4 radishes, julienned
1/2 of an English cucumber, scoop the inner part out, julienned
2 cups of broccoli slaw

Oriental salad dressing:

1 tbsp. rice vinegar
2 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. sesame oil

In a medium-size bowl, combine the radishes and cucumber and broccoli slaw.

To make the dressing: In a small bowl, mix together the vinegar and soy sauce. Add sugar, stirring to dissolve. Add sesame oil and whisk.

Pour dressing over vegetables, toss thoroughly, and refrigerate until serving time.

Serves 2.

1 Weight Watcher point per serving

Optional - top salad with 1 tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds - this will add 1 WW point to each serving.

I altered this recipe and it made a tasty Beef and Broccoli dish.  I’ve tried making my own Chinese food before and it always seemed to lack something until I found out about oyster sauce.  When I use Oyster sauce my Chinese food seems to have such a better flavor.  Around here a bottle costs around $3.50 for a 7 oz jar.  That seems a little pricey but you only need a tablespoon or 2 in a recipe.  In my opinion, splurging a few bucks on an ingredient like this, allows me to create nice tasty recipes at home that don’t make me feel like I am sacrificing or doing without.

Beef and Broccoli

4 servings

3/4 pound flank or sirloin, sliced thinly across the grain
1 16 oz bag of frozen broccoli florets
1 Tbs oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

For the beef marinade
1 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 Tbs rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup chicken broth

Stir together the beef marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the beef slices and stir until coated. Let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile stir together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.Place broccoli in a large bowl and heat in the microwave (follow package instructions). Heat a large frying pan or wok over medium high heat Add the oil and swirl to coat. Add the beef and immediately spread the beef out all over the surface of the wok or pan in a single layer. Let the beef fry undisturbed for 1 minute. Flip the beef slices over, add the garlic to the pan and fry for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute until no longer pink, Pour in the sauce, add the broccoli and bring to a boil. Pour in the dissolved cornstarch and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils and thickens, 30 seconds.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 246
Fat: 9.2 g
Carbs: 9.9 g
Fiber: 3.1 g
Protein: 30 g

5 WW points

Trader Joe’s is one of my favorite places to shop. Its like an adventure to go to Trader Joe’s. You are full of anticipation, yet fearful your haul will not live up to your high expectations. Most of the time, you are pleased. Once in a while you might be disappointed, but then there are those times that you come across an item that supersede all the others.

For me it was Trader Ming’s Mandarin Orange Chicken. I’ve been a fan of Trader Ming’s Boneless BBQ Teriyaki Chicken for a while. And for just as long I have been eyeballing the Mandarin Orange Chicken that lies nestled in the freeze along side the Teriyaki Chicken. And I always picked the Teriyaki Chicken. Why? Because I am trying to lose weight and the Teriyaki Chicken had 65 % fewer calories. Don’t get me wrong, I really like the Teriyaki Chicken, but I have always been a fan of the deep fried chicken Chinese dishes like General Tso’s chicken and Sesame chicken.

So the last time I was at Trader Joe’s I took the plunge and bought a bag of the Mandarin Chicken. Then it sat in my freezer a month. I finally got around to trying it. Wow. It is good. It reminds me of good take out. Now its not quite as insanely quick to prepare as the Teriyaki Chicken which is completely microwaveable but it was still easy. You have a choice of baking the chicken or frying them in 1/4 cup of oil. I virtuously chose to bake the pieces. I spread the frozen breaded pre-cooked chicken chunks on a baking pan and baked about 20-25 min. The chunks ranged in size from small kidney bean shaped nuggets to the size of a Roma tomato. Most were somewhere in between.

After baking the chunks, I then had the choice to heat the sauce that comes with it in a skillet or microwave it. I microwaved it. At first I was concerned that there wasn’t enough sauce to coat all the chicken. My fears were unfounded. It was just enough.

The chicken was tender. The sauce had a nice citrusy tang to it and it was not overly sweet as a lot of take out Chinese is. My only complaint - a serving is not that big. A 14 oz bag has 3.5 servings. Really though, 2 of us can easily split it in half. I could of ate a lot more, which of course is why I need to diet. As much as I liked this chicken I will probably not buy it as often as the Teriyaki Chicken as it does have a higher calorie content which makes me feel guilty about eating half the bag instead of a “real” portion.

One bag costs $4.99 which makes a serving $1.43. Can you make or buy cheaper entrees? Of course. But to me part of the frugal journey is allowing yourself small indulgences here and there so you don’t feel deprived. The same could be said for a diet. Missing your Chinese take out? don’t want to shell out the cash or the calories? Then pair this with some of Trader Joe’s egg rolls, make your own rice and a veggie and you have your own version of take out for a fraction of the cost and the calories.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 230
Fat: 8 g
Carbs: 19 g
Fiber: 0 g
Protein: 16 g

5 WW points

Trader Joe’s has a line of frozen Chinese food called Trader Ming.  I’ve tried several items from this line and so far everything has been tasty.  These egg rolls are no exception.  They come frozen and pre-fried and all you have to do is bake them for 20 min.  Each egg roll is about 5 inches long and weighs about 2 3/4 oz.

Now  you might be thinking “How do these egg rolls compare to take out Chinese?”  Well they don’t.  They are good but not quite the same thing as a hot crispy, ingredient packed egg roll, filled with bits of mystery meat from your local take out.  The Trader Ming’s egg rolls while an adequate length seem to be wrapped a little loose.  And while you can get them nice and crispy from baking, there still seems to be some residual water/juice inside the egg roll.  And one of 2 things can happen: 1) you can eat your egg roll while it is still hot and crispy and have hot water squirt on you or 2) you can let it sit a few minutes and the liquid will absorbe into the egg roll but now the outside is no longer crispy.

All that aside, I will always have a package of these on hand because they are much tastier and oh so much easier then making my own egg rolls.  And while they are not health food, they are much better for you then take out Chinese egg rolls.

A package of 5 of these egg rolls cost me $2.99 which is 60 cents for one egg roll.  Yes I know you can  make your own egg rolls much cheaper or just go without but I think 60 cents is a great price if it prevents you from picking up that phone and ordering take out which will hit you both in the wallet and your waistline.

Nutritional Info:
Calories: 110
Fat: 4 g
Carbs: 16 g
Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 5 g

WW Points - 2 each