Kid-Proof Asian Turkey Noodles

My husband and I often like to eat late, once the kids have gone to bed. We enjoy the quiet, relax environment that allows us to have an uninterrupted conversation. On night's like that, I often whip out some quick child favorites for the kids. My little critics love this concoction! It might not look so appealing to adults, it looks kind of "blah" an colorless... but I've learned that with my kids the less different colors the better. They seem to prefer a uniform dish (like mac n cheese). Might not be the case with you children, but this sweet dish should please them either way!


Ingredients
(3 servings)
350 g ground turkey
100 g dry wok noodles (straight to wok noodles) *
1 onion, diced
2 tsp hoisin sauce
2 tsp garlic-ginger paste
salt to taste
Pam spray
water

Directions
1- Spray deep pan, or wok with Pam and heat.
2- Add onions and cook on medium heat until soft.
3- Add ground turkey, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks.
4 - When turkey is cooked, add hoisin sauce, ginger-garlic paste and fast cooking wok noodles.
5 - Add a few tablespoons of water, not too much, just enough so that the pasta gets cooked and that it evaporates when pasta is ready (about 2-3 tbsp, and 4-5 minutes of cooking)

* Wok noodles; I use noodles that are to be added directly to the wok unboiled. You can also use ramen noodles, they cook quickly. Or if you don't have straight to wok noodles, then some precooked egg noodles should please the little critics ;)

Nutritional Data
1 serving
6 WW points
278 cal
14.1 g fat
37.4 g chol
22.8 g carbs
2.2 g fiber
0.3 g sugars
13.4 g protein

Asian Meatball Stir-Fry

If you made the Asian Meatballs and are wondering how to use them... here's my concoction. The whole family enjoyed this and I will be making it again. I think it would be really good with chicken or pork pieces as well... if you're not into beef or meatballs! This recipe uses hoisin sauce, which gives the recipe a niice sweet flavor.


Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
1/2 large red or orange sweet pepper
1 cup green beans
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
2 cups fat-free chicken broth
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp cornstarch
2-3 tbsp water
20 Asian Meatballs

Directions
- Heat oil in a large skillet or wok.
- Cook onions, peppers and green beans until softened
- Add ginger-garlic paste, chicken broth, and hoisin sauce and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low and add meatballs.
- In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with water and add to skillet.
- Simmer on low until sauce has thickened.

Nutritional Data
excluding meatballs!
(4 servings sauce)
2 WW points
87.5 cal
3.8 g fat
0.3 mg cholesterol
11.1 g carbs
1.3 g fiber
0.6 g sugar

with 5 meatballs = 8 WW points
1.6 g protein

Asian Meatballs

I had thawed some ground beef and was in the mood for some stir fry and didn't feel like throwing the ground meat in as it was, so I decided to make some meatballs. I took some ingredients that I thought would give it a good flavor and mix in well with any stir-fry or other chinese dish. All 3 of my picky critics loved the meatballs.... sadly, I wasn't a huge fan. I ate them, I was hungry... but I didn't enjoy them that much. However, I will make them again, since my picky kids gobbled them up in record time! I just couldn't taste much flavor in the meatballs. I think when I will make them next time, I will mix all the ingredients and refrigerate for a few hours for the meat to really soak up the flavors before making the meatballs. I mixed and formed the meatballs and cooked them right away... maybe that's why I thought they were a little bland.


Ingredients
1 lb lean ground beef
1 egg
3 scallions, diced
3 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tbsp sugar

Directions
- In a large bowl, mix all ingredients.
- Refrigerate for 30 mins or more.
- Form meat mixture into 30 meatballs (about the size of a ping pong ball!).
- Cook in a preheated oven at 175 C for 20 minutes. I cooked mine on a cookie sheet to ease cleanup ;)


Nutritional Data
1 Meatball
1 WW point
46 cal
3.3 g fat
18.3 mg cholesterol
0.7 g carbs
0.1 g fiber
0.5 g sugars
3 g protein

1 serving of 5 meatballs
6 WW points
230 cal
16.4 g fat
91.7 mg cholesterol
3.4 g carbs
0.4 g fiber
2.4 g sugars
14.9 g protein

Napa on the Side

Looking for a quick, nutritious side dish. Try this out, its yummy! It goes great with roast pork, or topped on to rice for a quick vegetarian meal. This one is not a winner with the little critics, they wouldn't even taste it, but the big critic and I both enjoyed it.

