21 Day Flank Steak Stir Fry

Happy Wednesday, friends. I am ready for a nice chill weekend ahead. We have dinner plans Friday night with friends and heading to my parent's house for Palm Sunday dinner. I watered my orchid again today and she seems to be doing pretty well (all petals still in tact!) I have her hanging out by the window sill and so far so good. I can't wait for it to get warmer out so we can plant some mason jar herbs on the porch again this year. I am thinking of trying some mint and dill this time around in addition to our basil and thyme. I started my day off making another banana nutter Shakeology and it really hit the spot. It kept me full all the way through 1 p.m. I think I will be having the same tomorrow since I will be heading into the office. Its a great to-go breakfast option. For lunch I was inspired by my friend Michelle's mason jar salads that she has been eating all week. So last night I prepped all of my veggies, chopped up some baby spinach and boiled whole wheat pasta. This afternoon I took all of the fixings out of the fridge and mixed them all together, measuring everything out in my colored containers of course. I mixed in some spinach, broccoli, snow peas, bell peppers, celery and cherry tomatoes with whole wheat pasta and swiss and topped it with 21 day fix balsamic dressing. It was so satisfying and even though I was still full from breakfast, I knew I had to get some veggies in for the day. I did my third workout which focused mainly on legs. I have been extremely sore, but its keeping me focused to push on. I'm actually almost enjoying the feeling now!

I've been extra conscious of my water intake this week. Typically I love water morning, noon and night, but its been a lot harder getting it into my everyday diet with the weather being so chilly. I've drank well over 60 ounces each day and I can definitely feel a difference and I'm a lot more full all day long. I started making a game out of it. How fast can I finish and refill this bottle sorta thing. For dinner John and I made a 21 day fix recipe with a few extra veggies in the mix. John chopped up mushrooms, peppers, broccoli and snow peas while I prepped the sauce and steak.

 

 

Once we had everything ready to go, I heated up the wok with a little oil and allowed it to get really hot. I tossed in our steak and let brown until it was no longer pink. I love to use skirt or flank steak since it taste just as good on the stove top as it does on the grill. Once the steak was finished I transferred to a separate bowl and tossed my veggies into the already heated wok, cooking them for about 10 minutes until they were nice and soft. While those were coming together John made one of our go-to simple salads and tossed everything in a lemon and oil dressing he makes all the time. Its so good and extremely light and refreshing. Its our not-so-fancy but so damn good salad concoction.

Once my veggies and meat were cooked through I tossed them together, added the sauce and let cook on high heat. I tossed in some sesame seeds I had in the cabinet for a little added crunch. 

 

 

I recently posted an Asian beef stir fry we had made last week and believe it or not this was JUST as delicious! Stir fries are so simple to throw together and really can have anything in them. Start with a protein like chicken, steak, shrimp or tofu and then add in whatever vegetables you like. Its a true no-brainer. The finished product was really satisfying and although I could have had some brown rice on the side it really wasn't needed. Protein and veggies here please!

Ingredients: 

-¼ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
-6 tbsp. water, divided use
-2 tbsp. corn starch, divided use
-1 tbsp. raw honey
-1 lb. raw top sirloin beef, flank or skirt steak trimmed of fat and sliced into ½-inch thick pieces
-1 tsp. coconut oil
-4 cups broccoli florets
-2 medium bell peppers, cut into 1-inch cubes

-1 cup of snow peas 

-1 cup of mushrooms

-1 tsp of sesame seeds
-2 cloves garlic, chopped
-1 thin slice fresh ginger, peeled, finely chopped (I used ground ginger since I didn't have any fresh in the fridge)

Directions: 

Combine soy sauce, 4 tbsp. water, 1 tbsp. corn starch, minced garlic, ground ginger and honey in a small bowl; mix well and set aside. Combine remaining 1 tbsp. of cornstarch and 2 tbsp. of water in a large bowl; mix well. Add to beef and toss gently to coat. Heat oil in large skillet over high heat. Add beef, stirring frequently for 5 minutes or until cooked through and no longer pink. Remove from skillet. Add broccoli, bell peppers, snow peas and mushrooms to skillet stirring frequently for about 10 minutes until they are soft. Add your beef back into the wok with your veggies. Add soy sauce mixture to skillet and heat all together mixing for another 5-10 minutes. Top off with sesame seeds and serve.

I will admit I typically would love a glass of wine by mid-week, but I think I will wait until the weekend to have a glass. It does count as a treat towards the food plan and I have no problem counting it in. Its good for the blood anyways, right? I've already packed my lunch for tomorrow (plan on having the same salad as today), and will be at my parents at night for dinner. Typically my mom cooks very healthy so we will see what she is planning on cooking up or if we will head out somewhere. 

Our DVR is empty and I am counting down the days until Game of Thrones starts back up. Until then its really bad relationship reality TV and lots of detective shows. Doesn't take much to peak my interest. Although I have been slightly obsessed with the HGTV show Fixer Upper with the Gaines family. For those of you who haven't seen the show, you must watch and report back if you'd like to swap places with Joanna Gaines for a week. She's pretty much been my girl crush for a little bit now and has killer style and the cutest farm life/family ever. You can catch the show on Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. Well time to spend some quality time on the couch veggin' out with the hubs. Hope you all enjoy your Wednesday night! xo