If you’re looking for an easy healthy recipe to satisfy your stir fry craving without the high sodium contents and preservatives inherent to prepackaged meals, you’ve come to the right place. Yes, it’s tempting to open up and toss a pack of frozen PF Chang’s on the stovetop, but taking a few extra minutes to develop a homemade recipe is much more rewarding.

When choosing meat, quality matters. Organic products are free of synthetic pesticides, nitrites and other unfavorable ingredients like artificial flavors and dyes. If eating organic is outside of your budget, it won’t limit you from having an ingredient friendly and nutritious meal. Selecting chicken that is labeled “antibiotic free” is the next best option. Another label I look for when organic isn’t available is “Non-GMO.” Organic is Non-GMO as organic certified products do not contain genetically modified materials, but a Non-GMO label alone is not equivalent to organic. See more about the organic certification process below.

I’m an advocate for time savers, including utilizing a microwave occasionally during a busy work week. In comes the 90 second rice. Tasty Bites and Seeds of Change are my top two brands that offer organic options. If this pandemic has revealed anything, in addition to inequities and disparities in healthcare and health outcomes of BIPOC, it’s the amount of unpaid work that women do and the impact it has had on their lives as the primary caregivers. While many women are drowning in secular work at home in addition to motherhood, a significant number have been laid off or have decided to leave the workforce putting their careers on hold to manage family life. Give yourself some grace when it comes to setting the bar of expectations and permission to lower it as a means of self care. At the end of the day, the meal is prepared and the recipients are thankful and satisfied. Your effort doesn’t lose its impact and value.

INGREDIENTS 🌿

• 16 oz Organic Grilled Chicken Strips
• 3 tbs Olive Oil
• 1/4 cup Organic Cranberries
• Organic Ginger Root
• 1/2 Medium Organic Orange (zest & juice)
• 1 pouch Organic Quinoa Brown & Red Rice
• 2 cups Organic Broccoli (frozen)
• 3 tbs Coconut Aminos
• 1/4 tsp Pink Himalayan Salt
• 1/4 tsp Ground Black Pepper
• 1/4 tsp Organic Onion Powder
• 1/4 tsp Organic Garlic Powder

The Organic Standard

That little green and white seal on the pouch of rice indicates that a product has been certified organic. The certification process evaluates products based upon USDA regulatory guidelines and criteria that must be met to gain this seal of approval. 7CFR Part205 contains all of the regulatory requirements and the National Organic Program (NOP) is responsible for developing and enforcing these requirements from allowable and prohibited substances to labeling. As with medicines that are developed for commercial sale and have to be tested for safety and efficacy and manufacturers routinely inspected, so is the case for farmers and businesses that claim to adopt organic standards from seed and soil to pest management and water systems. The process for organic certification is rigorous to ensure that the products meet the standards that farmers and food manufacturers purport.

DIRECTIONS 🔖

• Microwave rice pouch for 90 seconds
• Steam broccoli with added seasoning
• Heat olive oil in pan on high heat
• Chop grilled chicken strips and add to pan
• Add seasoning (pink Himalayan salt, pepper, garlic & onion powder) and sauté
• Add 2 tbs coconut aminos (or more if you want to be generous), cranberries and toss
• Reduce to medium heat
• Add zest of one medium orange and juice of half of the orange and mix
• Mix in freshly grated ground ginger
• Reduce heat to low
• Add rice and broccoli, 1 tbs coconut aminos, mix and cover and cook for 3 additional minutes
• Enjoy!