Fast Food Friday: Skinny Szechuan Chicken with Noodles
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HAPPY FRIDAY!! Have you joined in on the fun of Fast Food Fridays yet? Well do it!
How is everyone’s day going so far? I’ll be honest, I’m in a FABULOUS mood and this is awesome, given the two mental breakdowns I had earlier this week. Let’s just say this…the time of the month is not conducive to healthy emotional behavior, mmk? However, I’m proud that instead of eating Papa Johns pizza and a gallon of ice cream (which I’ve…um…never done), I made a super healthy version of one of my FAVORITE Chinese foods, szechuan chicken!
It satisfied my craving for something salty without adding unwanted weight and guilt (which inevidently turns to massive tears during said 4 days).
Okay, so maybe it’s not EXACTLY szechuan chicken, it’s what happens when szechaun chicken and lo-mein have a baby. You get the deliciously seasoned chicken and broccoli slaw of szechuan and the perfectly cooked rice noodles of lo-mein. The best of both worlds. Life is always better that way.
I love this stuff. I don’t love that we don’t have ANY LEFT. We ate…shamelessly…that whole pot in 2 days.
There might have even been some fork-to-pot action while I was “putting away the leftovers.” I put that in quotations because for each spoonful I put into the Tupperware, I ate about 1.5. Not an ideal ratio for someone trying to tone up and get rid of the middle jiggle.
But, in my defense, one heaping cup has only 7 grams of fat and 7 Weight Watchers Points Plus points. Which, in the realm of Chinese food you order in boxes, ain’t bad at all.
Make this over the weekend, or for the Super Bowl, for a healthier taste of your favorite Chinese food. (And so much better because you aren’t bogged down with those silly things known as MSG or massive sodium).
Adapted from Weight Watchers.
Szechuan Chicken with Rice Noodles
CLICK HERE FOR THE PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS RECIPE
Serves about 5
Prep time: >10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 7 ounce boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into skinny strips
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 10 ounces of broccoli slaw
- 1 t teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 4 ounces rice noodles
- 2 tablespoons reduce sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon hot pepper paste (like this)
Directions:
- Remove rice noodles from package and place in hot water. This will loosen them up. Set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick wok on medium high heat. Add onions and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add chicken and bell pepper and cook until chicken is fully done, about 7 minutes. Remove from pot.
- Heat second tablespoon of oil in the same wok. Add broccoli slaw and cook until tender and a bit crispy, about 5 minutes.
- Add pepper flakes and pepper spread and heat another minute longer. Add chicken and veggies back to pot, along with the cooked rice noodles and sodium sauce, and heat for another 2 minutes, or until mixture is fully combined.
- Serve with additional crushed red pepper to taste and enjoy!
Who needs takeout when you can make much better food at home?
Nutritional information per 1 cup:
Calories: 275
Fat: 7 grams
Carbohydrates: 27 grams
Dietary fiber: 6 grams
Protein: 25 grams
Weight Watches Points Plus: 7
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