superfitbabe

Would you ever want to do something radical in your life? I wouldn’t exactly encourage anyone to start World War III, but I think it’s important to step out of your comfort zone as well. You don’t build character until you do stupid things and learn from them. I definitely have had my fair share in imbecility. Not going to go into depth with that, but I can finally say that I’m going to try a plant-based diet over the summer! I was inspired to do so after trying Urth Caffe’s almond milk latte. Maybe along with research and recipes too.

Oooooookay, this is not exactly WWIII status, but this is big for me. People think I’m vegan but I actually eat animal products daily: Greek yogurt, eggs, chicken, honey, sashimi, etc. I do try to keep my diet 70% plant-based, but I never, ever thought I could sacrifice Greek yogurt and eggs. I’ll go more into depth in my next post but I’ll sum it up for y’all briefly.

For the past few days I’ve realized that my body really likes carbs. I mean, I can eat a TON of veggies, bananas, sweet potatoes and berries (even dates!!) and not get bloated–with the exception of bread and rice (boooooo). For the sake of experimenting with what my body thrives on, I will wean myself from meat and dairy for a certain period of time. Who knows? I might just learn something new about my body, whether I can be vegan or not. But for now until a week, I’ll just eat as usual while I prep for the experiment!

At this time, it had been ages since I had pho. If you don’t know what that is, pho is Vietnamese rice noodle soup served with bean sprouts, mint leaves, beef, sometimes purple cabbage and green onions. It was delicious and my favorite comfort food. I added my own twist by adding zucchini, broccoli, a fried egg, healthified this staple with shirataki noodles, which look exactly the same and are much chewier, higher in fiber and completely healthy!

For those of you who don’t like shirataki, you can use brown rice noodles, black bean noodles, mung bean noodles, the list goes on (though European pasta isn’t traditional). Anyways, neither is the fried egg, but I felt like adding one because I thought it would taste good. And I was right. 😛

RECIPE (serves one)

• 1 packet shirataki/yam noodles
• 1 cup low sodium chicken or vegetable broth; can be subbed for bone or beef broth
• 2 TBSP low sodium hoisin sauce for an authentic Vietnamese flavor
• 2/3 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1 TBSP low sodium soy sauce or liquid aminos
• 1/2 tsp ground anise
• 1/3 cup chicken breast; can be subbed for turkey, pork, tofu, tempeh, beef, beans, etc. (Lean beef or pork are the most Vietnamese of all!)
• 1/2 cup chopped broccoli
• 1 zucchini or 1/2 cup chopped zucchini
• 1 egg
• 1 TBSP chopped garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Opt: mint leaves, coriander, bean sprouts, purple cabbage, green onions, SRIRACHA!

PROCEDURE

1. Heat a stove on low-medium heat. Pour in chicken broth and hoisin sauce. Stir the mixture thoroughly and season with spices, salt and pepper to taste.
2. Let the soup simmer on very low heat.
3. Strain shirataki noodles from the packet. Rinse under cold water. Beware, because these don’t smell very good!
4. Heat a separate nonstick pan on medium heat. Add garlic and onions once hot.
5. Stir-fry protein of choice with the garlic and onions. You can season to taste.
6. Add in vegetables of your choice. (optional step: steam them ahead of time for softer veggies)
7. When everything is thoroughly cooked, set aside in a separate bowl.
8. Fry your egg on the same or a separate pan until the whites are completely cooked and the yolk is runny. Put a lid on top of the pan to make cooking time faster.
9. Add completely flavored soup in a large bowl. Pat the noodles dry and squeeze out as much water as possible.
10. Combine the noodles, vegetables and chicken with the soup. Add the fried egg on top and serve.

Have you ever tried pho before? Sometimes I would hear people pronounce it “foe” instead of “fuh”, and I get so irritated about it! I know it’s a bad thing for me to get so worked up about this because it’s quite an exotic dish, but really. It’s like pronouncing the H’s when you say Hola. Wouldn’t you feel the same way?