Vietnamese Chicken and Cabbage Salad

Lean and Green Recipes for Medifast

Yesterday was one of those days when the fastest way to get dinner done was to pick up pre-made rotisserie chicken at the store for my family.  We never finish an entire chicken in one meal so naturally I had to do something with the leftovers.  I picked a Vietnamese favorite of mine -- Vietnamese Chicken and Cabbage Salad.

This is very easy to make.  There's no cooking involved unless you don't have rotisserie chicken leftovers like I do.  In fact if you're still on the diet mode, the fat-burning state, just take about 1 lb of boneless chicken breast in a sauce pan, add enough water to cover the chicken by about 1/2 inch and boil for 10-15 minutes.  This way, you can control the ingredients in your chicken.

I'm on maintenance mode so I allow myself some carrots and onion but if you're still on diet mode, you can skip those.  It does not affect the overall enjoyment of this dish.  You will hardly notice the carrots missing.  I actually just add that to put some color to my dish.  The onion gives it a little more but because this is not allowed in the diet, just skip it.

On a hot day like yesterday, this was perfect.  No cooking necessary.  This dish can be served cold or at room temperature.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

3 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp white or cider vinegar
1/2 tbsp sweet leaf (or other sugar substitute equivalent to 1 tbsp of sugar)
1/4 tsp black pepper
3/4 cup thinly sliced onions (maintenance mode only)
1/4 cup fresh mint or cilantro
2 cups shredded cabbage
3/4 cup shredded carrots (maintenance mode only)
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken

1. Combine lime juice, fish sauce, vinegar, sweet leaf (sugar), and pepper to make your dressing.  Mix until sweet leaf is dissolved.  If using onion, add this to the dressing and allow to soak for at least 10 minutes but not more than about 30.
2. In another bowl, combine mint, cabbage and carrots.
3. When ready to serve, add dressing mixed in #1, veggies in #2 and shredded chicken.  Toss to coat everything well.  Enjoy.

Vietnamese Beef Salad (Bo Luc Lac)

Bo Luc Lac

Prepare for this delicious recipe.  This is our favorite.  I have to warn you though that the substitute Sweet Leaf I use instead of sugar doesnt measure up to actually using sugar but this is delicious nevertheless.  As the name suggests (in Vietnamese), this is shaken beef.  So the secret to cooking is not to use any utensils.  You simply lift up your skillet and shake the beef around making the beef more tender (the garlic also helps with this as it has the power to tenderize meat).  You will love the aroma released every time you do this.  

I used watercress in this recipe but any green mix will do.  I just tried watercress for variety because I always eat spinach arugula and lettuce.  but the watercress is actually a lot more work because I separate the leaves out of the stems which are very bitter. 

Medifast Lean and Green Recipe
Beef Marinade
3-5 ozs rib-eye or New York Strip
1/8 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 tbsp water
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1/8 tsp sweet leaf
1/16 tsp black pepper
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1-1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic

Salad
1/4 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp water
1/4 tsp sweet leaf
1/16 teaspoon black pepper
1 very thin onion slice (optional -- if added you would have a total of 4 condiment servings)
1/2 cup water cress (or any green mix)

Combine fish sauce, water, soy sauce, sugar, black pepper and marinate the beef. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Combine vinegar, water, sugar and black pepper for the watercress salad. Stir well. Add the onions. Toss well. Add the watercress to the bowl but do not toss. Keep the salad in the refrigerator while preparing the beef.

Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet over high heat until garlic sizzles at once. Add the beef and let it cook undisturbed for 1 to 2 minutes. Shake the pan turning the beef to the other side. Add garlic and continue shaking until evenly browned and done to your liking. The key is shaking the beef. There is no need to use any utensils to sear the beef.

Toss the watercress to coat it with dressing and arrange on a serving platter. Scoop us the steak and pile it in the center of the watercress salad. Serve.

Lean and Green Guidelines
1 Lean
1 Healthy Fat Serving
1/2 Vegetable serving
3 Condiment servings

Beef stir-fry with Asparagus

We are at the tail end of Asparagus season I believe which explains why it's everywhere nowadays.  I picked up some when I saw it on sale at Sprouts today.  They had such a beautiful, huge display that it made me want to buy some.  Besides, my fastest dinner nowadays always involves frozen salmon and we all know asparagus is the perfect side dish to salmon.

