healthy eats

I have had my eye on a healthy recipe and finally had the time and energy to put it together this evening. It is a Thai chicken and green bean curry over brown rice. This recipe did require me to pick up some new ingredients that I have not used before, the scariest being fish sauce. It was also the first time in a while that I have worked with Jalapeno peppers. I always forget to be cautious when dicing J-peppers and right now the skin underneath my thumbnails is BURNING!!! 

This recipe wasn't difficult to make- some dicing and stirring over the oven top. I did have a major moment of hesitation when adding the fish sauce. I was worried about whether or not the fishiness would be overpowering. Luckily, it turned out perfect.

The good news is that the portion in this picture has about 300 low-fat calories and it is packed with fiber. So glad I have leftovers!

I should also note that I manipulated the original recipe by adding more green beans and more light coconut milk. I also diced the garlic and left it in the curry mixture. I also added extra J-pepper for flavor and the 'sweat factor'. I like it spicy!

Ingredients:

3 cups of uncooked green beans, washed and cut into bite sized pieces

1 spray of cooking spray

2 tsp of jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced

1 medium garlic clove, peeled and smashed

1 cup of light coconut milk divided

2 tbsp green curry paste

1 tbsp packed brown sugar

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp lemon grass, minced

1 lb uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips

2 tbsp basil, fresh, minced

2 cups cooked brown rice

Instructions:

Steam green beans in steamer basket or microwave until crisp and tender, drain and set aside. Coat a large skillet with cooking spray and set over medium heat. Add Jalapeno and garlic, cook, stirring frequently. Add 3/4 cup of coconut milk, curry paste, brown sugar, fish sauce and lemon grass, stir, bring to a simmer. Add chicken and reduce heat to medium-low, simmer, stirring occasionally until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add green beans and basil, add remaining coconut milk for about 1 minute until sauce is smooth, then remove garlic.

Serving size is about one cup of curry mixture over 1/2 cup of brown rice. Tada- a 300 calorie, fresh, tasty dinner!