#flowertherapy might be right up there with #water #flowertherapy might be right up there with #watertherapy.  Love passing the time in secret wildflower patches. As you do. 🌸
I remarked how pretty that tiny sliver of the moon I remarked how pretty that tiny sliver of the moon was on the way home tonight, and my friend pulled over right away so I could grab a photo. That’s when someone really knows you! It was just too beautiful to resist. 🌙
Weekend photos in review, old school style. ✨ C Weekend photos in review, old school style. ✨ 
Context: 1/ picture perfect weekend, 2/ threw together a quick meal w udon noodles, steak and broccoli, so good, 3/ the sun reflections on this painting struck me today, looked like a cross 4/ it takes all afternoon but nothing like Sunday Gravy, 5/ six months old, 6/ when he wants some serious zzzz’s, he covers his eye with his ears, the cutest, 7/ breakfast pastries at @coniglios
I have plenty of reusable shopping bags since New I have plenty of reusable shopping bags since New Jersey banned the plastic ones last year. But when I spied this beauty for a buck, how could I resist? It just is so darn happy, which makes me happy. The little things aren’t so little. 💛
Cheers to the weekend! This may look like a staged Cheers to the weekend! This may look like a staged photo, but Lola just has ZERO boundaries and Clifford is exceptionally patient. 😂
I’ve been on a smoked salmon kick lately (it’s I’ve been on a smoked salmon kick lately (it’s so good for you), so when I saw that a local patisserie has a smoked salmon croissant available (weekends only), I added it to my list of things to seek out. I popped into @chocolatinenj early on Mother’s Day and was rewarded with this deliciousness. Layers of soft flaky croissant dough, tender smoked salmon, light whipped cream, thinly sliced red and green onion slivers and dotted with capers… it was every bit as amazing as you’d imagine it would be. If you’re local, don’t sleep on this one. 😋
Weekend photos in review, the belated edition. 1/ Weekend photos in review, the belated edition.

1/ hit up a few yard sales and snagged this beautiful pasta dish from Italy with my favorite color for a buck, 2/ and one of these printer trays came home with me too, 3/ pre Mother’s Day celebrations with 30 local moms, 4/ finished the weekend supervising furniture assembly
Today would have been my friend Cathy’s 53rd bir Today would have been my friend Cathy’s 53rd birthday. Unfortunately she’s not here to celebrate because she died suddenly at age 49. I think of her often … every Mother’s Day because we spent most of them together since her husband worked weekends … when I discover a new food adventure (we once did a day long donut crawl) … when I’m sharing a special time with my kids knowing that her then-11 year old is growing up without her. Before she passed, I always appreciated every day, but since then, even more so. You never know what the next day can bring, so relish in the sunshine, surprise rainstorms, making wishes over railroad tracks and all the wonderful randomness life can throw your way. Don’t waste a single second, say yes, live on the outskirts of your comfort zone, laugh often, tell people you love them, give eight second hugs, and squeeze every ounce of joy you can out of life. Do it for the people who can’t. ✨
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Press
  • Writing
  • Contact

Sweetnicks

Food and Life

Recipe: Eat Your Veggies Stir Fry {Eat.Live.Be.}

January 23, 2013 · Narrative

Untitled
Two months before I got married, way back in ’98, the pressure was on. The wedding dress had been bought, purposely two sizes smaller, and I needed to lose the weight to be able to walk down the aisle. I bartered with a personal trainer, Michael, and he put me through the paces, both in fitness and food, to the tune of a thirty pound weight loss in about six weeks.

Which then didn’t make the tailor too happy because she had to take in my dress. Again.

First class problems, people.

The food that I ate when I was working with Michael was a handful of items that I rotated to stave off boredom. And what I found out then, as I did again in 2011 when I lost a bunch of weight, is that it becomes less about the food. Like you don’t even think about it anymore.

And as someone who is a freelance recipe developer, this can sometimes be a bitter pill to swallow.

But it is what it is.

One of my go-to meals back then was a stir-fry. Because it’s easy. Hearty. And I knew it would make Michael happy.

And these days, it’s become a go-to for me again. I can mix and match veggies at will, depending on what the kids and I are feeling like eating, and what I have available, and dinner is done in a flash.

Most always under 30 minutes.

Take that Rachael Ray.

