Want to know how to make a bunch of different healthy Chinese meals with just a few basic recipes?

All you need to do is follow these steps.

BASIC CHINESE COOKING METHOD

1. Slice up 1/2 pound of the lean meat of your choice and marinate it for 30 minutes in the appropriate marinade/coating.
2. Wash and cut up 2-3 cups of fresh vegetables. Frozen can be used, but isn’t as crisp
3. Optional: Mince 1 teaspoon each of garlic, ginger root, and/or green onion.
4. Prepare one of the sauces from the recipes below in a small bowl and set aside.
5. In a non-stick skillet or wok heated to medium high and coated with cooking spray, add the optional items (if desired) and stir fry until fragrant, then add the meat and stir fry until it is cooked all the way through. Remove from heat and set aside in another container.
6. Return pan to stove and spray a bit more cooking spray on it. Add vegetables and stir fry until cooked but still crisp–with green veggies, you can see the color change to a brighter green. (If you are using crunchy veggies like broccoli, carrots or cauliflower, add about 1/4 c. water and cover for 3-4 minutes to steam them a bit.)
7. Add the cooked meat back into the pan.
8. Add the prepared sauce and stir the mixture until the veggies and meat are evenly coated and the sauce thickens into a semi-transparent glaze.
9. Divvy the meal up into 2-3 servings (3 if you are female, 2 if you are male) and serve with 1/2-1 cup of brown rice.

Easy, huh?

Now here are the marinade and sauce recipes:

Add hot peppers, ginger root, green onions, garlic, etc to taste if they are not included in the recipe, and you like a little extra zing to your meals.

MARINADES (For best results marinate for at least 30 minutes)
——————-
BASIC MEAT MARINADE (for 1/2 lb beef, pork, or chicken)
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. cooking wine or sherry
1 T. cornstarch

BASIC SEAFOOD MARINADE (for 1/2 lb shrimp, scallops, etc)
2 t. cornstarch
1 t. cooking wine or sherry
1/3 t. salt

SAUCES
——————-
OYSTER SAUCE
1/2 c. water
1.5 T. oyster sauce
1.5 T. soy sauce
1/2 T. cooking wine or sherry
2 t. cornstarch
2 t. Splenda
pinch pepper
few drops sesame oil

BLACK BEAN SAUCE
2 t. fermented black beans, finely chopped
1 t. green onion, minced
1 t. ginger root, minced
1 t. garlic, minced
1/2 c. water
2 t. soy sauce
1/2 t. Splenda
pinch of pepper
1/2 T. cornstarch

WHITE SAUCE (dryer)
4 T. water
3/4 t. salt
1 t. Splenda
1 t. cornstarch
few drops sesame oil
pinch of pepper

RED/KETCHUP SAUCE
1 c. water
2 T. ketchup
1 T. Splenda
1/2 t. salt
pinch of pepper
1 T. cornstarch

CURRY SAUCE
3 T. curry powder or paste
5 T. flour
3 c. chicken stock or water
1 t. salt
1/2 T. Splenda
1/4 t. pepper
1 T cooking wine or sherry

BROWN SAUCE (dryer)
4 T. soy sauce
2 t. cooking wine
2 t. Splenda
4 T. stock or water
1/2 T. cornstarch

SPICY TOMATO SAUCE
1 T. garlic, minced
1 T. ginger root, minced
1/2 c. onion, diced
3 T. ketchup
1 T. fermented sweet rice or wine
1 t. hot bean paste
1/2 c. water
1/2 T. cornstarch
2/3 T. Splenda
1/2 t. salt

Perfect Days = 1/62 (Detailed breakdown posted to the Progress AND Perfection Challenge thread at JSF Forums)

One perfect day down…sixty-one more to go.

As usual last night, I got the urge to grab just one or two raisins from the fridge around 9:30 pm after my marathon workout series of cardio and Yoga X, but hey, what’s the point of doing a perfection challenge if you are going to blow it on a handful of raisins on the first night, right? I’m happy to report that I didn’t give into the passing craving, and what do you know? It went away after 10 minutes.

