Okay, this is actually a spin off of a family recipe from my aunt, "Sweet and Sour Meatballs." I love, love, LOVE her recipe, but I was looking to make a lower calorie version. I'll share my version. This is extremely low in fat, if you're watching your fat intake. :)
Seriously, this is SO good. It tastes SO sinful, but it's really not that bad. :) The sauce is really low calorie, it's the rice that gets ya. lol... I used brown rice, for the nutrition factor. It's not any lower calorie but it does have more nutrition in it. :)
And before anyone comments and says, "this isn't authentic sweet and sour," I just wanna say, "Yes... I know..." :P
What you'll need:
Brown rice (as much as you need for your family)
Boneless, skinless, chicken breast (2 or 3)
1 large can pineapple tidbits (drain but SAVE juice)
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 large onion, diced
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C splenda**
1/2 C distilled white vinegar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp ground ginger
2 Tbsp corn starch (give or take)
**The recipe actually calls for 1 cup brown sugar, but I wanted to lessen the calories a little. I didn't have splenda brown sugar, but still wanted that brown sugar taste, so I did a half and half.
Start your rice, as per the package directions. Brown rice takes at least double the time that white rice does. I'm always boasting about how awesome having a rice cooker is, but it doesn't work for brown rice, so you'll have to do this on the stove. ;)
Dice up the chicken and brown it in a pan with deep sides. Season it as you wish. I just used salt and pepper.
While that's cooking, mix the sugar, splenda, pineapple juice, vinegar, soy sauce and ginger together in a bowl.
Add the onion and pepper and cook that until the vegetables begin to soften a bit.
Add the sugar mixture to the pan and bring it to a boil.
Make a slurry of cornstarch and water, and pour it into the sauce to thicken. You can add less or more, depending on how thick you'd prefer it. Add the pineapple last.
Now just let it simmer on really low until your rice is done. Serve over the rice.
The sauce easily makes 6 servings. The nutrition information I've added is for the sauce only -- it does not include the info for the rice.
Per serving:
Calories -- 204
Carbs -- 39g
Fat -- 1g
Protein -- 9g
Oooh...this looks yummy! I'll have to put this on my grocery list in the coming weeks. I'm also switching over to brown rice yet I find that I only like the taste of it when it is smothered in something else. :) And this would be perfect!
ReplyDeleteI also had no idea that they have brown sugar Splenda. Brown sugar is a weakness of mine so I'll have to check that out.
Yeah, brown rice just can't replace the yummy stickiness of white rice. :P But, I promised myself that I'd work on my health, so I guess it's something I can get used to. haha... I'm also not a fan of the texture of brown rice... It's... Weird.
DeleteIt is a difficult texture to get used to, yet it doesn't spike my insulin as much so...lol. Again - if I smother it in something I actually don't mind it. I don't think I could eat it plain, though.
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