Lemongrass Chicken Summer Rolls

Easy, healthy, affordable low sodium packable lunches are really important now that I have returned to work. I’m trying my best to ensure that our health and budget don’t take a back seat to convenience now that A.J and I are both at work so I’ve been trying to come up with some meal ideas for school. Last week I made some lemongrass chicken summer rolls with almond sauce and it was amazing! These rolls are so CHEAP – one chicken breast, rice paper which costs about 1 cent each and cucumber and carrot along with some pantry and fridge staples. I would guess that this whole meal cost about $4.00 for the both of us! Here is what I did to make these affordable, healthy, low sodium  summer rolls :

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Lemongrass Chicken

Summer Rolls with Almond/Peanut Sauce

(The photo doesn’t do them justice… The flavor is out of this world!)

Serving size : 4 Summer rolls

 

 

Ingredients:

(Honestly I don’t measure anything so these are just approximate ratios)

For the Rolls:

1 Tbs                                Lemongrass Paste

1/2 tsp                             Minced Garlic

1/2 tsp                             Ginger

1/2 tsp                             Sesame oil

1                                       Chicken Breast – cut into thin strips

1                                      Carrot – Julienned or grated

1/2                                   English Cucumber – Julienned or grated

4 leaves                         Green leafy lettuce (I used Green Leaf but Butter Lettuce would

also be good)

4 or 8                              Rice Paper sheets (I only wrapped each in a single sheet but my

husband requested that they be double layered next time for

added durability)

For the Sauce:

2 Tbs                              Nut butter ( I used almond because we are peanut free – if I make it

for school I may try sesame or sunflower butter because our school

is nut free…)

1/4 tsp                           Fish sauce (a little goes a LONG way) – you can also omit if it grosses

you out

1/2 tsp                          Minced Garlic

1/4 tsp                         Ginger

1/4 tsp                         Sesame Oil

1/2 tsp                        Rice Wine vinegar (I used Red Wine Vinegar and it was fine)

1 tsp                           Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce

1/2 Tbs                       Honey (We use pasteurized because of Laura’s immune system just to

be safe)

1/4 tsp                       Crushed chilis (optional)

Note: If you want a looser sauce just add a bit more vinegar and it will all balance out 🙂

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Instructions:

For the rolls

1. Mix the lemongrass, ginger, garlic and sesame oil together and mix in the Raw Chicken pieces – Marinate in the fridge of 30 minutes to 2 hours
2. Pan-Fry the chicken until cooked
3. Soak your rice paper (I just run it under cool water from the faucet) and lay it flat on a non-porous surface
4. On one end of the rice paper add your leaf of lettuce, a few chicken strips, carrot and cucumber
5. Roll your rice paper like an egg roll/burrito (My rice paper packaging actually has instructions on how to fold them!

For the Sauce:

1. Mix everything together and serve!

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Nutrition:

Sodium – Sauce: 370mg for the whole batch, Rolls: 80 mg (just the natural sodium in the chicken breast)

Benefits: Lean protein, veggies, 0 trans fat, minimal saturated fat (there’s about 0.5 mg in the sesame oil), DELICIOUS!

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Tips for packing:

1. At the bottom of your container, add a piece of damp paper towel. This will keep the rolls from drying out as well as keep them from sticking to the bottom of your container.
2. Separate the rolls from the sides of the container and each other with slices of cucumber to keep them from sticking. Then enjoy your slices of cucumber with your lunch 🙂