Sesame Garlic Ginger Chicken Stir Fry – Paleo

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I admit that this meal was a complete shot in the dark.  I had nothing planned for dinner, I was tired of having the same meals on rotation and I had never made a Paleo version of a stir fry that made the cut.  I had chicken and a few veggies in the fridge and less than 30 minutes.  So I figured I had nothing to lose.  I will give you the tweaked version, mine had a couple of minor fixable issues but what I’m giving you here is the best paleo stir fry I’ve made to date.  The sauce is not a typical thick sauce, I make things to suit my tastes and I’m just not a fan of thick stir fry sauces!

Although the meal came out great, I sort of forgot that I meant to have more carbs with dinner since I was planning to do speedwork the following morning.  There is definitely more planning involved nutritionally being a runner who eats paleo, and I haven’t yet nailed down a formula, especially since I’m pretty new to speedwork.  I found that while marathon training my pace was slow enough to be fine with varying amounts of carbs on most days.  I’ve increased carbs before races and long runs with success, but don’t put as much thought into it during typical training runs.  Speedwork is a whole new ballgame though.  My plan was to run 5x 800 at 6:45 pace with 400 jogs in between, and no doubt my muscles have to step their sh*t up to manage that.  I wound up having some bananas and berries later on, you can see how the track session went here.  Okay back to the stir fry!

Ingredients (Meat and Veggies):

1. 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2. 1 tsp garlic powder
3. 1 tsp onion powder
4. 2 tbsp coconut oil, divided in half
5. 2 broccoli crowns, florets chopped off
6. 3 cloves garlic, chopped
7. 1 yellow pepper, sliced
8. 1 red pepper, sliced
9. 2 med carrots, peeled and sliced
10. 2 tbsp water

For the Sauce

1. 3-4 tbsp coconut aminos (you can get this at a health food store or use gluten-free soy sauce if you’re cool with it)
2. 2-3 tbsp sesame oil
3. 1-2 tsp raw honey
4. 2 tbsp orange juice
5. 3 tsp powdered ginger

Directions:

1. Cut the chicken thighs into 1-2 inch cubes and sprinkle with garlic and onion powder.  Heat 2 large pans over med-high heat.
2. Add the coconut oil to both of the hot pans, let it melt, and then add the chicken to one pan and all the veggies including garlic) to the other.
3. To cook the chicken, stir occasionally and let cook about 7 minutes, or until just no longer pink.  Once done, remove the pan from heat and set aside.
4. While the chicken is cooking, stir the veggies and add the 2tbsp water.  Cover and cook about a minute until they soften a little.
5. Uncover the veggies and stir in the coconut aminos, sesame oil, honey, orange juice, and ginger (you can mix sauce ingredients beforehand and stir in the mixture)
6. Stir and continue cooking another minute so the veggies become tender-crisp, but keep a close eye on the to make sure you do not overcook (I’ve made this mistake too many times to count!)
7. Add the chicken along with all the pan juices to the veggie mixture, and toss everything together to coat.
8. Taste it!  This is the time to add any extra spices or coconut aminos if you want more flavor.  Or let people in your family add on their own.  I find that everyone has different salt preferences in my house!
9. Enjoy and tell me what you think 🙂