Who doesn’t love eating a ton of veggies without realizing they’re eating a ton of veggies?! THIS GIRL! I swoon over this recipe for several reasons:
Packed full of vegetablessuch cauliflower, mushrooms, carrots, and green onions
Powder antioxidants from garlic, turmeric, ginger, basil, cilantro, and green onions
Good amount of protein, but even more vegetables = lots of volume. “Volumetrics” is the idea of eating more food that’s nutrient dense (versus calorie dense). For people who just like to eat, volume is key!
Makes a TON! Leftoversfor lunch AND dinner the next day!
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients:
1 pound ground chicken
1 package baby portabella mushrooms, chopped
½ package of julienne carrots (or you could get extra fancy and julienne them yourself, but let’s get real…)
2 cans water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 bunch basil, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1-2 thumbs ginger, minced (I partially peel my ginger. There is a lot of benefit to the oil found in the skin skin!)
½ thumb turmeric, peeled and minced
3 cloves garlic, minced (more or less depending on how much you like garlic. Once you mince, allow it to sit out a few minute to activate allicin—the anti-microbial and health promoting compound of garlic)
½-3/4 cup Tamari soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Lettuce (for serving)
Rice noodles (optional)
Instructions:
Over medium heat, start browning the ground chicken in a large pan.
When nearly done, throw into the same pan the chopped up mushrooms and allow to cook a few minutes until tender.
Then, add in the chopped up water chestnuts and julienned carrots and allow to cook a few minutes.
While that is cooking, whisk into a bowl the: soy sauce, Dijon, fish sauce, ginger, turmeric, garlic, and lime.
Pour mixture over the meat and vegetable mixture. Stir gently to incorporate.
Allow to cook approximately 8-12 minutes (give or take) until everything is tender.
Then, add in the green onions, cilantro, and basil and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
OPTIONAL: If serving with rice noodles, these literally take 1 minute to cook, so wait until your lettuce wrap ingredients are nearly done before starting.
Note: We serve the wraps in romaine leaves with a little rice noodle underneath.
Enjoy! If you make this recipe, please tag me @chewsfoodwisely or use hashtags #chewsfoodwisely and/or #halfyourplateveggies
I'm Nicole, Integrative & Functional Registered Dietitian Nutritionist — and a Hashimoto's patient and busy momma of three who has been in your shoes. I spent years trying to figure out why I felt so off despite doing all the "right" things, and that experience completely shaped the way I work with women today.
My whole approach is built around nourishing your body with real food you actually want to eat, not white-knuckling your way through a six-week protocol that leaves you more exhausted and more confused than when you started. Because restriction doesn't heal anything. Real, sustainable nourishment does.
I'm a college professor and educator at heart— I teach a range of classes from freshman level "Introduction to Nutrition" and graduate-level Women's Health and Nutrition courses, and that passion for making complex science click in plain English is woven into everything I do. If you leave a session without actually understanding why we're doing what we're doing, we haven't done our job.
I love going on long walks while listening to an audiobook (my FAVORITE is The Count of Monte Cristo, but I'm currently reading Lord of the Rings), being totally outnumbered with my three wild kiddos, eating yummy food, sipping a good cup of coffee, and (trying) to crochet!
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