And what I know to be true? Eating good food makes me feel good. It’s that special little thing that puts an extra bounce in your step. That propels you forward to making more good decisions. That fuels you in the way that something else won’t. It’s a domino effect to the nth degree.

And sometimes? It’s good to go back to basics. Both in your food choices and in what you know works.

Now this recipe is really just a guideline. It’s the most forgiving thing ever, so you can feel free to swap out some of my vegetable choices for something you or your family might like instead. I focused on green vegetables, and roasting some of them first to bring out all their deliciously deep flavors. I am admittedly a super late adopter to sugar snap peas (never liked them much before this year), and tonight, Nick found out that he likes them as well. Score one for the home team.

But the bottom line? Guilt-free food that is the perfect fuel for whatever you need to do.

And we can all use a little more of that.

Do check out Joanne, Sarah, and Patsy to see their take on Eat.Live.Be. this week, and the #eatlivebe hash tag on Twitter and Instagram for more inspiration.

Tomorrow? Embracing the camera.
Friday? Bagster review.

Eat Your Veggies Stir-Fry
Recipe courtesy of Cate O’Malley

1 bunch green asparagus, roasted
3/4 lb sugar snap peas
2 T olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1/2 t salt-free Mrs. Dash
2 teaspoons soy sauce

String the sugar snap peas and trim the ends. Cook them in boiling, salted water until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain. Set aside. In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat, and add the onion, garlic, and mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they’re soft and begin to caramelize, 10-12 minutes. Add the peas, asparagus (cut stalks in half so they’re more bite-size), Mrs. Dash, and soy sauce. Heat through, about 2-3 minutes. Serve.

*I usually roast the vegetables one night, and then toss everything together the next night, making for a very fast fridge-to-table meal. Add grilled chicken or shrimp for a complete meal. Also good served (or mixed) with brown rice, or with a poached egg on top.

Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPRINT

Posted In: Narrative · Tagged: Eat. Live. Be., stir fry, Vegetables, vegetarian

Comments

  1. patsy says

    January 23, 2013 at 10:10 pm

    I need to make stir-fry more often! Such a quick and easy meal for weeknights! I’m working in going back to basics in my eating… I’ve got to kick my sweet-tooth out for awhile so that I don’t crave the sweets so much.
    patsy recently posted..#EatLiveBe – Breakfast {recipe: Mushroom & Spinach Frittata}

    Reply
  2. Joanne says

    January 24, 2013 at 7:29 am

    I agree with Patsy, I definitely don’t stir fry enough even though it’s so delicious and a great way to get in some extra veggies. I tend to find when I’m watching what I eat, I get more frustrated and unexcited about food, but in a way that makes me upset. But that might just be a me/crazy thing :P
    Joanne recently posted..Recipe: Pasta with Black Kale, Caramelized Onions and Parsnips {GIVEAWAY + eat.live.be}

    Reply
  3. paula says

    January 24, 2013 at 10:42 am

    You have to stop this madness! Stir-fry is my go-to healthy eating too and I’ve been on a kick with it this week but the kids don’t eat it. Unfortunately after too many years I’ve discovered we can’t eat dinner together. They need to eat right away and I do better with a late dinner or else I eat with them and then I still eat later. We don’t like the same things and it’s always my diet that suffers if I try to make something we’ll all eat. I still sit with them and drink my after work coffee but as much as I hear about the benefits of eating together as a family, it just doesn’t work for us.

    Last night I did start with a tiny bit of thinly sliced lean beef but I don’t eat a lot of meat anymore, and I usually do just all veggies or add some egg sometimes. I was feeling rundown though and red meat sounded like a good idea. I had red pepper, orange pepper, baby bella mushrooms, coleslaw mix (green cabbage and carrots) and green onions. I used jarred ginger and chili garlic sauce (I love the heat!) with a splash of soy, finished with about a teaspoon of hoisin. Then I mixed in a container of the Minute Rice brown rice (the one with the highest fiber). I stretched one container of rice, which I think is one serving, out to two meals (I packed half the stir-fry for lunch today).

    I do the same kind of thing with a non-Asian twist. I stir-fry veggies and add tomatoes, a small bit of pasta, a grating of Parmesan cheese. It all depends on what I have on hand. Basic formula – lots of ‘good’ veggies, everything else gets thrown in sparingly.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

Storytelling…
Through photos.
Words. And recipes.