I’ve made it through a full week of Phase 1 P90X, and I can confidently declare that these are the toughest home workouts I’ve ever done. Chest and back (aka Push-and-Pull-Up-O-Rama) alone would qualify as the world’s most hideous workout since you are going to near failure in each set. I love the push-ups since I can already do more than the fellas on the screen :twisted:, but I am sucking wind on the pull-ups. I do 1-3 unassisted, and then I am a chairfrau all the way, just focusing on some nice slow negatives down.

I’m already noticing some visible improvements in my abs from the thrice-weekly Ab Ripper workout as well. It’s ridiculously unpleasant in a good way, if that makes any sense. I have a tendency to slack off a bit on my ab workouts when I’m doing them by myself, so this 20 minute workout is handy to have around. It doesn’t hurt that one of the demonstrators is a dancer/trainer guy with totally yummy abs for me to gawk at, either. :wig:

What I’ve noticed is that I have that spritely “post-PT” feeling I used to have after a really good PT session in the Army. Weight training and cardio get close, but there’s something different about the energy you get from a tough calisthenics-based muscle failure session. Or maybe it’s just the combination of the calisthenics and that dex/whey PWO shake I just had, haha.

One final observation about Phase 1 of P90X: Plyo, Kenpo, Yoga, and Legs/Back ALL hit your glutes in a major way. My bum hasn’t been this sore since Drill Sergeant Brock made us do 100 fire hydrants on each leg in AIT. At least the booty and leg stretches in the series are all uniformly excellent. My flexibility has already improved in just one week.

Plyo and extra cardio are up for tomorrow. Given the stress that plyo puts on my knees and legs, I don’t think I’m going to be doing any running for the 30 minute cardio session.

And for anyone looking for a quick and easy tuna recipe, I came up with one out of necessity (i.e. laziness) last night. I wolfed my concoction down so fast that I know it will be a staple meal for me from now on.

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Super-Cheapo Tuna Fried Rice

3 oz. canned tuna
1/2 c. rice (cooked)
1/4 large cucumber, sliced
1/2 medium tomato, diced
1 green onion, chopped
1/2 packet Splenda or Equal
Salt and black pepper to taste

Spray a nonstick pan or wok with cooking spray. Heat pan to medium/medium high, then toss in green onions and cucumbers. Stir fry until cucumbers become translucent. Add rice, tuna, and tomatoes and toss for approximately 3 minutes. Sprinkle 1/4 to 1/2 packet of sweetener over the mixture and stir fry some more. Add salt and pepper to taste. (Low sodium soy sauce may be used instead of salt.)

252 calories, 31.3 g carb, 23.2 g protein, 3 g fat

(Why add the dash of sweetener? A little known secret about Chinese restaurant fried rice is that the cooks always add sugar to it. That’s why the rice at a restaurant tastes so good, while the fried rice most people make at home tastes like crap.)

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Nutrition: 1700 calorie low zig zag day

1: Dex/Whey PWO shake w/1/2 t. GNC Creastack
2: 3×1 omelette, 1/3 c. (dry) oatmeal, 1 T. raisins
3: 3.5 oz. sauteed pollock, 1 c. broccoli in oyster sauce, 3/4 c. rice
4: Cinnamon raisin oatmeal muffin
5: Tuna, tomato, and cucumber fried rice (2.5 oz. tuna, half tomato, 1/4 cucumber, 1/2 c. rice, cooked with Pam)
6: Oatmeal protein banana bread

Total: 1718 calories, 48.0% carb, 33.3% protein, 18.5% fat

Daily Supplements: multivitamin with iron, calcium 500 + D, 1 T. flaxseed oil
Water: 16 cups minimum

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Workout:
7:30 AM P90X Chest/Back/Abs

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The Awful Truth:
1. Nothing! Woo!

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Brownie Points:
1. Finished laundry.
2. Did the dishes (in the actual dishwasher)

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Short-term Goals:
1. Finish design for P90X HanDbase module
2. Work on paper doll project.
3. Do thumbnails for 5-6 new prints.
4. Put away pile of clothes requiring alterations until June.
5. Finish fairy girl print.
6. Pick up groceries.
7. Take challenge starting pics during lunch.