Make: Peanut Chicken and Honey-Lime Slaw

Meal planning made easy

At school we do a mini-unit on meal planning, which my students usually find to be, well, less than exciting. Every year I plead with them: “Learn now because in a few years you will stand in your kitchen, staring with a befuddled look at your fridge, wondering what goes with what as the dinnertime minutes tick away.” That’s why today, instead of giving you a recipe for a side or dessert, I’m suggesting an entire meal! With summer barbeques right around the corner, I hope it comes in handy.

When putting together a menu, you need to consider many factors. Once filled, your plate should show a variation in color, temperature, flavor, size, shape and texture. You need to consider your guests health (allergies, diets, etc.) as well as the season (beef stew in July? I don’t think so).

In this “easy enough for a weeknight” dinner, the ingredients get thrown together and bathed in a healthy-but-tastes-indulgent peanut sauce. The dish is spicy, warm and colorful. Bright cilantro freshens up the coleslaw so that it complements the main course. You’ll notice, though, that there are many overlapping ingredients. The lime, cilantro and honey keep things cohesive and save you money on your grocery bill.

To finish this meal, you can serve it with grilled flatbread; just mist with olive oil and throw it right on the grill. Since your dinner is veggie-tastic and low in calories, consider mango sorbet with fresh whipped cream for dessert. This is a great meal to beat the heat, as you won’t need to spend too much time at the stove. And besides, the mental leg-work has been done for you. Less time in the kitchen equals more time enjoying this gorgeous weather!

Low-Cal Peanut Chicken and Asian Slaw
Serves four

For the peanut sauce
1/4 c. peanut butter
1/4 c. light coconut milk
2 tbsp. rice vinegar
3 tbsp. chopped cilantro
1 tbsp. honey
Juice of 1/2 a lime (about 1 tbsp.)
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

For the chicken
2 large chicken breasts, sliced into strips
1 red onion, thinly sliced
3 red or yellow bell peppers, sliced
1/2 tsp. kosher salt and pepper to taste

For the slaw
14 oz. bag coleslaw mix
1/4 c. rice vinegar
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tbsp. lime juice (from 1 lime)
1/4 c. sliced scallion
1 tsp. honey
1/4 c. roughly chopped cilantro

1. Preheat oven to 425. Combine ingredients for peanut sauce in a small bowl and stir until smoothly combined.
2. Tear a two-foot long sheet of tin foil and press one half of it into a 9×12 baking dish.
3. Mist lightly with nonstick spray and spread onions and peppers evenly into pan.
4. Lay sliced chicken on top of the veggies and drizzle it all with peanut sauce. Mix lightly and top with kosher salt and pepper to taste.
5. Fold the other half of the foil over top and crease the edges together, enclosing the contents.
6. Bake for 35 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, combine all ingredients for the slaw and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
8. Plate slaw and top with chicken/veggie mixture when cooked. Serve.

Per serving: 450 calories, 26 fat grams, 73 milligrams cholesterol, 165 milligrams sodium, 24 grams carbs, 3 grams dietary fiber, 8 grams sugar, 27 grams protein.

>> Get more Be Well Philly recipes here.

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Becca Boyd is a wife and new mom who teaches culinary courses to students in the Radnor School District. She creates healthy and delicious recipes in her West Chester kitchen and blogs about them on her website, Home Beccanomics.