lettuce eat

It's been a week and two days I've been on a strictly clean diet and I'm feeling nothing short of amazing.  To be honest I haven't really struggled at all which is definitely promising, but I am still in the early stages.  Allotting time to prepare meals is probably the trickiest part of the whole transition, but I've been making larger meals that can last me through the workweek, like the Coconut Curry Chili I wrote about in my last post.  Sadly I finished the last of it today and was completely bummed the second it was gone.  I could literally eat it every day (and have for the last 4!). 

Before I start to post some of the clean recipes I've been making I have two in my archives that were awesome (and surprisingly almost clean) that have to be posted.  This one is going all the way back to Superbowl Sunday, which happend to fall on my birthday this year. I love when that happens!

My game day snack was something both delicious and nutritious that didn't lose that interactive, party-food feel.  Lettuce wraps! My dad would beg to differ on those notions and would ask why we couldn't just have regular tacos and if there's lettuce instead of shells then we should at least be eating beef.  But alas these beauties were made with ground chicken, which really picks up all the seasonings nicely.

The only elements making this dish "unclean" are the Asian chili sauce and the hoisin, and within those it's mainly the sweeteners that are to blame.  I'd still definitely recommend making this dish regardless--it's such a crowd pleaser and I'm sure a simple Google search will yield results of how to make your own sauces, clean as can be (usually using honey in place of any other sugar additives)!

This is a super easy and satisfying recipe.  You're going to start by simply cooking your ground chicken in a skillet with just a few spritzes of nonstick spray while making sure to break up the pieces of meat as they brown so you have manageable bits to stuff inside the Bibb lettuce.  Take time to chop your veggies while it cooks.  (Note: I didn't have green onion when I was making this, so I added shredded carrots instead.  I'd add them again next time in addition to the regular ingredients--they added a nice pop of color and some natural sweetness to the dish.)

When it's almost cooked through you're going to add in all remaning ingredients with the exception of the water chestnuts, green onions, lettuce (duh) and sesame oil, which get delayed a few minutes.  Add the chestnuts and onions and stir for about 2 minutes or until the onions start to wilt.  When the chicken has browned up nicely, finish the mixture off with the sesame oil for flavoring and they're ready to serve! I do suggest doubling up on the lettuce, however.  It's much sturdier to eat with two leaves as opposed to one (plus you can stuff more taco meat in there)...and a few extra greens are never a bad thing!

Enjoy!

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