Foodie Friday: Asian Sesame Broccoli with Spicy Sriracha Peanut Sauce {Giveaway}

If you ask me, peanut butter goes with everything. Sweet, savory, salty, spicy. Let’s do it!

As part of the Peanut Butter & Co. Yum Squad, I was given the opportunity to create a recipe using their peanut butter and a mystery ingredient. That mystery ingredient just so happened to be a staple in my houseSriracha.

YumSquad-Banner-MysteryIngredient-Sriracha

Peanut sauce fits right in with our typical meals around here and I had a recipe on hand I’d been wanting to try. Adding in the sriracha was the right pop of flavor that I knew would be perfect.

Asian Sesame Broccoli with Spicy Sriracha Peanut Sauce

Serves 4 as a side dish
Adapted from Gimme Some Oven Asian Broccoli Salad with Peanut Sauce

Asian Sesame Broccoli with Spicy Sriracha Peanut Sauce | Barr & Table

Ingredients
– 1 large head of broccoli
– 1 cup shelled edamame
– 1/2 cup sliced green onion
– 1/2 cup peanuts; chopped
– 1/4 cup toasted unsweetened coconut flake
– Sesame seeds for garnish
– 1/4 cup Peanut Butter & Co. The Bee’s Knees
– 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
– 1 tbsp lite soy sauce
– 1/8 tsp toasted sesame oil
– 1-2 tbsp sriracha
– 2-3 tbsp hot water to thin the sauce

Directions
Boil a large pot of water, add the broccoli florets, and cook for about 30 seconds. Drain the broccoli and add the edamame, green onion, peanuts, and coconut flake.

For the spicy peanut sauce, mix the remaining ingredients together, except the sesame seeds. Pour half of the sauce over the broccoli and mix well. Drizzle the rest of the sauce over top of the broccoli and top with sesame seeds.

Feeling a little extra saucy? Drizzle some more sriracha on top! What could be bad?

Giveaway Time!

Click here to win a #MysteryIngredient package from Peanut Butter & Co!

Sprint 2 the Table

Food for Thought

What would you make with the mystery ingredient?

Link Love #39

It definitely feels like a little victory having made it through Monday.. anyone else feel the same? This week is going to be a little nuts for me, but the plan is just to keep on trucking. Besides, it’s June [when did that happen?!] and that means we’re headed home at the end of the month!

As always, last week featured some pretty fabulous posts and I had a hard time choosing my tops, but I think I got a good group of bloggers.

Health

Why You Dont Want to Look Like a Model Fitzala

Why You Don’t Want to Look Like a Model – Fitzala

Why You Don’t Want to Look Like a Model – Fitzala
#SuitYourself To Love Yourself – Lifting Revolution
Sports nutrition should we stop talking calories? – Run to the Finish
Body Transformation Starts With the Mind – The Change Blog
You’re Allowed to Love Your Body – Snack Therapy

Fitness

HIIT Scorcher Fitnessista

HIIT Scorcher – Fitnessista

HIIT Scorcher – Fitnessista
Race Week Triathlon Tips and Repeating our Chances – Cotter Crunch
Tabata Core Workout – Power Fitness
Easy Ways to Add Balance Training to Your Workouts – FitKnitChick
Fit Bit Friday 143: The 20-Minute Upper Body Blitz Workout – Eat Spin Run Repeat

Food

Flourless Almond Butter Samoa Bars Paleo Vegan Purely Twins

Flourless Almond Butter Samoa Bars (Paleo, Vegan) – Purely Twins

Flourless Almond Butter Samoa Bars (Paleo, Vegan) – Purely Twins
Sriracha Kale Caesar Salad – Running to the Kitchen
No-Churn Caramel Peanut Butter Cup Soft Pretzel Ice Cream Sammies with Hot Fudge – Half Baked Harvest
Spiralized Carrot and Cucumber Kale Salad with Peanut Sauce – Eating Bird Food
Summer Caprese Burger – The Fueled Athlete

Food for Thought

What was one of your favorite posts from the past week?