Archives

Categories

Instagram

#flowertherapy might be right up there with #water #flowertherapy might be right up there with #watertherapy.  Love passing the time in secret wildflower patches. As you do. 🌸
I remarked how pretty that tiny sliver of the moon I remarked how pretty that tiny sliver of the moon was on the way home tonight, and my friend pulled over right away so I could grab a photo. That’s when someone really knows you! It was just too beautiful to resist. 🌙
Weekend photos in review, old school style. ✨ C Weekend photos in review, old school style. ✨ 
Context: 1/ picture perfect weekend, 2/ threw together a quick meal w udon noodles, steak and broccoli, so good, 3/ the sun reflections on this painting struck me today, looked like a cross 4/ it takes all afternoon but nothing like Sunday Gravy, 5/ six months old, 6/ when he wants some serious zzzz’s, he covers his eye with his ears, the cutest, 7/ breakfast pastries at @coniglios
I have plenty of reusable shopping bags since New I have plenty of reusable shopping bags since New Jersey banned the plastic ones last year. But when I spied this beauty for a buck, how could I resist? It just is so darn happy, which makes me happy. The little things aren’t so little. 💛

Pinterest

#flowertherapy might be right up there with #water #flowertherapy might be right up there with #watertherapy.  Love passing the time in secret wildflower patches. As you do. 🌸
I remarked how pretty that tiny sliver of the moon I remarked how pretty that tiny sliver of the moon was on the way home tonight, and my friend pulled over right away so I could grab a photo. That’s when someone really knows you! It was just too beautiful to resist. 🌙
Weekend photos in review, old school style. ✨ C Weekend photos in review, old school style. ✨ 
Context: 1/ picture perfect weekend, 2/ threw together a quick meal w udon noodles, steak and broccoli, so good, 3/ the sun reflections on this painting struck me today, looked like a cross 4/ it takes all afternoon but nothing like Sunday Gravy, 5/ six months old, 6/ when he wants some serious zzzz’s, he covers his eye with his ears, the cutest, 7/ breakfast pastries at @coniglios
I have plenty of reusable shopping bags since New I have plenty of reusable shopping bags since New Jersey banned the plastic ones last year. But when I spied this beauty for a buck, how could I resist? It just is so darn happy, which makes me happy. The little things aren’t so little. 💛
Cheers to the weekend! This may look like a staged Cheers to the weekend! This may look like a staged photo, but Lola just has ZERO boundaries and Clifford is exceptionally patient. 😂
I’ve been on a smoked salmon kick lately (it’s I’ve been on a smoked salmon kick lately (it’s so good for you), so when I saw that a local patisserie has a smoked salmon croissant available (weekends only), I added it to my list of things to seek out. I popped into @chocolatinenj early on Mother’s Day and was rewarded with this deliciousness. Layers of soft flaky croissant dough, tender smoked salmon, light whipped cream, thinly sliced red and green onion slivers and dotted with capers… it was every bit as amazing as you’d imagine it would be. If you’re local, don’t sleep on this one. 😋
Weekend photos in review, the belated edition. 1/ Weekend photos in review, the belated edition.

1/ hit up a few yard sales and snagged this beautiful pasta dish from Italy with my favorite color for a buck, 2/ and one of these printer trays came home with me too, 3/ pre Mother’s Day celebrations with 30 local moms, 4/ finished the weekend supervising furniture assembly
Today would have been my friend Cathy’s 53rd bir Today would have been my friend Cathy’s 53rd birthday. Unfortunately she’s not here to celebrate because she died suddenly at age 49. I think of her often … every Mother’s Day because we spent most of them together since her husband worked weekends … when I discover a new food adventure (we once did a day long donut crawl) … when I’m sharing a special time with my kids knowing that her then-11 year old is growing up without her. Before she passed, I always appreciated every day, but since then, even more so. You never know what the next day can bring, so relish in the sunshine, surprise rainstorms, making wishes over railroad tracks and all the wonderful randomness life can throw your way. Don’t waste a single second, say yes, live on the outskirts of your comfort zone, laugh often, tell people you love them, give eight second hugs, and squeeze every ounce of joy you can out of life. Do it for the people who can’t. ✨

Copyright © 2023 Sweetnicks · Theme by Vicki Harrison Design