Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo. I heard people all weekend gearing up for the celebration. One of our CrossFit gym's sister locations shares a parking lot with a well known Mexican restaurant, so a fun partner WOD was created, both to entertain the patrons and to encourage us all to celebrate afterwards. This is how it went:
400m partner run with med ball
25 handshake push-ups
25 wall ball tosses
25 sit-up med ball passes
200m partner carry
5 Rounds. 30 minute time limit.
It was a nasty little workout. Definitely challenging! But in truth, the worst part was the heat. Yesterday was in the mid 90s, which hasn't happened all year! There were only two other girls in my 3:30 class, so we just did a triple team and made it 30 reps. I ended up running with the med ball for most of the rounds because I got carried every time during the partner carry. Out of the three of us, I was the smallest...but not by much, lol. I had two great teammates! In any event, it was a lot of fun, just super hot! Then I trained 4:30 and 5:30 and got to watch some really awesome people workout. I just love my CrossFit family!
Last night's dinner was a quasi mash-up of a dish I love to make (pork chow mien) with a marinade/dressing from another dish I've made. It's funny how you can just alter a few ingredients and the dish is totally different. I love making these kinds of meals because you end up eating a ton of veggies, which I love, and there isn't a lot of effort involved. I really enjoyed it and hope you do too! My Chinese food craving was 100% satisfied.
Moo Shu Pork
Marinate Time: 2+ hours
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 2+ hours, 50 minutes
Serves: 3
Special Tools:
Storage container with lid (for marinating pork)
Large non-stick sauté pan
Large bowl
Ingredients:
1 tbsp of ghee
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp of shallots, minced
1 tbsp of ginger, grated
3 tbsp of coconut aminos
1 tbsp of toasted sesame oil (make sure it's toasted!)
1 tbsp of rice vinegar
1/2 tsp of fish sauce
1 lb of thin cut boneless pork chops
2 eggs, beaten
2 tsp of coconut oil + more if needed
1 large carrot, shredded
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
4 oz of shiitaki mushrooms, sliced
3 cups of green cabbage, thinly sliced
1 cup of red cabbage, thinly sliced
1/4 cup of scallions, thinly sliced
1 tbsp of freshly chopped parsley, to garnish
1 tbsp of toasted sesame seeds, to garnish
*Note: Prep your veggies before you start cooking. The cooking part goes by pretty quickly and you won't have time to cut and cook at the same time.
Instructions:
1. Cut your pork into quarter inch thick strips. Mine were still partially frozen, making it super easy to slice.
2. Place the strips in a container and mix in the first eight ingredients. Let it marinate in the refrigerator for two hours or up to overnight.
3. Place the large non-stick sauté pan over medium high heat. Once it's hot, add 2 tsp of coconut oil and let it melt completely.
4. Add in the beaten eggs and let them spread out like a pancake. Let it cook for 3-4 minutes until it's firm enough to flip. Then cook the other side for a minute or two.
5. Add the egg to a large bowl and slice the egg into strips.
6. Add another tsp of coconut oil if needed and allow to melt. Put half of the pork strips into the hot pan with some of the marinade and begin to sauté for 3-5 minutes. Scoop out the pork and add to the bowl with the eggs. Then put the rest of the pork strips into the pan and cook again for another 3-5 minutes. (You don't want to add them all at once, because this causes overcrowding, leading to steaming the pork rather than sautéing)
7. Pour any remaining juice from the marinade into the pan and turn the heat up a little for about 20-30 seconds.
8. Add the carrots and celery and move around the pan until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Remove them from the pan and add to the bowl.
9. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 1 minute and then move the mushrooms to the bowl.
10. Place the remaining cabbages and scallions to the pan. Saute until they begin to wilt slightly, turning constantly. You might want to put a splash or two of coconut aminos in the pan with these guys, but it's totally optional. But I did. And it was delicious.
11. Remove from heat and add everything back into the sauté pan, mixing well to combine all the ingredients.
12. Top with sesame seeds and fresh parsley.
As a child, teenager, and young adult if I you asked me what my favorite cuisine was, without hesitation I would blurt out "Chinese food!" And that was the absolute truth. I could put away some house lo mein, beef with broccoli, sweet and sour chicken, fried rice, general chicken, and egg drop soup. Where I grew up there was a little Chinese restaurant that we frequented so often, the people knew our order before we could tell them. Good for us for supporting a local business, but yikes! I would venture to say my caloric intake for those meals was astronomical. And the bad oils and processed carbs. Holy heart attack! Not to mention, I would almost always have a stomach ache afterwards because I would eat until I literally couldn't anymore. Thankfully, as I started taking care of my body and making a conscious effort to be aware of what I was eating, the idea of Chinese food seemed less and less appealing. However, every now and again, I'll still get a craving for the taste of soy sauce and vegetables. I'm so happy to have found a wonderful substitute in coconut aminos, which gives me the flavor of my cravings without all the bad feelings that come afterwards. Also, just a very small amount of toasted sesame oil can really pack a flavor punch that will make your taste buds feel like you've been whisked away to the Far East.
For this recipe, I wanted to create a dish that included lots of crunchy vegetables mixed with a nice healthy protein. I also want to note that I used a spiralizer to make ribbon noodles, rather than the typical lo mein style noodles. I did this for two reasons. First, I think the ribbon noodles hold in the liquid from the sauce better, and two, I think they're prettier! If you don't have a spiralizer, you can always use a julienne slicer, but you'll probably want to do this in advance to try and let some of the water release. You can do this by placing the noodles in a paper towel, sprinkle with a bit of sea salt to draw out the moisture, and then let it set for about 20 minutes. Then put the noodles in a dry towel and wring out the water. Either way works, one just requires a few extra steps. Or you could leave the "noodles" out entirely and the dish would still be delicious!
Paleo Sesame Pork Chow Mein
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Serves: 4
Special Tools:
Spiralizer (or julienne slicer)
Cutting board
Chopping knife
Wok or large saute pan with high sides
Ingredients:
1 pound of lean pork cutlets sliced into 1/2 inch slices
1/2 head of green cabbage, thinly sliced (about 4 cups)
1 head of broccoli, stems removed and cut into small florets
1 large carrot, thinly sliced (or shredded)
1/4 of a large sweet onion, thinly sliced
2 zucchini squashes, spiralized into ribbons with blade A.
1 tbsp of ghee
1 tbsp of coconut aminos
1 tbsp of rice vinegar
1 tsp of sesame seeds
For the sauce:
3 tbsp of coconut aminos
2 tbsp of rice vinegar
1 and 1/2 tbsp of freshly grated ginger (or 1 tbsp of dried ground ginger)
3/4 tbsp of fish sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tbsp of toasted sesame oil
1 tsp of raw honey
1/4 tsp of paleo sriracha
Instructions:
1. Chop your veggies and make your sauce before you begin.
2. Place the wok over medium-high heat and allow the ghee to melt.
3. When the wok is hot, add the pork, coconut aminos, and rice vinegar. Move the meat around constantly to cook the meat on all sides, essentially flash frying, for about 5 minutes.
4. Add all the veggies except the zucchini and the sauce.
5. Continue to move the veggies around in the wok to coat with the sauce for about 10 minutes.
6. Add the zucchini and sesame seeds and toss to combine for an additional 3-5 minutes (less if you prefer your zucchini crunchy).
7. Serve immediately and use chop sticks. It's more fun that way!
