You can tell a lot about me…

On Christmas morning, my sister and I did our traditional present sort, in which we go up to the presents “under” our foot-high plastic christmas tree and distribute them to ourselves and parents. We call out the respective name and hand it to them, then we each open a present, going around in a circle until they’re all open.

After we had stuffed all the castoff wrapping paper in a trash bag and were sitting around drinking coffee and eating bagels, I took a look at the aftermath. In our living room were four piles of presents, with completely distinct personalities. Mine was all about food (surprise!) I am very excited about my foodie-related presents, especially my new little silicon egg-poaching pouches. I’ve always stressed out over the perfect poaching vortex, so this is going to be a big help.

One of my favorite things to do with poached eggs is to throw them on top of a healthy stir-fry. Then I’m getting some added protein – and it’s a nice complement to break the sweet teriyaki flavor. Here’s a super fast and healthy stir-fry I make when I get home late (and starved) from school. I try to incorporate lots of different colors because their colors hint at their different antioxidant properties – they work to keep your cells free from damage (read: disease and signs of aging).

This stir-fry uses red, green, and yellow veggies, so it looks like a stoplight. I tend to use firm tofu, but you can sub in chicken, beef, or frozen shrimp! Feel free to change the rice to any kind of whole grain like quinoa or bulgar. If you see a veggie at the market that looks good – throw it in!

Stoplight Stir-fry:
1 container firm tofu, drained & cut into rectangles
a handful of cherry tomatoes, halved (RED)
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced (RED)
1 small summer squash, sliced (YELLOW)
1 tsp. garlic (I use the jar of garlic from the produce aisle) (YELLOW)
1 small zucchini, slice into 1-inch strips (GREEN)
2 cups fresh spinach, rinsed (GREEN)
1 bag pre-cooked brown rice
1 egg
olive oil
teriyaki sauce

Combine all chopped veggies, except the spinach, into a large bowl and set aside

Pour some olive oil (about 2 tsp) into a large non-stick pan and warm it over medium-high heat

Fill a shallow pan with water and bring to a boil (for the egg later on)

Back to the non-stick pan:
Stir in the garlic, and when it browns (about 1 minute), add the tofu. Sear the tofu on each side until golden brown (about 5 minutes). When the tofu browns, remove it and set it aside. Now throw in the bowl of veggies and heat until cooked through (about 7 minutes). Then, return the tofu to the pan. Throw in the spinach and stir until it wilts (about 30s-1 min). Turn the heat to low, and add the rice and teriyaki sauce to taste (a little goes a long way). Stir and keep warm on the stove.

Turn to the boiling water:
Use a silicon egg poacher, or swirl the water you’ve boiled with a knife. When the water’s swirling, crack your egg and drop it in. Cook it until the egg is all white and firm after a few minutes (no longer transparent). While the egg is cooking, put about 3/4 cup of the stirfry mixture into a bowl. When the egg is ready, remove it from the water with a slotted spoon and serve it over the rice.

This recipe makes enough for leftovers, so enjoy for lunch or dinner the next night! I usually take it out of the refrigerator and add a little extra low-sodium soy sauce or teriyaki sauce before reheating so it’s not dry.

PREP TIME: 10 Minutes
COOK TIME: 20 minutes
EAT TIME: 30 minutes
(if you do your prep in advance, you’ll be 20 minutes from dinner)
SERVING SIZE: 2-3 servings