My Top 5 Kitchen Staples

Yesterday I thought I had a fun idea to share my top 5 convenience foods that we keep around like the frozen turkey meatballs from Trader Joe’s. Ever had them? They’re pretty tasty, only 100 cals for 2 meatballs, and were only $2.99 for about 6 servings. It’s nice to have that kind of stuff around the house for an easy protein to throw into a salad or on a sandwich. Unfortunately for my list, I realized that it really stopped there, probably because I do have the time to make extras for leftovers! It’s true, I’d rather have my own homemade turkey meatballs or veggie burgers in the freezer 🙂

Rather than sharing my favorite convenience foods, I thought I’d share the top 5 staples in my kitchen. Not a week goes by that these things aren’t purchased and often not a day goes by that I don’t use them!

  1. Eggs
    Eggs
    Between Nathan and I, we go through about 3 dozen eggs per week. Not ridiculous at all, right? Sometimes it’s less, but I guess this could also go under convenience. Don’t have another protein for your meal? Throw an egg on it! Or if you’re like me, throw an egg on your other protein anyway 😉
  2. Peanut Flour
    Protein Plus Peanut Flour
    Protein Plus is my favorite brand of peanut flour and I honestly use it all the time [when I’m not using nut butters]. I mix it with a little water and stevia to make a dip for apples, drizzle on pancakes, and lately drizzle on popcorn too! Yesterday I made a ridiculously tasty peanut butter protein pizza for breakfast and added extra on top! You can get it from iHerb.com and if you use the code ZAF482 at checkout, you can get up to $10 off of your order.
  3. Leafy Greens
    Spinach Salad Cauliflower Crust PizzaThese days the leaf of choice is spinach. I go through my phases where all I want is kale but since I’m not in that phase right now and Nathan actually eats spinach, we stock up. Two big containers a week? No problem!
  4. Chicken
    Beer Citrus Glazed Chicken How Sweet It Is

    Beer Glazed Citrus Chicken – How Sweet It Is

    Baked Pesto Chicken Parmesan Iowa Girl Eats

    Baked Pesto Chicken Parmesan – Iowa Girl Eats

    Half Baked Harvest Jerk Chicken Fried Plantains Coconut Quinoa Macadamia Nuts

    Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Fried Plantain and Coconut Fried Quinoa with Macadamia Nuts – Half Baked Harvest

    Roast Chicken

    Nathan’s famous roast chicken

    You can always count on at least 2-3 chicken dinners per week at home. It’s one of the cheapest [meat] protein options out there and it’s so versatile. I’ve been having fun experimenting with all of the different recipes to change it up lately since Nathan is the chicken king. Boy could eat chicken all day, everyday!

  5. Hot Sauce
    Sriracha
    You realized that when I said hot sauce, I really meant Sriracha, right? I was never a big hot saucer growing up, other than Tiger Sauce, but within the past year, I’ve really grown to love Sriracha and it is often on the table with dinner [and lunch]. Nathan is also a Crystal man for his breakfasts so those are the 2 staples, but he likes to try all different kinds of hot sauces, just like I like to try all kinds of nut butters. To each his own 😉
  6. BONUS! Crate & Barrel Glass Nesting Bowl Set
    Crate Barrel Glass Nesting Bowl Set
    Ok, so it’s not a super exciting bonus, but I LOVEEEEE these bowls! I got them as an engagement gift and I use at least 2 of the bowls per day. I think yesterday I used 4 or 5 haha. I also use one of the bigger bowls for my monster salads.

There are definitely other things that I use on a daily basis, but if you spend any time at home with me, you’re pretty much guaranteed to see these things pop up.

Food for Thought

What are your top kitchen staples?
Do you stock up on convenience foods too?

What I Ate Wednesday #12 – Baltimore Restaurant Week

Baltimore Restaurant Week is one of my favorite weeks of summer. I guess winter too, but someone summer just seems better!

I absolutely love trying new restaurants and this is the time to do it. You get to taste 3 courses for $30, and if you choose the right place, you’re really getting a steal! Often, the restaurants on the list serve entrees ranging from $20-$40, so to add an appetizer and dessert to that makes it all worth it.

This time around, we decided to check out Salt. It’s a trendy little restaurant that we’ve been to before, but it’s been years. And while we usually use restaurant week as an excuse to try something new, we just couldn’t pass up the incredible menu.

