Quick Healthy Thai Chicken Cauliflower Rice Bowl

Sometimes a self-directed health guilt trip and a slapdash new recipe can actually work out for once.  My track record lately on poorly-thought-out and super rushed recipe trials has been…not great.  Due to tons of travel lately (and not a little bit of stress and convenience-based choices), I’m feeling less than spry and as soon as I got back from a week at the wineries of Sonoma I really felt the need to LOCK IT DOWN.

I really needed to actually eat a decent healthy lunch last week, and this thai chicken with cauliflower rice happened to catch my eye.  I actually threw it together in just a few minutes *while* making my dinner for that night, and to my surprise it was totally awesome!  Easy, delicious, and fast.

And best of all, it made amazeball leftovers.  Like, leftovers I actually looked forward to warming up at work.  I made a few tweaks to the recipe, both playing with the ingredients in the sauce slightly as well as combining a few steps to make it even easier.

Preheat your oven to 400° F and spray two rimmed baking sheets with coconut oil spray.  I always line my sheets with aluminum foil first, for easy clean-up and no sticking.

Divide the riced cauliflower between the pans and spray with coconut oil once again.  Sprinkle with a few shakes of garlic powder and a bit of kosher salt, then roast for about 20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway.  You want it golden brown and fragrant.

Meanwhile, spray a 12-inch nonstick skillet or cast iron pan with coconut oil and heat to medium/medium-high heat.  Once it’s hot, add the ground chicken or turkey and chop it up.  Cook until it’s no longer pink.

While the meat is cooking, make the sauce.  In a small or medium bowl, whisk together the broth, coconut aminos/tamari, brown sugar, rice vinegar, lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, and ginger.  Add a tiny bit of sriracha, to taste (I’m a baby so it truly is a tiny bit).  Whisk in your cornstarch slurry too.

When the chicken is fully cooked, turn the heat to medium-high/high and pour in the sauce.  Bring to a boil, then you can turn the heat back down.

Add in all of your carrots and green onion pieces, and then most of your cilantro and peanuts—just reserve a bit of each for garnish.  Stir together and let cook for a few minutes.

Divide the toasted cauliflower rice between bowls or containers and top with the chicken mixture.  Garnish with the rest of your peanuts and cilantro.

This really does make amazing leftovers!  I brought it to work for a couple days and had for dinner a couple nights and I actually looked forward to my lunch…not always the case with leftovers.  I would recommend finishing it off within about 3-4 days max.

Other healthy dinner options you’ll love:

• Roasted Vegetable & Barley Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing
• One-Pot Yellow Cauliflower & Chickpea Curry
• Korean BBQ Cauliflower & Chickpeas
• Balsamic Chicken and Brussels Sprouts
• Winter Roasted Vegetable & Grain Salad with Balsamic Dressing

Quick Healthy Thai Chicken Cauliflower Rice Bowl

• 1 head of cauliflower (riced), or 2 bags of cauliflower rice
• For roasting:  coconut oil spray, garlic powder, kosher salt
• 1 pound of lean ground chicken or turkey
• 1/2 cup of low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons of coconut aminos or low-sodium tamari
• 1 tablespoon of light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar
• Juice of 1/2 a lime
• 2 teaspoons of fish sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon of grated fresh garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon of grated fresh ginger (optional)
• Small amount of sriracha
• Cornstarch slurry (2 teaspoons cornstarch plus 2 teaspoons water)
• Julienned carrots (couple handfuls, like maybe 2 carrots’ worth)
• Chopped lightly salted peanuts
• Sliced green onions (tops and bottoms, leave out the middles)
• Chopped fresh cilantro

1. Preheat your oven to 400° F and spray two rimmed baking sheets with coconut oil spray.  I always line my sheets with aluminum foil first, for easy clean-up and no sticking.
2. Divide the riced cauliflower between the pans and spray with coconut oil once again.  Sprinkle with a few shakes of garlic powder and a bit of kosher salt, then roast for about 20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway.  You want it golden brown and fragrant.
3. Meanwhile, spray a 12-inch nonstick skillet or cast iron pan with coconut oil and heat to medium/medium-high heat.
4. Once it’s hot, add the ground chicken or turkey and chop it up.  Cook until it’s no longer pink.
5. While the meat is cooking, make the sauce.  In a small or medium bowl, whisk together the broth, coconut aminos/tamari, brown sugar, rice vinegar, lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, and ginger.  Add a tiny bit of sriracha, to taste (I’m a baby so it truly is a tiny bit).  Whisk in your cornstarch slurry too.
6. When the chicken is fully cooked, turn the heat to medium-high/high and pour in the sauce.  Bring to a boil, then you can turn the heat back down and add in all of your carrots and green onion pieces, and then most of your cilantro and peanuts—just reserve a bit of each for garnish.  Stir together and let it cook for a few minutes.
7. Divide the toasted cauliflower rice between bowls or containers and top with the chicken mixture.  Garnish with the rest of your peanuts and cilantro.

Adapted slightly from Simply Scratch