I LOVE Chinese food! But let’s be real, it’s not the most healthy of meal choices. So, I’ve been trying to come up with alternatives to use, in place of the parts that aren’t so great for you. Chow Mein is made with veggies and meat(which are great), but those noodles, for me, are where I need to look for an alternative. (I’m really trying to keep my carbs down.) So, when I tried spaghetti squash for the first time, chow mein was one of the first things that came to mind. So, I tried it, and I was pleasanlty surprised, because it was good! Really good! So, I’ve got to share!!
This dish is pretty simple. I definitely made a simplified version of this dish. I didn’t “velvet” my chicken or anything. So, this should be a pretty easy one. (If you don’t know what “velteting meat” is, don’t feel bad, I love food and cooking, and have my own food blog, and I didn’t even know what it was until I was researching chow mein recipes. Apparently there are multiple different ways people do this, but it is a process used to tenderize the meat in Chinese food dishes. That’s why the meat is always so soft and tender and not dry! Who knew?!? 😳 I’ll have to try that another time.)
You could use your own favorite Chow Mein recipe and just substitute the spaghetti squash for the noodles you usually use, and it would make it a little more healthy, or you could use my super simplified version. Up to you.
(All the produce and meat you will need is in this pic)
You will need: 1/2-1 tbsp olive oil, onion powder, garlic powder, and low sodium soy sauce, and [pictured] julienne carrots, thinly sliced cabbage, bean sprouts, green onion, thinly sliced chicken breast, and spaghetti squash (1/2 squash- pictured/used) [ in case you’ve never cooked spaghetti squash, check out my post where I detail how I cook it here: http://withlovebycenda.com/2017/03/26/not-your-mamas-spaghetti-and-meatballs/], amounts were not measured. I think it’s sort of a preference thing.
I put about 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a pan at medium to medium high heat (temps vary so much. Use your judgement), put chicken in the pan and sprinkle with onion and garlic powder. Fry until meat has turned white, but not necessarily cooked through. Add carrot and then cabbage. Once desired tenderness is almost reached for carrots and cabbage add the spaghetti squash. Then, I add a little more onion and garlic powder and the soy sauce. Mix until hot. Then fold in sprouts and serve with green onions on top. (If you like green onions, I would chop them up and add them at the same time you fold in the sprouts. I don’t like them, so I just used them for color and used onion powder to get that onion-y flavor.)
That’s it. Super simple. Super yummy. Super healthy.
I’m going to offer a tip today- 😊
Today’s Tip: If you make stir fry’s and chow mein’s and the like, enough, you may want to consider investing in this awesome kitchen tool! Man, has it saved me some time! I can julienne carrots in a fraction of the time with this little gem!
Happy, Healthy Cooking, My Friends!