How To Use All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce

Whenever anyone asks me for my favorite recipe from our new cookbook, Ready or Not!, I always blurt out, “All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce!” This fab sauce takes just a couple of minutes to shake together in a mason jar—and once you have some in the fridge, you have no excuse not to make dinner!

After I published the recipe here, y’all seem to have fallen head over heels for my All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce. I love seeing all the creative ways my loyal Nomsters have found to utilize this awesomely versatile flavor booster! Still, over the past year, I’ve received some commonly-asked questions about All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce:

• I want to make this, but what if I’m allergic to orange juice? No problem! My All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce can be made with pineapple juice if you can’t do orange juice. (Shh! Don’t tell anyone, but some of my readers actually prefer it with pineapple juice!)
• How do I make this sauce with no fruit juice at all? You can totally leave it out, but you’ll need to adjust the amount of rice vinegar to balance the flavors. Alternatively, you can sub out the rice vinegar for aged balsamic vinegar to add a bit of sweetness.
• Is All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce Whole30-friendly? Yes! Just remember to read your labels carefully for non-compliant ingredients, especially on the fish sauce and rice vinegar.
• Do I REALLY have to add fish sauce? Yes! Fish sauce adds an indescribable deliciousness (a.k.a. umami) to the sauce! (You’ve already listened to my podcast dedicated to umami, right?) Look—if you have a fish allergy, FINE—you can leave out the fish sauce and add more coconut aminos and some salt to compensate, but it won’t taste quite the same, I’m afraid. Alternatively, make this vegetarian fish sauce recipe and use it in place of the fish sauce in this recipe.
• How do I thicken the sauce? You can make an arrowroot slurry by whisking ½ cup All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce with 1 teaspoon arrowroot powder. The sauce should thicken as soon as you bring it to a simmer.
• How long does All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce last in the fridge? Can I freeze it? It’ll last in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for at least a week. And yes, you can definitely freeze the sauce for up to several months.
• But…how should I use All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce? There are SO! MANY! WAYS! Read on for some of my favorites…

My All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce is fantastic for stir-fries (duh!). If you follow me on Instagram, you know that stir-fries are one of my go-to weeknight meals ’cause they take no time at all to make. If you’ve never made a stir-fry before, our Ready or Not! cookbook includes a step-by-step recipe for Asparagus Beef, and it doubles as the perfect blueprint for do-it-yourself stir-frying. No cookbook? I recently revised my Spicy Asparagus and Pork Stir-Fry to include directions on how to make it with All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce. See? No excuses, people!

What’s fantastic about stir-fries is that you can modify the ingredients to use up whatever’s in the fridge. As long as you vary the veggies and protein, your family won’t even notice that you’re using the same sauce as a flavor base!

But don’t feel like you’re stuck making only stir-fries with this sauce. You can also use it to make Paper-Wrapped Chicken!

Here’s a fun cooking video that shows you how simple it is to make both All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce and Paper-Wrapped Chicken:

Want to use it in no-cook recipes? I love using All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce as a tangy and savory salad dressing as well. I often whisk All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce with some avocado oil (in a 1:1 ratio) to make a quick and easy salad dressing to toss with mixed greens.

But when I’m feeling a little more fancy, I like to use All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce to make Paleo Hiyashi Chuka (Cold “Ramen” Salad) and Smashed Cucumber and Carrot Salad!

It ain’t just for stir-fries and salads, though. If you’ve got some braising cuts in the fridge and want to pop ’em in the Instant Pot or slow cooker, a cup or so of All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce makes a fantastic Asian-inspired stewing liquid. Simply season the meat with salt or Magic Mushroom Powder, and add a cup of All-Purpose Stir-Fry to the cooker. Then, program your Instant Pot or slow cooker for the cut of meat you’re using, and presto-change-o: An incredible (and incredibly easy) dinner!

Head over to my Instagram to read the details on how I pressure cooked the stew on the left and the stew on the right in my Instant Pot.

And that’s not all! Hungry for a tasty, dead-simple marinade for meat, seafood, or veggies? Use All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce. You can dip the grilled meat and/or veggies in All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce when you serve it, too!