But today, I wanted to have some beef because I haven't shared any beef recipes yet. 

For those cooking for your entire family, serve this with rice for those not in the Medifast plan.

To those with aversion to asparagus, you can try cauliflower or brocolli florets instead.

This recipe meets the less than 3 condiments recommended by Medifast.

Medifast Lean and Green Recipe

Ingredients:

1/4 lb boneless beef such as flank steak, tri-tip or sirloin thinly sliced	(1/4 lb is only 4 oz.  Remember that you are allowed up to 5 ozs.  so feel free to add a bit more)
1 tsp fish sauce	Condiment #1 - 1/3
1 tsp water
1 tsp tamari sauce (or soy sauce)	Condiment #2
1/6 tsp black pepper	Condiment #1 - 1/3
1/4 tsp sweet leaf	Condiment #1 - 1/8
1/2 cup asparagus	Green (1 serving)
1 tsp olive oil	Healthy Fat (1 serving)
1 tsp chopped garlic	Condiment #3
1 tsp water
1 tsp thinly sliced green onions	Condiment #1 1/24

In a medium bowl, combine the beef with 1/2 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tbsp water, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp black pepper and sweet leaf.  Toss and mix well.   Allow to marinate for 15 to 20 minutes while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

Trim the asparagus by cutting off 1/3 of the flat end.  Then cut the rest diagonally into 2-inch lengths.  Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat oil over high heat.   Do not allow to heat up so much that smoke is starting to form.  Add garlic, toss well adn then scatter the beef in the pan.  Cook briefly on one side then toss once to sear the other side.  Add the asparagus and toss well.  Add the remaining 1/2 tbsp of fish sauce, 2-1/2 tbsp of water and the green onion.  Cook, tossing once or twice while the aparagus is shiny and tender but not soft. 

Serve.

Vietnamese Cauliflower with Garlic and Pepper

This cauliflower is good with soups, rice or by itself but to stick with L&G, I grilled pork instead.  I usually serve it with rice for my husband and kids.

The picture shows 3 oz. I always underestimate how big the serving we're allowed to have is ... so just add more for 5 oz of pork. I used all my condiments for the cauliflower so I had none left for the pork. But after grilling, I sprinkled some of the liquid from my cauliflower and it added good flavor to the pork.  Also, ignore the parsley ... that's just garnish to make it look pretty ... I like my food looking pretty ;-)

Medifast Lean and Green Recipe
1 tsp Olive Oil Healthy Fat Serving
1 tsp Minced Garlic Condiment #1
1 cup Cauliflower 2 Green Servings
1/4 Tbsp Fish Sauce Condiment #2 -- 1/4 allowed for fish sauce
1 packet Sweet Leaf Sweetener that is 0 carbs, 0 calories and 0 glycemic index -- get it! :-)
1 tbsp Water
1/4 tsp Black Pepper Condiment #2 - 1/2 allowed for pepper
1/2 tbsp Cilantro Condiment #2 - we're allowed up to 1 cup so this is a very small portion.

1. Grill the pork and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until a bit of garlic sizzles at once, and then add the garlic. Toss well.
3. Add the cauliflower. Cook for 1 minute, and then toss well, exposing the other sides to the hot pan.
4. Mix the fish sauce, water, sweet leaf and pepper in a bowl
5. Add to the cauliflower and cook, tossing often until the cauliflower is tender but still pleasantly crunchy, about 1 minute.
6. Stir in the cilantro, toss once more and transfer to a serving plate deep enough to hold the sauce.

I do "try" to avoid sugar when I cook for me and my family. One of the substitues I absolutely love is Sweet Leaf. It has a very good taste minus the calories.

I avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup for my children. What I found is that most fish sauces include this ingredient. Thai Kitchen Fish Sauce is one of the few I've seen that does not use HFCS. 

Both are available in available local health grocery stores my favorites of which are Mother's Market, Wholefoods and Sprouts.