I am one of those people who do the whole weekly once-and-done “meal-prep” system of food preparation as part of my diet, lifestyle, and athletic goals. I won’t go into the details of how I do my exact system of meal prep here but let’s just say that stir fry makes it on my menu of weekly meals more often than just about any other food or recipe that I make for any given week of the year. In fact, it is also the #1 recipe or some form of it that I send off to my remote clients I coach across the states. It is so versatile and adaptable to taste preferences, dietary needs, health/fitness goals that I cant think of another dish as tweakable as stir-fry. Let me offer you an overview of how I make my stir-fry recipes and how I teach my clients/athletes to whip up their own versions for their needs and likes. It could not be easier and as a plus… really freaking delicious as well!
The Ingredients- There are 3 main actors to every stir-fry and then 2 supporting actors as well. You have protein/meat, veggies, and then the grain/carb. Then your supporting roles are the herbs and spices and the sauces you choose to add to the mix. Below is a pretty good list of the most common actors I use on a continuous rotation each week to never have the same exact stir-fry dish for more than a 7 day period.
Proteins: (pick 1)
- grilled chicken
- lean steak
- lean pork
- jumbo shrimp
- scallops
- wild salmon
- firm tofu or tempeh*
- edemame*
Veggies: (pick 3-5) (use a large wok pan and your process will be much easier)
- chopped asparagas tips
- snow peas
- chopped green bell pepper
- chopped scallions or onions
- sliced green & yellow zucchini squash^
- chopped broccoli and/or cauliflower^
- sliced carrots^
- sliced or shaved brussels sprouts
- sliced mushrooms or small whole mushrooms
- string beans
- riced cauliflower and/or broccoli rice (for those who need/want lower carb option)
- bean sprouts
- ^Normandy Blend contains all of these in frozen bags to save more time
Starch/Carb/Grain: (pick 1)
- White rice
- Jasmine rice
- Brown rice
- Black rice (forbidden rice)
- Quinoa*
- Egg noodles
- Soba noodles
- Buckwheat noodles
- Ramen noodles
Herbs/Spices (pick 2 or 3 and use to taste)
- garlic salt or powder
- ginger
- red pepper flakes
- cumin
- turmeric
- pepper
- pink salt
- onion salt or powder
- toasted sesame seeds
Sauces/Marinades: (pick 1 and watch how much you use, a little goes a long way)
- Low sugar Teriyaki sauce
- Worchestershire sauce
- Low sodium Soy sauce
- White Wine vinegar
- Plum sauce
- Ponzu sauce
Once you know the combination of food items you will make for that week’s stir-fry dishes you can bulk prep all of them in advance at one time so that you have 3 large air-tight containers (Tupperware in my case) filled with your protein of choice, grain of choice, and all the veggies combined in another container. I add my spices and sauces to the foods as they are cooked so they do not need to be added later on. It’s key not to add too much sauce/marinade or the veggies will go soggy within a few days. Now all you have to do is scoop out the foods from each of the 3 containers in the portions needed for that day’s stir-fry meal and pack it into a smaller, microwave-safe travel container to bring to work/gym, etc… its ready in ~5 minutes via a quick zap in the microwave.
How much of each food ingredient to use is dependent on the person, their goals, number of meals they eat per day, among other factors. I simply portion mine out to try and hit as close to 100 grams of carbs, 60 grams of protein, and 15 grams of fat for each stir-fry meal. Keep in mind my goal is to gain muscle weight each week and to fuel my daily job demands as well as my training demands for powerlifting. I am also a 6’2”, 190lb male. I’ll do me, you do you.
Special Notes:
I put a light coat of pecan oil on my stir-fry pan with a whisk brush before I cook by veggies (1 tsp worth)
I dice up my meats and season them before grilling them with cooking olive oil spray.
I do all my rice in a rice cooker to simply set it and forget it till done.
I like my veggies crisp vs soft so I pull them off the heat after 10-12 minutes on high
I use almost all frozen veggies when possible to save on prep time even more.
I always cook the veggies and meats separately and store them separately.
I do all my meats in bulk on my Blackstone griddle to speed up the prep.
(*) above denotes the best options for vegetarians and vegans.