What are you waiting for? Shake up a jar of All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce already!

P.S.: Bookmark this page, ’cause I plan on updating it with new recipes using All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce!

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Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013) and Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017)!

The post How To Use All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce appeared first on Nom Nom Paleo®.

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Baked Broccoli Mac and Cheese

This easy, homemade, baked mac and cheese recipe adds broccoli to the mix, a great way to sneak veggies in a kid’s favorite dish! It’s also lightened up, so less calories than traditional mac and cheese.

Baked Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and cheese is total comfort food, I make many variations, some I love are this Greek Mac and Cheese, Pumpkin Mac and Cheese, or this low-carb Baked Spaghetti Squash and Cheese. But this broccoli version is always a hit with the kids.

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A First-Timer’s Take on Waxing Her Legs at Home

This post is sponsored by Parissa. For our sponsored post policy, click here. Between the fact that I live in Florida and, well, I’m proud of these muscular legs, I spend a lot of time in shorts. Now, I am 100 percent in favor of doing one’s own thing when it comes to body hair — I mean, you wanna grow it out? Braid it? Watch it flow in the breeze? You do you, boo! via GIPHY My personal preference, though, is to try to keep my legs pretty hair-free. It’s simply what I’m used to — plus, it’s good for swimming.…

The post A First-Timer’s Take on Waxing Her Legs at Home appeared first on Fit Bottomed Girls.

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Skinnytaste Meal Plan (September 10-September 16)

A free 7-day flexible meal plan including breakfast, lunch and dinner and a shopping list. All recipes include calories and Weight Watchers Freestyle™ SmartPoints®.

Is it too soon for pumpkin? Not in my opinion! This week I added some Mini Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins to the meal plan as well as some fall favorites like Broccoli and Cheese Potato Soup, and Quick Beef Chili.

If you’re new to my meal plans, I’ve been sharing these free, 7-day flexible healthy meal plans (you can see my previous meal plans here) that are meant as a guide, with plenty of wiggle room for you to add more food, coffee, beverages, fruits, snacks, dessert, wine, etc or swap recipes out for meals you prefer, you can search for recipes by course in the index. You should aim for around 1500 calories* per day.

There’s also a precise, organized grocery list that will make grocery shopping so much easier and much less stressful. Save you money and time. You’ll dine out less often, waste less food and you’ll have everything you need on hand to help keep you on track.

Lastly, if you’re on Facebook join my Skinnytaste Facebook Community where everyone’s sharing photos of recipes they are making, you can join here. I’m loving all the ideas everyone’s sharing!

THE DETAILS:

Breakfast and lunch Monday-Friday, are designed to serve 1 while dinners and all meals on Saturday and Sunday are designed to serve a family of 4. Some recipes make enough leftovers for two nights or lunch the next day. While we truly believe there is no one size fits all meal plan, we did our best to come up with something that appeals to a wide range of individuals. Everything is Weight Watchers friendly, I included the updated Weight Watcher Freestyle Points for your convenience, feel free to swap out any recipes you wish or just use this for inspiration!

The grocery list is comprehensive and includes everything you need to make all meals on the plan. I’ve even included brand recommendations of products I love and use often. Cross check your cabinets because many condiments you’ll notice I use often, so you may already have a lot of them.

And last, but certainly not least, this meal plan is flexible and realistic. There’s plenty of wiggle room for cocktails, healthy snacks, dessert and dinner out. And if necessary, you can move some things around to make it work with your schedule. Please let me know if you’re using these plans, this will help me decide if I should continue sharing them!

