Stir Fry Vegetables

Stir fry is a great way to get a variety of vegetables into you meal and to simultaneously use up what needs to be eaten in your fridge. To start a stir fry I empty my vegetable drawer onto the counter and start cutting. I use a variety of veggies, but I find I like the flavor better when I use no more than 4 of one kind at a time. This isn't a rule though it is my personal preference. If you like massive variety in your stir fry, go for it. Make a vegetable Lollapalooza. Below I listed a couple combinations that I have liked.

The Green Gourmet
Garlic, chopped finely
Ginger, peeled and chopped finely
Green onions, chopped
Onion, cut in 1/2 and thin sliced
Green beans (fresh from Trader Joes)
Broccolini (I also get from Trader Joes)
Celery, chopped

I used coconut oil to lightly sauté the garlic, green, onion, onion and ginger. Then I added the green beans and celery and sautéed until almost done. You can then add the broccolini to you pan or wok and sauté it. I actually sautéed it part of the way in another pan because I was cooking so many veggies my wok was going to be too full. If you get too many veggies in a pan they end up tasting more steamed than stir fried.

I like my veggies to taste like my veggies so I don't add a whole lot of seasoning. I sprinkled a little garlic sea salt on it or use Braggs liquid amines. The liquid amino as can be found at New Seasons or in Freddie’s Nutrition center and they taste similar to soy sauce except it is wheat free and has less sodium. Others like to add hot sauce to them when they are done. You could sprinkle on Italian Seasoning or any no-salt MSG free seasoning mix.

Oriental Mix
I typically always use green onion, garlic and ginger and then you can use other combinations of vegetables. You could also try using:
Snow peas
Red peppers
Bok choy, chopped

Carrots and Peas
In this mix you would sauté the snow peas, peppers and white part of the boo chou, then add the leaves near the end.

Carrot
Onion
Sugar snap peas
Bean sprouts

In this mix you would sauté the carrot soften and are almost done. Then remove the carrots from the pan and put aside temporarily. Sautee the onion, along with the garlic, green onion and ginger I mentioned above that I use with all my stir fries. Once the onion is translucent add the carrots back into the pan along with the sugar snap peas. After a few minutes and the peas are almost done add the bean sprouts and cooked until warmed through.

Any combination of vegetable will work. People often ask me about using frozen vegetables. I'm most sure they would work in a stir fry because usually stir fry veggies have a bit of crunch to them and the frozen would add too much water making you stir fry taste too mushy. However, even though they aren't great for stir fries frozen are an ok alternative to getting some veggies into your body if you are in a pinch for time.

MEAL IDEA:
To turn this into a meal slice chicken breasts and sauté in your wok or fry pan prior to sautéing the vegetables. Sprinkle with garlic sea salt. When it is cooked removed from pan and store in covered container on warm until ready to serve. Serve on top of a big plate of stir fried vegetables. If you have kids or family members that have to have a starch with their meal you can serve it with a 1/2 cup side of quinoa or rice.