10-Minute Side Dish: Bok Choy

10 minute side dish, Asian, Low-carb, My Tasteful Life, Paleo, Stir-fry, vegetables

Bok choy with teriyaki glazed Sea Bass.

Bok choy is a Chinese cabbage that lends itself to being sautéed over high heat. It’s a delicious vegetable that you can find in most grocery stores, and I think it’s a great alternative to my regular green side dishes.

I really love baby bok choy because of its delicate taste and texture. But the regular variety is just as good and easier to find. To prep bok choy, remove the lowest, hardest white part where all the leaves connect. Rinse with water and pat dry. Then slice into 1/2″ strips, including the leaves.

The rest is up to you. The recipe below calls for a quick sauté with ginger, garlic and onion, but you can add it to stir fry or even roast it in the oven. Bok choy works with any protein, so instead of green beans or sugar snap peas, grab some bok choy this week. Try it once, and I’m sure you’ll be adding it to your vegetable rotation.

Ingredients

1 large head of bok choy or 3 heads of baby bok choy

1/2 red onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional – reduce or remove if you don’t like heat)

2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos

1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil (optional)

Process

Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat for 30 to 60 seconds. Then stir in the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute. Add onion and cook for another minute. Then add all of the bok choy.

Cook, stirring regularly, for 6 minutes. Turn heat to high, add the soy sauce or coconut aminos, and the red pepper flakes. Continuously stir for another minute. Turn off heat and let sit for a few minutes before serving.

Quick Garlic Beef with Wilted Greens

Asian, Garlic, Greens, Marinade, My Tasteful Life, Paleo, Sirloin, Stir-fry, Swiss chard

Garlic Beef with Wilted Greens over jasmine rice.

This Garlic Beef recipe will surprise you with its taste, speed and ease. I found it in a cookbook I recently picked up, One-Pot Paleo. It’s packed with flavor and healthy greens, and the high heat sears the beef and caramelizes the garlic.

Wilting greens makes it easy to eat large quantities of healthy leafy vegetables. I love the effect of watching four or more cups significantly reduce while cooking over high heat. The balance of protein and vegetables in this dish creates a satisfying and healthy effect you will surely love.

This quick recipe is a weeknight’s best friend, and it works great served with cauli-rice or jasmine rice. The sirloin takes a little knife work, and you want to marinate the beef for at least 30 minutes. But once you turn on the heat, this one-dish meal only takes 10 minutes and feeds 3 adults.

Ingredients

1 pound sirloin steak, thinly sliced

1/4 cup olive oil or coconut oil

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

8 cloves of garlic, minced

1 medium red onion, thinly sliced

4-6 cups mixed leafy greens, such as bok choy, spinach, Swiss chard and baby kale

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos

Process

Thinly cut the sirloin on an angle into 1/8” thick slices.

Combine the beef with the minced garlic, black pepper, and oil. Marinate for at least 30 minutes but no longer than an hour.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and let the pan warm up. Add the sirloin to the hot pan and stir-fry for 4 minutes. Add the onion and continue to cook for 2 more minutes. Then add the greens on top of the beef.

Cook, stirring regularly, for another 3 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes and soy sauce and turn the heat up slightly to dry out the pan. Stir fry for another 3 minutes, and then remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Summertime Marinades: Soy Spring

Chicken, grilling, Marinade, Paleo, pork, Seafood, Shellfish

The Soy Spring recipe below works with virtually all food. Those strictly adhering to a Paleo diet can easily substitute Coconut Aminos for the soy sauce. However, for me, the amount is so small and it’s used as a marinade so I’m okay with cheating a little bit.

Soy Spring (best with vegetables, chicken, seafood, pork or thick-cut steak)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar (apple cider vinegar can be substituted)

1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce (Coconut Aminos can be substituted)

2 tablespoons sweetener (local honey, agave or raw sugar)

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated or finely chopped (1/2 teaspoon of dried ginger can be substituted)

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Process

Mix ingredients together in a bowl and place your protein into the mixture, and cover with lid or plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour and up to 24 hours. Steak is the only exception, and it should only marinate for 30 minutes. Grill at 425 degrees until cooked through.

Sautéed Spinach with Goat Cheese

10 minute side dish, food, Paleo, side dish, Spinach, tips, vegetables

In Florida, spinach and snap beans (a.k.a. green beans) reach their peak in March so you can buy a lot for a little bit of money (click here for a complete list of Florida vegetables by season). Both spinach and snap beans make healthy side dishes but sometimes we need inspiration to create something different. Steamed green beans get boring, and I don’t know about you, but I can only eat so much spinach in my salads.

Don’t let your side dishes end up as an obligatory sidekick to your meal’s main element. Instead, look for ways to doctor up the usual to create something new. The key to side dishes is that they can’t take up a lot of time. They are SIDE dishes, after all. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be fulfilling and add a satisfying element to your meal.

Below I’ve included a 10-minute recipe for spinach sautéed with garlic and goat cheese. It’s simple to prepare and is a great way to use all that spinach you picked up at the farmers market or store. Don’t forget that spinach shrinks dramatically as it cooks, so be prepared to use at least six to eight cups to feed four people.

I paired this luscious side dish with a grilled New York strip steak. I didn’t even miss eating the roasted potatoes I made my husband because the spinach had plenty of fulfilling flavor. Check back later this week to get another 10-minute side dish that’s perfect for a Paleo-inspired diet.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup onion, minced

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon white or black pepper

2 oz. goat cheese (use 1/4 oz. per cup of spinach)

6-8 cups fresh spinach

Cooking

Using a deep skillet or shallow pot, sauté garlic and onion in olive oil over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Add the spinach and stir so every leaf is coated with the hot oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add cheese in chunks and gently combine. Turn off heat, cover, and let sit for 2 minutes. Stir again and serve immediately.