Chicken and Sweet Potato Fried Rice

So we’ve been watching The Voice lately. Good stuff. I have a major girl crush on Gwen. We keep hearing over and over again that “if you’re prepared, there’s nothing to be nervous about!” (says the coaches to the singers). I want to chat about dinner preparedness for a second.

I find that a lot of people stress about dinner or get easily in a rut of making the same meals. Many of you, like my friend Lisa, plan recipes for the week and food shop with specific list in hand. Others keep a full pantry/freezer and are content throwing something together each night. I fall somewhere in between but I should say I consider myself lucky because if I told my husband we were having peanut butter banana smoothies and Cliff bars for dinner, he’d be pumped. He puts zero demands on dinner. All of this being said I want to suggest a two part dinner for you this coming week – if you’re prepared, there’s no room to dread!

Night 1 – cook a pork tenderloin with a side of brown rice and some veggies. Cook about two cups more rice than you’ll need and place in tupperware. Night two, make this dish! If your rice is cooked ahead, this comes together in about twenty minutes. Grating the sweet potato leads to SUPER fast cooking (though it will look like cheddar cheese). It lends hidden nutrition along with some added moisture (instead of adding oil). This is super healthy but digging into a big plate of warm, flavor-packed deliciousness sure won’t feel like you’re “being good”.

Chicken and Sweet Potato Fried Rice

Serves 4

4 egg whites (or 1/2 c. liquid egg whites)

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 white onion, chopped

1 sweet potato, peeled and grated in largest holes of grater

3 cloves garlic, minced

12 oz. boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, chopped into bite sized pieces

2 c. cooked brown rice

2 c. frozen peas

3 tbsp. soy sauce

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

pinch sugar, pinch salt to taste

1. Mist a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium heat. Scramble egg whites. Set aside.

2. Add oil to skillet and swirl to coat, then add onion, sweet potato and garlic. Saute over medium high heat, stirring frequently, until onion is softened, about 8 minutes.

3. Push potato onion mixture to the edge of the pan and add chicken to empty side. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through (about five minutes).

4. Add rice, peas, soy sauce, reserved egg whites, garlic powder and pinch each of sugar and salt. Stir to combine and serve.