Napa is a chinese cabbage, not to be confused with bok choy. They are used interchangeably in lots of meals, but look completely different. (Bok Choy on the Left, Napa on the right)
I used Napa in my recipe, but it would be equally good with Bok Choy. Both cabbages are delicious sauteed, braised, roasted or stir-fried! Both are delicious on their own, but are also very popular mixed into stir-frys. Another great use for them is as a replacement for regular cabbage in coleslaw.


Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger root (or 1/4 tsp ground ginger mixed into beef broth)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 head of Napa cabbage (2 lbs) *
1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup green onion (scallions), chopped

Directions
- Heat oil a large deep frying pan.
- Add garlic and ginger and mix around for 1 minute.
- Add Napa and stir frequently for another 2 minutes
- Add beef broth, and keep stirring until most of the broth has evaporated and the Nappa has reached the softness or crunchiness you desire.
- Add green onions 1 minute or 2 before your Napa is ready, they will retain their color and more of their flavor this way. You can add them before, but they will not be as flavorful ;)

That's it! Enjoy!

Nutritional Data
1 serving
2 WW points
67.4 cal
3.9 g fat
6.4 g carbs
0.2 g fiber
0.2 g sugars
3.6 g protein

Asian Slow Cooker Pork

Had a pork craving, so I made pork in the slow cooker tonight.... it was awesome... I was left satisfied!
So far, I haven't been liking the texture of meat when cooked in the crockpot... This is the first recipe that I really loved. The best part is that the little critics thought the "chicken and the little green balls" were delicious... YEAH BABY! The big critic ate enough for 2 people, so all and all, this was a success :) I'm definitely making this again.


Ingredients
(makes 4 servings)

1 lb pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 small onion, halved and sliced
1/2 cup sliced red pepper
1 garlic clove
2 tbsp teriyaki sauce
1 1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp light soya sauce

3 tbsp light peanut butter
1 cup frozen green beans, thawed *

Directions
- Place all ingredients (but not peanut butter and green beans) into the crockpot and mix.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours.
- Stir in peanut butter an thawed beans.
- Cook on HIGH for 30 minutes.
- Serve with rice or rice noodle.

* My frozen beans were a mix of grean beans, peas and ademane beans (soya beans).

Nutritional Data
1 serving
8 WWpoints
345.8 cal
21.6 g fat
76 mg cholesterol
11.3 g carbs
2.3 g fiber
3.6 g sugars
25.8 g protein

Asian-Style Mushroom Soup

You might find a lot of soup recipes on this site during the winter months as I always make some to warm up. We have soup mostly every day, especially since our little guy is so fond of all types of soup.

This soup was not a winner with the kids, nor was it with the mushroom-hatin' man... but it didn't stop me from cooking up a batch. I personally love mushrooms, and now I have some delicious soup to last me the week for lunch! Hope you enjoy it... and if you don't like mushrooms, you could always omit them and switch them with broccoli or double up the other vegetables in the soup (especially the Napa)!

Ingredients
(6 servings)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, cut in half and sliced
1 small carrot, julienned (about 3/4 cup)
1 garlic clove, chopped or minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced or grated
1 small red bell pepper
5 cups beef broth
1 tbsp Soya sauce
2 cups Napa cabbage, chopped
8 large mushrooms, sliced (approx 200 gr)

Directions
- In a large pot, heat oil. Add onions and carrots and cook for 5-10 minutes until softened.
-Add red pepper, garlic, ginger and cook another minute.
-Add beef broth, soya sauce, mushrooms and napa and bring to a boil while covered.
- Once boiling, and mushrooms and Napa are softened but still have a little crunch, remove from heat and serve.

Nutritional Data
1 serving = 1 cup
1 WW point
61.2 cal
2.9 g fat
5.5 g carbs
1.3 g fiber
4.3 g protein