Can fast food really be healthy?
It can when it’s a quick no-cook supper assembled at home.
On summer nights when the kitchen is scorching and the takeout temptation peaks, taking the healthy route is easy with dishes that take advantage of convenient ingredients readily available at most grocers.
Deli meats, prewashed and cut produce, and flavorful prepared sauces can be the healthful cook’s secret weapons, but you’ll need to use some nutrition smarts when you shop.
For example, sliced deli meats are a good way to avoid cooking, but they can be loaded with salt and fat. The trick is the make smart choices, such as deli roasted pork, which has only 70 calories, 3 grams of fat and under 300 milligrams of sodium per 2-ounce serving.
Roasted turkey breast is another possibility, though be warned – while it usually is low in fat and calories, it often has as much as 600 milligrams of sodium per 2-ounce serving.
In this recipe for roast pork hoisin wraps, which can be assembled in less than 25 minutes, common low-prep ingredients from the deli counter, produce department and Asian aisle are combined for a sensational summer meal.
The veggies in this wrap also require minimal prep. Mung bean sprouts need only be rinsed, and the carrots can be purchased preshredded. Only the scallions need to be sliced in your kitchen.
Prewashed and prepped vegetables do cost a bit more than whole ones, but in many cases the ease of use makes up for it. Plus, if the convenience means you eat more vegetables, then they are well worth the price.
A hoisin-based sauce, rich with the flavors of garlic, red chili peppers, vinegar and other spices, gives the roasted pork wraps its Asian accent. Hoisin sauce (found in the Asian food section of the market) is a smart choice because it combines many flavors in one jar.
As with many prepared ingredients, hoisin is quite salty so don’t use too much. In this case, frozen orange juice concentrate is used to add a touch of acidity and extend the sauce without adding salt.
The roasted pork and vegetable mixture is wrapped burrito-style in a whole-wheat tortilla, which has more flavor, fiber and nutrients than white flour versions. The recipe calls for heating the whole wrap in the microwave, but they’re delicious eaten cold as well.
And if you can’t find roasted pork at your deli, roasted turkey will do just fine.
To make it a meal, serve roast pork hoisin wraps with iced green tea and a salad of mesclun mix topped with orange slices.
Roasted pork hoisin wraps
1/4cup hoisin sauce
1tablespoon frozen orange juice concentrate
2cups mung bean sprouts
1cup shredded carrots
1/2cup thinly slice scallions
8ounces thickly sliced deli roasted pork, cut into 1/4-inch strips
4burrito-size whole-wheat flour tortillas
In a large bowl, combine the hoisin sauce and orange juice concentrate. Add the sprouts, carrots, scallions and pork, then toss well to coat.
Spoon 1/4 of the pork mixture in a line down the center of each tortilla. Fold the ends inward, then roll up the tortillas, finishing with the seam side down.
Heat the wraps on a plate in the microwave on high power until the filling is hot, about 2 minutes. Slice each wrap crosswise into two pieces to serve.
Makes 4 servings. Per serving: 292 calories; 9 g fat (3 g saturated); 52 mg cholesterol; 31 g carbohydrate; 21 g protein; 4 g fiber; 561 mg sodium.
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