MONDAY (9/10)
B: Skinny Mini Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins* (7) and a banana (0)
L: Chicken Salad with Lemon and Dill **(1) over 1 ½ cups Romaine lettuce (0) and sliced cucumber (0)
D: Broccoli and Cheese Potato Soup* (7) with a green salad (2)
Totals: Freestyle™ SP 17, Calories 854***

TUESDAY (9/11)
B: Skinny Mini Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins* (7) and a pear (0)
L: Chicken Salad with Lemon and Dill **(1) over 1 ½ cups Romaine lettuce (0) and sliced cucumber (0)
D: Green Scallop Tacos (7) with 1 ¼ cup Cilantro Lime Cauliflower “Rice” (1)
Totals: Freestyle™ SP 16, Calories 902***

WEDNESDAY (9/12)
B: Skinny Mini Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins* (7) and a banana (0)
L: Chicken Salad with Lemon and Dill **(1) over 1 ½ cups Romaine lettuce (0) and sliced cucumber (0)
D: Quick Beef Chili (4) with 2 tablespoons reduced fat Mexican blend cheese (1)
Totals: Freestyle™ SP 13, Calories 848***

THURSDAY (9/13)
B: Skinny Mini Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins (7) and a pear (0)
L: Canned Tuna Ceviche**(3) and 8 carrot sticks (0)
D: Cheesy Jalapeno Popper Baked Stuffed Chicken (5) with Skillet Mexican Zucchini (4)
Totals: Freestyle™ SP 19, Calories 902***

FRIDAY (9/14)
B: Overnight Oats with Figs and Honey (7)
L: Canned Tuna Ceviche**(3) and 8 carrot sticks (0)
D: 1 cup Cilantro Lime Shrimp (1) with Fiesta Bean Salad (4)
Totals: Freestyle™ SP 15, Calories 933***

SATURDAY (9/15)
B: Sausage, Cheese and Veggie Egg Bake (4)
L: Prosciutto, Mozzarella and Fig Salad with Arugula (6)
D: DINNER OUT!
Totals: Freestyle™ SP 10, Calories 426***

SUNDAY (9/16)
B: Leftover  Sausage, Cheese and Veggie Egg Bake (4)
L:  Loaded “Nacho” Chicken Tostada (5)
D: Stuffed Baked Pork Chops with Prosciutto and Mozzarella (7) with Easy Garlic Broccolini (1)
Totals: Freestyle™ SP  17, Calories 807***

*Freeze any leftovers you/your family won’t eat.  

**Green salad includes 4 cups romaine, 2 scallions, ½ cup each: tomatoes, cucumber, chickpeas and 2 tablespoons light vinaigrette

**Prepare the night before, if desired

***This is just a guide, women should aim for around 1500 calories per day. Here’s a helpful calculator to estimate your calorie needs. I’ve left plenty of wiggle room for you to add more food such as coffee, beverages, fruits, snacks, dessert, wine, etc.

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4 Tweaks to Make Yoga More Ahhh-Mazing

You love yoga. We love yoga. And this guest post from Kelly DiNardo, author of Living the Sutras (which she’ll be discussing on our podcast in the very near future), freelance journalist and owner of Past Tense yoga studio in Washington, D.C., shares four unique ways you can get even more out of yoga. Yes, more. We’d never get between you and your downward dog. But for all the mind-body benefits of yoga — less stress, better sleep, greater flexibility — we tend to focus on the body, the physical side of the practice. Here are four ways to boost the other half…

The post 4 Tweaks to Make Yoga More Ahhh-Mazing appeared first on Fit Bottomed Girls.

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A Guide to Buying the Right Bike for You

Riding my bike is one of my favorite outdoor activities. Zipping along paved dirt paths and racing my boyfriend up and down hills is always a good time.  As an added benefit, riding your bike is really good for you — you can burn around 600 calories in a single hour. For people who are new to cycling it can be difficult to know where to start, so here’s a crash course in defining the difference between hybrid bikes, mountain bikes, cruiser bikes, and road bikes. Hybrids As the name suggests, hybrid bikes have features taken from mountain bikes and…

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Tomato Salad

Ripe, end-of-summer garden tomatoes make the best, juiciest tomato salad, perfect served with a rustic loaf of bread!

Tomato Salad

This is my husband Tommy’s favorite summer meal, especially on those nights it’s too hot to cook. We get a loaf of crusty bread, sometimes we even toast it and rub a raw garlic clove on the bread. Then eat the tomatoes and let the bread sop up all those delicious juices at the bottom (so good you’ll want to drink it!). Of course, the bread is totally optional here!

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