Veggie Stir Fry with Lemon Tahini Drizzle

For today's installment of Scrumptious Sunday, I wanted to highlight stir fry.

For as as long as I can remember, I've craved stir fry. It didn't matter if it was homemade or from a restaurant. It just always kept me wanting more. It didn't matter if it was the soy-licious sauce, the crispy crunch of the carrots, the fluffy rice...I loved it all. And let's be honest, it's a one pot meal, which is totally me. But, now I avoid soy, so I've got to come up with a wonderful alternative, and I think I did (psst.....it deals with tahini)!

To start, I collected all my pots and pans together. I used:
*a chefs knife
*cutting board
*12 inch sauté pan
*a medium sized soup pot
​*colander

I then grabbed all my veggies:
*broccoli spears
*beet slices
*green peas
*green beans
*carrots

I used mostly frozen veggies, except for the fresh carrots. Since I'm just cooking for myself, having lots of different frozen veggies to choose from gives me variety, color, and lots of good nutrition! Plus, frozen veggies stay fresh...no waste!

Tips:
*Put a damp paper towel under a cutting board to prevent the cutting board from slipping. No slipping means less of a chance to cut yourself inadvertently (no one needs to do that!)
*After you wash/rinse your carrots, keep the skins on when you chop! They actually contain a plethora of the nutrients (and after all these years of disposing of those little orange strands...whoops)

Before I get to the recipe, I wanted to chat a little bit about soba noodles.

Soba is the Japanese word for buckwheat. They are thin, spaghetti like noodles made from buckwheat flour and/or other combinations of flours. Just because the word wheat is in the name doesn't mean there is wheat lurking in the flour. It is a gluten free flour!

This particular brand I bought is made of buckwheat flour and sweet potato and is wheat and gluten free. If you are gluten free, or just want to avoid gluten, it's important to check the labels. Sometimes, soba noodles can be made with wheat flour or another gluten containing flour. Right now my nutrition calls for avoiding gluten, so gluten free is good for me!

Alright, now I'll stop talking and get right to the recipe!

Ingredients:
2 carrots, washed and cut into coins 1 bag frozen broccoli, steamed
10 beet slices (about 1 small beet if using fresh)
30 frozen green beans
1/3 cup frozen green peas
1 tbsp coconut oil
Salt
Pepper
1 tbsp Herbs de Provence
1 bunch (about the size of a quarter) soba noodles
Water (to cook noodles)


Steps:


1. Steam frozen broccoli in 1/4 cup water in soup pot. (I just bring the water to a boil and let steam until tender, about 3-5 minutes).

2. While the broccoli is steaming, chop carrots into coins. Once broccoli has been steamed, drain it and transfer broccoli to the cutting board for a rough chop. Set broccoli aside.

3. Refill soup pot with water and place back on stove. Sprinkle water with a bit of salt. Bring to a boil.

4. Put 1 tbsp coconut oil in skillet over medium high heat. Once the oil has melted, add the carrot coins, beer slices, green beans, and green peas. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and the Herbs de Provence over all veggies. Stir and cook until all veggies are thawed and mixed well, about 7-10 minutes.

5. Once salted water is up to a boil, then add soba noodles. Lower heat and cook for 5-6 minutes until noodles are soft and pliable. Drain noodles in colander and rinse it cold water (tip: it helps noodles not stick together). Look at the photo bomb from my sous chef!

6. Returning to your veggie skillet, add in chopped broccoli and stir well. Cut off heat and set pan aside.

7. Make dressing in a small jelly or mason jar. Make sure you've got a good lid!

Ingredients:
*5 tbsp coconut oil (I used liquid)
*3 tbsp tahini
*Juice of 1 lemon
*Salt
*Pepper

Add add all ingredients into jar. Screw the lid on tight and shake to emulsify (aka mix) dressing together.

After the shaking:

8. To serve, scoop in a bowl and drizzle with dressing. Make sure you shake dressing before you drizzle...it will separate after sitting in fridge for a bit.

Before drizzle:

After drizzle:

There you have it! A very simple, easy dinner which is super filling! I served this dinner with a simple salad of spring mix and a squirt of lemon juice.

This dish lasts in the fridge for 4 days......if it actually lasts that long! You could also store this dish in the freezer for a couple months.

You can also use tamari or coconut aminos if you want a more traditional stir fry flavor. I just wanted to switch it up a bit.

If you'd like a meat option, this dish would be good with crumbled bacon, chopped chicken, or turkey.

You can also swap out some veggies if the ones I use didn't trip your trigger. Brussel sprouts, chopped cabbage, zucchini, mini corn, celery, onions, etc. would also be fantastic and nutritious.

Take this dish and make it your own. Making a recipe with my own variations actually used to scare me. I thought recipes could only be made one way...the way they were made in the book. Turns out, they don't!! And I remember how free I felt when I discovered I could fix recipes with my favorite things instead of the veggies I didn't like (like celery blech lol 😝)...so I hope these suggestions give you "permission" to do the same.

Post your pictures with the hashtag #scrumptioussunday...I can't wait to see your creations! Enjoy!