Those of you who follow me on social media will no doubt know that I have just had some shoulder surgery and am somewhat incapacitated. My arm is strapped to my body and will remain there for some weeks to come, save release during physio sessions. I have prepped well for this with some dishes stashed away in the freezer for quick reheating; some plans for deliveries of bariatric-friendly dishes that are ready-prepared; plans to take a few trips out to eat, and a few ideas of how to make the most of the deli. But it is true to say that rather like you tire of hotel food (no matter how delicious it might be) there’s nothing quite like a bit of home cooking from scratch, rather than reheated, and that itch to get back to something familiar or part of your regular bariatric eating routine.
Ever the optimistic I thought this might be a good time to explore some new super easy, few ingredient dishes for the Bariatric Cookery blog. Many of my recipes can seem a bit foodie so here’s the opposite side of the coin – some basic ones that even a one-handed (or one-armed) bariatric can rustle up. Some will have ready-prepared convenient short-cut ingredients; some an express way of cooking; and others more a ‘no need to cook’ solution or arrange affair. All will still be bariatric-friendly and tested by me for tolerability, great nutrition, ease of preparation and storage (since why not cook twice as much and use half for another meal in a different guise from time to time)? I am calling these my Super Simple Recipes and I hope will build into a small collection for you to also fall back on.
The first is a stir-fry and it unashamedly uses a packet or carton of ready-prepared stir-fry vegetables (although I have also tried this recipe with diced vegetables from the salad bar too), some straight-to-wok ribbon rice noodles, a ready-prepared marinade and diced pork. All it really needs is tossing while cooking – and even I can do that with my left hand!
ONE-HANDED PORK STIR-FRY
Ingredients
Metric/US
250 g/8 oz diced pork
2 tbsp hoisin marinade or sauce (I used Blue Dragon Hoisin & Garlic Sauce)
220 g/7 oz pack mixed stir fry vegetable medley
low-fat cooking spray or mist
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
150 g/5 oz pack straight-to-wok ribbon rice noodles (I used Amoy)
Method
- Place the pork in a bowl with the hoisin marinade, stir well and leave to marinate for at least 20 minutes.
- Remove the chilli from the medley and slice thinly. Chop the remaining vegetables into bite-sized pieces if they have not already been chopped sufficiently.
- Generously spritz a wok or large pan with the low-fat cooking spray or mist. Heat, add the ginger and garlic paste and half of the chilli and cook for 1 minute. Add the pork with it’s marinade and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes. Remove from the wok or pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Re-spritz if necessary then add the stir-fry vegetables and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the noodles and 1-2 tbsp water, cover and cook for a further 2 minutes, or until cooked to your liking.
- Return the pork to the wok or pan and toss to combine.
- Divide between serving bowls and garnish with the reserved chilli if liked.
SERVES 2
WLS PORTION: ½
CALORIES PER PORTION: 315
PROTEIN: 30.5g
CARBOHYDRATE: 36.1g
FAT: 4.3g
Image courtesy of tesco.com