Take That, Takeout! Orange Chicken with Veggies (+workouts)

It is already Wednesday!? Whoa baby, some weeks go so fast! It has been a great one so far :)

While brainstorming what to make for dinner yesterday afternoon, I had the sudden idea for a healthier version of orange chicken! I looked at a few recipes on allrecipes.com, but didn't have a few of the key ingredients they called for. With half an hour to make dinner before heading back to work, I decided to put together my own version and hope for the best! I skipped the breading on the chicken and used the tiniest bit of olive oil to cook the chicken and veggies, which makes this dish much better for you than the usually-fried chicken in this dish at a restaurant. It actually turned out really good, I was so excited! Riley LOVES Chinese food, so he was super pumped too :) The measurements and spices in this recipe can be adjusted as you please, depending on how much spice you like or if you are not a fan of ginger, and you can add any veggies you please! I served this over brown rice :)

Orange Chicken with Veggies

serves: 3-4 (depending on how big your appetite is!)

drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
2 chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1 head of broccoli, broke up into pieces
1 large carrot or 5-6 baby carrots, chopped
1 small red pepper, chopped
1 small orange pepper, chopped
1 small yellow pepper, chopped
sesame seeds

Sauce
1 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon orange or lemon zest
2 tablespoons white wine or white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon (more if you like spiciness) Kick'n Chick'n seasoning (this is a combination of red pepper flakes, orange zest, pepper, garlic and onion, and since I already put most of those seasonings in this, you can just add some red pepper flakes if you don't have this)

Drizzle extra virgin olive oil on the bottom of a large pan, then put chicken and all veggies into the pan and turn on medium heat. Stir so that all sides cook evenly every few minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Put the chicken and veggies on top of brown rice in plates, then put the sesame seeds in the pan to cook until golden brown, about a minute. Take pan off the heat.

For the sauce, pour the orange juice, white wine and cornstarch into a pot. Put a lid on the pot and turn the heat on high until the liquids begin to boil. Turn the heat down slightly and whisk the liquids, getting the cornstarch evenly mixed into the liquids. Add the seasonings and the sesame seeds, and continue whisking and letting the sauce boil for a few minutes. Turn the heat off. Let the sauce cool slightly for a minute or two, then pour over the plates of chicken, veggies and rice. Enjoy!!

If my memory serves me well (which doesn't always happen, but we'll give it the benefit of the doubt this time), I promised a workout today too! Here's one that I adapted for anyone, whether you are a workout novice or you could run 10 miles in your sleep :) It can be done on any sort of track, but since the weather has been so nice, I vote an outdoor track! Get some vitamin D in while you work out :)

For beginners (this is you if you work out less than 3 days a week):
Walk 1 lap to warm up. Skip halfway down the straightaway, then do some walking marches (kick your foot out in front of you) back to where you started. Starting on a curve, speed walk the curve, then jog the straightaway until the curve starts again. Repeat this for each curve and straightaway for 4 laps. Cool down with a walking lap, then stretch for 5 minutes. BOOM, a one mile workout, completed!

For intermediates (for those of you who walk/elliptical/bike//jog 3-5 days a week):
Walk 1 lap, then jog 1 lap to warm up. Skip halfway down the straightaway, then do walking marches coming back. Starting on a straightaway, speed walk the straightaway, jog the curve, and run (this should be a definite faster pace than your jog) the other straightaway. Speed walk the other curve, then jog the straightaway, and run the next curve. Repeat this speed walk/jog/run for 6 laps. Cool down by jogging half a lap, then walking a lap. Stretch for 5 minutes. Tada! A mile and half in no time :)

For advancees (all you do is run, all day, everyday):
Jog 2 laps for warm up, then do some skips, high knees, and RDLs. Starting at the 400 meter line (this will be marked on any outdoor track), run a hard lap (400 meters). Without stopping, jog another lap, then start right into another 400. Do 6 hard 400s (12 400s total). If this is too hard, take a 3-4 minute rest after the first 3 hard 400s, then do the last 3. After your last jogging 400, jog one more lap to cool down, then walk half a lap. Stretch well, making sure to get your hip flexors, hamstrings and glutes. That's 3 miles on the track, you running fool! :)

Questions/comments on the workouts? Leave them for me and I'll do my best to answer! Let me know if you try any of them out! I'm off to hammer out my workout and down some more coffee (yesss), hope your Wednesday is unforgettable!

--KQ