Being that we went out on a Friday, the first part of my day is uber normal. Aka not so exciting. Except for this awesome pancake!

Barr & Table Chocolate Coconut Protein Pancake Earth Balance Coconut Peanut Spread PB Tone It Up TIU Bombshell Spell Bragg's ACV Apple Cider Vinegar

[Breakfast]

Chocolate coconut protein pancake topped with Earth Balance Coconut Peanut Spread, coconut, and cinnamon plus Bombshell Spell with ZICO. I’m absolutely obsessed with the coconut peanut spread. It’s like a little taste of heaven melted over chocolatey goodness!

[Snack]

(not pictured)
Apple

[Lunch]

(not pictured)
Mixed green salad with cucumber, tomatoes, onions, green bell pepper, carrots, zucchini, diced avocado, & chili sesame tofu. This tofu recipe is divine and so simple. I’ll be sharing it soon!

[Snack]

(not pictured)
thinkThin Creamy Peanut Butter Blizzard + a few pieces Almond Maple Pecan Snackle Mouth. The blizzard was a fun way to mix up my usual protein bar and the little chunks at the very bottom were so tasty! And the Snackle Mouth is really something special.. I was lucky enough to win a couple boxes and I hope to be featuring these (or some new products soon to launch!) in a giveaway very soon!

[Dinner]

The most exciting part of the day. Everything on the menu sounded absolutely phenomenal and we couldn’t make any decisions without asking for recommendations (of course!)
Barr & Table Baltimore Restaurant Week Maryland MD Salt Tavern Fells Point Primaterra Pinot Noir Red Wine Roasted Red Pepper Tapinade Bread Cool Vichyssoise Soup Dungeness Crab Pommes Frites Chive Oil
Primaterra Pinot Noir • Roasted Red Pepper Tapinade with freshly baked bread

Cool Vichyssoise Soup
Dungeness crab, pommes frites, chive oil

Country Pork Terrine (not pictured)
Pistachios, figs, dijon mustard

I went for the soup, Nathan for the terrine. We were both equally pleased with our choices and it was something new for each of us to try.

Barr & Table Baltimore Restaurant Week Maryland MD Salt Tavern Fells Point Grilled Swordfish Charred Gazpacho Vegetables Lemon Olive Quinoa Avocado Puree Crispy Creek Stone Farms Beef Belly Confit Ginger Glaze White Kimchi Asian Pears Spicy Sriracha Creamed Corn
Grilled Swordfish with Charred Gazpacho Vegetables
Lemon and olive quinoa, avocado puree

Crispy Creek Stone Farms Beef Belly Confit
Ginger glaze, white kimchi with asian pears, spicy sriracha creamed corn

The swordfish had been recommended to me by a friend and the side dishes sold me. It was delicious and I savored every last bite. But Nathan totally won. The beef belly confit was rich and savory with a slight sweetness from the creamed corn, which wasn’t all mush, as some would assume. If I went back the next day, I’d get the beef belly confit, hands down!

Barr & Table Baltimore Restaurant Week Maryland MD Salt Tavern Fells Point Key Lime Tart Coconut Meringue Blueberry Coulis Goat Cheese Donuts Lavender Honey Vanilla Sea Salt Coffee Ice Cream
Key Lime Tart

Coconut meringue, blue berry coulis

Goat Cheese Donuts
Lavender honey, vanilla sea salt, coffee ice cream

Finally, the best way to end a wonderful meal; with an even more wonderful dessert. I opted for the tart while Nathan chose the donuts. Really, he’d choose anything fried, but drizzled with honey and ice cream on the side? He couldn’t say no! They were fantastic, but I definitely preferred my key lime tart. It was light, sweet, and tart, and just the perfect ending to the meal.

[Summer Staples]
Fresh fruits and veggies. Not a day goes by that I don’t get my fill of all of the freshness that summer has to offer and Salt definitely feels the same way. All of my favorite restaurants are those that take advantage of the freshest ingredients available and plan their menus around that. Why offer farm-raised tilapia when rockfish are jumping?

Speak Up!

What would you have ordered? Are you a meat-and-potatoes kinda person or a sea-foodie?