One of the last things I ever ventured out to cook on my own (aka not pre-packaged) was stir-fry. From the start I did my best to tweak recipes I’d gotten here and there to make it healthier. Then I stumbled across this little gem on cleaneatingmag.com. I had pork chops thawing in the fridge this morning and wanted to do something different with them (my pork recipes have always fallen into the “I can eat this” category so no added tweakage needed to be done, I was just bored with my recipes).

I added scrambled egg for more protein, as protein is us gym-rats best friend. End result? My husband went back for seconds. Yes, I know he always does that. But I have a feeling if it was something he didn’t like, no matter how hungry he was, he wouldn’t go back for seconds. I also substituted the rice vinegar with white wine vinegar (it’s what I had on the shelf).

Sweet & Salty Pork Stir-Fry

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup uncooked long-grain brown basmati or jasmine rice
• 8 oz sugar snap peas or snow peas (I used frozen)
• 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lb pork tenderloin, trim fat, cut into 1/2-inch-thick medallions
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced into thin rounds
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• Juice 1 orange
• 8 oz bean sprouts, rinsed

Directions: Prepare rice according to package directions. Meanwhile, fill a medium pot halfway with water and bring to a boil. Add peas, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes; drain and set aside. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat for 1 minute. Add pork and cook for 3 minutes. Turn over medallions, add carrots, garlic and ginger, and continue cooking for another 3 minutes. Swirl in soy sauce and vinegar, scraping bottom of pan to deglaze it. Cut open a medallion to make sure that pork is cooked through. If not, continue cooking for 1 more minute; check again. Remove pan from heat. Stir in orange juice, sprouts and peas. Toss pork mixture with rice and serve.

It serves about 4 people and has just a bit more than 300 calories a serving in it.