Mmm, Chinese takeout! Who else loves to binge-watch Game of Thrones and chow down on the contents of a couple of those little red-and-white, dragon-emblazoned paper boxes? Sounds tempting after a crazy week of pulling double shifts at work, doesn’t it? Beloved Millennial reader, believe us when we tell you—We get it. The stressors of modern life are far more than enough to drive even the hardest of workers into a headspace of not just feeling the need to binge on Netflix, but binge out on greasy food too! We're here to save the day with this Garlic Shrimp and Broccoli Meal Prep recipe.
Take-out vs. Homemade Shrimp and Broccoli:
It probably comes as no surprise whatsoever that indulging in the escape of momentary food bliss can be remarkably unhealthy though, regardless of how tantalizing it seems. But fortunately, now you can totally still enjoy delicious takeout-style food in a healthy way—And it won’t require you to miss so much as a second of that gritty series finale the whole internet has been buzzing about! The way to do it? This Whole30-compliant garlic shrimp and broccoli meal prep recipe!
How many calories are in there?
There’s so much to love about Chinese restaurants—The problem is just that they so often cook with (very literally) heart-stopping amounts of MSG and trans fats in to make their food taste delicious. It is because of this way of cooking that a single egg roll can contain 300-350 calories, for example, and that’s just one dish! This garlic shrimp and broccoli meal prep recipe have just 468 calories for the entire filling meal, and it’s packed with healthy veggies as well!
Healthy Shrimp and Broccoli...
On that note, let’s talk about some of the tremendous nutritional value of today’s dish! Broccoli, being one of this shrimp and broccoli meal prep recipe’s primary ingredients, contains a very generous 2.5g of fiber per cup! Fiber is a vital element of any healthy diet—Not only does it keep your stomach fuller for longer, but it also aids in your gut health and blood sugar regulation! Other benefits of broccoli include 2.5g of protein and a skimpy 25 calories per cup. And that’s just one major ingredient in this recipe! We love our broccoli at MPOF, and if you do too, check out this other Asian-inspired dish, a Low Carb Beef Broccoli Stir Fry, our Sun Dried Tomato, Broccoli & Portobello Mushroom Mac & Cheese meal prep recipe! As always with veggies, the more the merrier.
What about the sauce?
Some of what makes traditional Chinese takeout so darn tasty is the sweet sauces used in it! But just because this garlic shrimp and broccoli meal prep recipe is so much healthier doesn’t mean that it skips on that friggin’ sweet, sweet sauce! In fact, this recipe is positively genius because it utilizes a Whole30-compliant garlic sauce that is sweetened with a Medjool date! We found it to compliment the other flavors in this dish just as well as a traditional takeout sauce, which could contain unhealthy sweeteners like high-fructose corn syrup.
Garlic Shrimp & Broccoli Meal Prep Ingredients:
Shrimp and Broccoli
- 1 ½ pounds jumbo shrimp
- 1 pound broccoli, chopped
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
Garlic Sauce
- 6 tablespoons coconut aminos
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 Medjool date (soften in water, if hard)
- 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
- Red chili, to taste
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon arrowroot powder
Cauliflower Rice
- 1 head cauliflower
- Sea salt, to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Give this awesome take on takeout a try this week for your lunch or dinner prepped meals, or as a regular takeout alternative for your Friday night Netflix-after-work ritual. Your body will show you infinitely more thanks than the number of times it says “thank you” on a plastic Chinese takeout bag!
Garlic Shrimp & Broccoli Meal Prep
Ingredients
Shrimp & Broccoli
- 1.5 pounds Shrimp
- 1 pound Broccoli chopped
- 1 tbs sesame oil
Garlic Sauce
- 6 tbs Coconut Aminos
- 1 tbs sesame oil
- 1 tbs Ginger grated
- 1 tbs white wine vinegar
- 1 Medjool date soaked in water
- red chili to taste
- 3 tbs Minced Garlic
- 1 teaspoon arrowroot powder
Cauliflower Rice
- 1 medium head cauliflower
- 1 tbs olive oil
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the garlic sauce by adding all ingredients, except the garlic, to a blender, and processing until very smooth.
- Prepare the cauliflower by chopping it to small pieces, and adding the pieces to a food processor bowl, and processing until it forms rice-sized pieces. Be careful not to overprocess the cauliflower or it will become mushy.
- Add olive oil to a skillet over high heat, and stir fry the cauliflower for 3-5 minutes, until the cauliflower it hot. Avoid cooking too long or it will become watery.
- Set the cauliflower rice aside, and rinse the skillet. Add sesame oil to the skillet, and place it back over high heat.
- Add garlic to the hot skillet, and fry for 3-4 minutes, until the garlic just starts to brown. Add the prawns and broccoli, and stir fry 5-7 minutes.
- Push the prawns and broccoli aside, and add the sauce to the skillet. Add the arrowroot, and then stir the sauce as it thickens.
- Stir the shrimp and broccoli together with the sauce and remove from heat.
- Serve the stir fry over the cauliflower rice.
