Reading Time: 2 minutesI love Asian food because I love the mixture of salty and sweet together. But I find after eating it, I blow up and retain water due to all the salt, sugar, and sauces, and I end up all wired with a huge headache due to the MSG. Most restaurants, even though they may claim not to use MSG, still use some variation of a preservative or flavor enhancer in their food.
If you love Asian flavors, but are craving a cleaner version, here is a recipe that will satisfy the salty and the sweet without the water retention and headaches. I use lean ground turkey, which is low in fat, and I use chili flakes, onion, garlic, and ginger to give it that flavor boost without needing to add a lot of salty sauces.
Asian Turkey Lettuce Cups
If you love Asian flavors, but are craving a cleaner version, here is a recipe that will satisfy the salty and the sweet without the water retention and headaches.
Ingredients
Turkey Lettuce Cups:
- 1 lb lean ground turkey
- 1 cup onion finely chopped
- 1 green onion finely chopped
- 1 tsp garlic minced
- 1 tsp ginger finely chopped
- 1 cup carrot grated
- 1 cup red bell pepper capsicum, finely chopped
- 1 cup mushrooms finely chopped
- 1/4 cup hoisin sauce see below for recipe
- 1/4 cup tamari traditionally fermented
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes optional
- Coconut oil for cooking
- 1 head iceberg lettuce leaves separated, whole and washed
Hoisin Sauce:
- 4 Tbsp tamari
- 2 Tbsp nut butter of your choice
- 2 tsps white vinegar
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp sesame seed oil
- 20 drops hot sauce
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
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Coat a pan with coconut oil and add onions, garlic, and ginger. Cook until softened.
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Add turkey and stir until lightly cooked through.
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Add mushrooms, bell peppers, and carrots. Cook until vegetables are softened a little but still remain crisp.
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Add hoisin sauce, tamari, and chili flakes (optional).
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Finding hoisin sauce without junk and sugar in it can be difficult, but it’s easy to make your own. Just whisk together the ingredients listed above.
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Stir all ingredients together for another minute.
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Spoon turkey mixture into lettuce cups and garnish with green onion.
Sophia also offers personalized diet and workout programs on her website, a no-nonsense nutrition eBook, and a free weekly newsletter full of health and fitness tips. Sophia travels the world to teach seminars and she offers Lifestyle camps in Las Vegas.
Her sporting career started when she was four years old as a jazz ballet dancer. At age eleven, she began gymnastics and trained in an elite squad for almost ten years. In 2002, she began Brazilian jiu jitsu (BJJ) and was awarded her black belt in 2010 making her the first Australian female to receive a black belt in the sport.
Sophia competed nationally and internationally, earning multiple state, national, Pan-Pacific, and Pan-American titles, as well multiple No Gi World Champion titles and a World Champion title. Currently, she lives in Las Vegas, Nevada and competes in figure shows. She holds the distinction of being the Overall Unlimited Champion in the Figure division for the NPC federation.
Sophia received her qualification in gymnastics coaching and Cert III and IV for Personal Training. She has worked as a personal trainer specializing in functional training for athletes and nutrition for more than a decade. Sophia travels the world to teach BJJ, women's self defense, and nutrition seminars. She also runs a women's only training program in Las Vegas.
