Janel's Vegetarian Kitchen
by Janel Ovrut, MS, RD, LDN

Usually weekend dinners are pretty low key - a veggie burger here, some leftovers there. And they should be. Nobody wants to spend weekends cooped in a kitchen (though I have to admit, sometimes I love being cooped up in my kitchen).

I knew I had plans to dine out a few times in the upcoming week so I wanted to be sure to get some healthy home-cooking in. With only a few ingredients on hand and 30 minutes before I had to head out the door, I whipped up a super fast stir-fry.

The great thing about stir-fry is that with just a few ingredients and minimal cooking skills, you can have a really nutritious meal!

Ingredients

2 green peppers, chopped

10-15 baby pearl onions, cut in half (or one whole white onion, diced)

5 large carrots, cut into slices (or a handful of baby carrots, cut)

Frozen brown rice (of course you can cook up fresh brown rice but Trader Joe's has this life saving pre-cooked brown rice with 2 servings per pouch that you pop into the microwave for 2 minutes and it’s ready!)

Black Pepper stir fry/marinade sauce - any sauce will do... teriyaki, sweet and sour, soy, etc.

Instructions

Stir fry the veggies until tender (5-10 minutes) in a wok or large pan using some cooking spray and a few tablespoons of the sauce. I threw in the carrots first since they take the longest to cook. Make sure to move the veggies around in the pan or wok so they are cooked thoroughly.

Meanwhile, cook up the rice. There are many easy instant-rice packages in supermarkets that cook up in minutes either on the stove or in the microwave. Try brown rice to get your servings of whole grains in with added fiber and nutrients!

When everything is cooked, mix the rice in with the veggies and presto! Dinner is served. Can it get any easier?!?! Yes, actually, if you're using frozen veggies, or those pre-cut packaged vegetables.

Do you have favorite stir-fry veggies? I'd love to learn about your culinary combination!

Janel Ovrut, MS RD LDN is a Registered Dietitian who follows a vegetarian diet. She promotes no-nonsense, plant-based cooking so that eating is both healthful and enjoyable. Janel has a master's degree in nutrition communication from Tufts University in Boston, MA. You can read many more of her blog posts at dinedishdelish.blogspot.com.