Healthy Recipe: Shiitake mushroom & veggie stir-fry

Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients
2 T Asian (toasted) sesame oil
1 1/2 C (1/2 lb) shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
1 red or yellow bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
1 t minced fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 t red pepper flakes
2 carrots grated
1 c bean sprouts
1 1/2 c (1/2 lb) sugar snap peas, trimmed
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 t cornstarch
1 1/2 t reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 c low-sodium chicken broth
1 c brown or wild rice, prepared according to package directions

Directions

• In a large skillet or wok, heat sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add shiitake mushrooms, bell pepper slices, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes, stirring constantly so they don't burn. If they start to burn or brown, pour a little vegetable both into skillet. Continue to cook for about 5 minutes.
• Add the carrots, snap peas, bean sprouts, and scallions to the skillet. Stir-fry about 2 minutes. In a small bowl, stir cornstarch into soy sauce, then add the mixture to the pan.
• Pour in the vegetable broth cook for aout 2 minutes until the mixture comes to a boil and starts to thicken. Serve over rice.

Note: the calorie count for this recipe is based on a serving of 3/4 c veggies and 3/4 c rice, and, quite frankly, I'm a little irked at Shape Magazine. Flip a ahead five pages and you can read a great article about grains and healthy carbs and Shape correctly notes that 1/3 c of grains counts as a serving size. Do yourself a favor when serving this dish, use the standard 1/3 c serving of rice, and load up on extra veggies. To pack in more protein, chop up a block of pre-seasoned, baked tofu and add it to the first step. Have 1/2 or one whole block per serving. One block adds less than 100 calories and about 16 grams of protein.

Nutritional Information
based on 3/4 c veggies, 3/4 c rice
338 kcal
10g fat
1g saturated fat
54 g carbs
11 g protein
6 g fiber
97 g calcium
3 mg iron