Thai Beef Lettuce Wraps

Meals such as, Penne with Chicken Marengo and these Thai Beef Lettuce Wraps have made the 30-Day Bikini Body Meal Plan less of a struggle to demonstrate willpower. I've made it to day 9 of 30 and find myself looking forward to the next meal even when it's a salad or veggie tray as a snack. In these 9 days I've lost 2.3 lbs. That loss is solely focusing on diet alone, not the intentional plan, but how it worked out this week. I need to get my ass back to the gym in order to maximize the weight loss results. On a side note, for anyone who thinks eating healthy costs a lot of money... they are wrong! We shop at Whole Foods and this week's grocery bill was $207. Imagine how much less it would be if we went to Kroger. 

These lettuce wraps are perfect for entertaining and have a balance of sweet, heat, and acid. I set up the ottoman with the steak in a bowl and the lettuce leaves and toppings on a plate for a DIY assembly. Whenever a craving for Thai food hits, I've got this recipe to come back to, and since leaving the Pacific NW I haven't found a gem yet here in Houston. 

(That's not blood, it's the Sriracha sauce.)

Thai Beef Lettuce Wraps

Women's Health Magazine

Makes 2 Servings

Stars of the Show:

• 12 oz flank, skirt, or sirloin steak
• 1 tbsp Sriracha
• 1 jalapeño pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 limes, cut into wedges
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 carrot, peeled and grated
• 1 head bibb lettuce, washed and dried, leaves separated

And Action:

Heat the grill or grill pan over high heat for at least 5 minutes. Season the steak with salt and pepper and toss it on. Cook for about 4 minutes on each side, until it's firm but yielding to the touch. Let it rest for 5 minutes.

Combine the chili sauce, fish sauce, and juice of one lime in a small saucepan over low heat.

Slice the steak thinly (if it's skirt or flank steak, be sure to cut against the grain) and drizzle half of the warm sauce over it. Set out the jalapeno and onion slices, cilantro, carrot, lettuce, and remaining lime wedges and sauce. Use the leaves like tortillas to wrap up the steak slices with the other ingredients. (Save some lime and sauce to use on your wrap as you eat.)

Quick Pad Thai

Quick Pad Thai

Women's Health

Makes 4 Servings

Stars of the Show:

• 6 oz whole wheat capellini or angel hair pasta
• 1/2 lb chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces, precooked
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp creamy peanut butter
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp red chili flakes - If making for little ones I recommend cutting back on this amount. It was too spicy for little man. 

And Action:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Toss with 1 teaspoon olive oil.

Heat wok or large skillet over medium-high heat and add remaining olive oil. Add chicken pieces and saute until just browned and no longer pink (about 4 minutes). Remove from pan and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk fish sauce, peanut butter, sugar, chili flakes, and 1 tablespoon water until smooth. Set aside.

Crack eggs into pan and scramble until firm. Add in chicken and cook for another 2 minutes.

Add cooked pasta and peanut butter mixture to pan, tossing with chicken and eggs. Add chopped cilantro. Garnish with crushed peanuts, bean sprouts, or lime wedge if desired.

Nutritional Facts per serving

CALORIES

342.4 CAL

FAT

9.9 G

SATURATED FAT

2.1 G

CHOLESTEROL

191.5 MG

SODIUM

478 MG

CARBOHYDRATES

39 G

TOTAL SUGARS

5.9 G

DIETARY FIBER

4.9 G

PROTEIN

24.8 G