they didn’t sell orange zest, the attendant pointed me to an aisle with Asian spices. To my surprise I found a few bottles of orange sauce made by different companies, including one from Panda Express that I really wanted to try, but opted for a gluten-free option. We’ll see how it goes.

You’ll find that when you combine orange chicken with brown rice and broccoli, you’ll have a healthy, easy-to-transport meal so you can take it out for lunch the next day.

Another cool idea I’m testing today is a “Ready Rice” package. This particular brand that I bought from Uncle Ben’s is natural whole grain brown rice that cooks in the microwave in 90 seconds. I know my parents use this option not only to save time, but since the rice is cooked in its own container, cleaning is simply throwing the bag away when it is empty. No scrubbing, no washing, no dishes to wash. We’ll see how this compares to regular brown rice. The only downside to this rice is that a packet that equals two cups of rice costs $ 2.29, which is quite expensive compared to buying regular rice from the bag.

Necessary equipment

– frying pan / frying pan for cooking chicken

– pot for broccoli

– microwave for rice ready

Ingredients

(6 servings)

– 2 pounds boneless chicken breasts

– 1 bag of broccoli frozen (or fresh if you prefer)

– 1 bottle of orange sauce

– 1 bag of brown rice

seasonings salt, pepper, garlic powder and 1 tablespoon butter

For the Leftover Orange Chicken Bowls:

– Plastic travel container

Addresses

one. The first and most important component of this meal is chicken. It’s also the part that takes the longest to prepare, so let’s get to that first. You can choose to cut the chicken into small pieces beforehand, which will save you cooking time, however it may be more difficult to flip each individual piece every 3-4 minutes of cooking time. I chose to cook the whole boneless chicken breast and then cut it into chunks. I did a long slice in the chicken to help it cook faster, but that allowed me to flip the piece easily. Don’t forget to add the seasonings you want to include. For this example seasoned salt, pepper, garlic powder and a pinch of oregano were used.

two) While the chicken is almost done, you can boil the water to use on the broccoli chunks. If desired, add a tablespoon of butter and a pinch of seasoned salt for flavor. Once the water is boiling, add the broccoli and simmer for 8-10 minutes.

3) Once the chicken is almost done cooking, remove it from the skillet and cut it into small bite-size pieces. Once you have all of the sliced ​​and diced chicken, put it back in the pan and add the orange sauce. Start with a small amount of sauce, as it will be easier to add more later if needed. Add the sauce to the chicken pieces keeping the heat at medium / low. Once you have the desired amount of sauce with the chicken pieces, allow the mixture to simmer for another 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4) Last but not least, for the Ready Rice bag all you need to do is open the side and pull the corner back 2 inches. You don’t even need to add water. Simply place the bag upright in the center of your microwave and cook over high heat for 90 seconds. Surprisingly enough, the rice came out perfectly tasting not too dry and not too wet.

5) Serve an adequate serving of rice, broccoli, and orange chicken. If there is leftover sauce left in the pan, you may want to pour a couple tablespoons over the chicken or rice, depending on your preference and how well you like your food with flavor. Enjoy!

Leftover food idea: Since you have all the ingredients to make a wonderful tasting orange chicken bowl, let’s go ahead and do that. What makes this food so good for lunch is that everything is simply tossed into a plastic travel container, so there is literally not a single additional thing you need to do other than microwave it at work. If you wish. So add a tablespoon of rice along with some broccoli, add some orange glazed chicken and even a tablespoon of extra sauce on top, cover, and store in your fridge until tomorrow.