How was your weekend? A typical Saturday for us usually involves an easy Saturday morning of coffee, maybe a splurge homemade baked good, reading books, playing with the Little Man, then maybe a workout at the gym, lunch as a family, chores around the house, and maybe some work in the afternoon–either yard work or desk work for either my husband or myself or both–while Landon takes his nap. We like to keep weekend evenings free either for a date night out or to have friends over for dinner. We love hosting friends for dinner! It’s one of the things we really enjoy as a couple.
Last weekend we hung out with some friends that we’ve made since moving here to Michigan last year. My friend is on the GAPS diet right now which is a two year protocol to heal the gut (more on why this is SO IMPORTANT later!). After years of unexplained GI distress and not really being able to eat anything without being in severe pain, she’s healing her gut and living pain free! However, the GAPS diet is pretty restrictive, so social eating situations are just really tough for her right now. She’s sweet and doesn’t want to be rude, but she just simply can’t eat a lot of things right now.
Sure, we know people who don’t eat certain foods because apparently it’s the vogue to have dietary restrictions, but if you’ve met someone who has an actual allergy or who has chosen a particular diet because they’re fixing a real problem, it’s not just because they want special attention. Odds are good they would LOVE to eat that pizza or ice cream or whatever you’re having, but they just simply can’t.
I’m one of those people in the first camp. I could eat gluten without running to the bathroom (unlike my dear, poor friends with celiac disease!), but I do see a huge boost in the health of my thyroid and my digestive regularity if I avoid it. So, do I sometimes eat gluten? Yes, particularly in social situations when I don’t want people to fuss around me or draw special attention. It’s one thing to skip the bread basket, but if someone goes to great length to make me a pasta dinner, I’m not going to refuse to eat it.
My friend on the GAPS diet is in the second camp. If she strays from the GAPS protocols, she’s going to get pretty sick. While I know she can’t wait to wrap up the program next year and start adding in some other foods to her diet, that’s just not an option for her right now. I get this, and I want to support her in what she’s doing for her health. And I also want her and her husband to come over for dinner! So, when we made some last minute plans to get together last weekend, I had to look quickly over my meal plan for the week to find the most GAPS friendly recipe I had planned.
Enter, cashew chicken lettuce wraps!!
The GAPS diet is kind of Paleo-ish but a bit more strict. My friend can eat most meats, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and seeds…and that’s about it. No grains, no dairy (except for a tiny bit of occasional cheese at this point), zero fillers, preservatives, and additives, and definitely no sugar except for raw honey in small quantities. (So, basically, she can only eat real food!)
The recipe I’m sharing below might not be 100% GAPS-friendly. I made a separate pan of chicken without the rice vinegar and coconut aminos that I wasn’t sure if she could have. But, by golly, this is real food, and it was really tasty! Did I mention it takes about no time to whip up? Yes, win, win, win!!
I find that a lot of people would greatly expand their real food repertoire if they started cooking Asian dishes. Once you buy a few key pantry staples, you’ll use them often in pretty much every Asian dish. My go-to Asain pantry staples are:
- Sesame Seed Oil
- Rice Vinegar (You could sub in a different vinegar if you want to make it completely Paleo friendly)
- Coconut Aminos (to get the flavor of soy sauce without the soy!)
- Fish sauce (make sure to get one that basically just contains fish or oysters and salt)
Now, let’s talk aromatics… Aromatics are basically what most recipes start with–soups, stir fries, etc. You heat some fat in a pan and then you add some aromatics. (Think, things that have an aroma!) Oftentimes it’s olive oil or butter and then garlic and onion, but when I’m cooking asian food, I use some neutral oil, some sesame oil, and then garlic and fresh, grated ginger. Then I’ll throw in some green onions later. We’re adding great flavor, great nutrients, and keeping it Asian-tasting!
So, let’s dive in to the recipe here, shall we? I served this with an asian-inspired green salad (think, sliced almonds and sesame seeds sprinkled on top of greens, avocados, etc.), and my friend made her signature smashed honey carrots. Don’t be afraid that you’ll be hungry all the time if you go grain-free…we were pleasantly, comfortably, deliciously full.
- 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 3 T. avocado oil
- 2 t. sesame seed oil
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 inch fresh ginger
- 1 bunch green onions
- ½ c. raw cashews
- 3 T. coconut aminos
- 1 T. rice vinegar
- 1 T. fish sauce
- 1 T. honey
- crushed red pepper, to taste
- 1 T. sesame seeds
- 1 bunch romaine or leaf lettuce
- Dice the chicken into small, bite-sized pieces.
- Smash the garlic by smacking the side of a knife placed on top of the garlic with the heel of your hand. Mince the garlic.
- Finely grate the ginger.
- Heat the avocado and sesame seed oil over medium heat.
- Add the garlic and ginger to the pan and saute for 30 seconds or so.
- Add the chicken to the pan, stirring occasionally to let it brown.
- Meanwhile, dice the green onions and roughly chop the cashews.
- Once the chicken is almost cooked, add the green onions to the pan and stir to combine.
- Add the coconut aminos, rice vinegar, fish sauce, honey, and crushed red pepper to the pan. Stir to combine.
- Allow the chicken to cook completely and let the sauce thicken a bit.
- Add the cashews and sesame seeds, stirring to combine. Transfer the chicken to a serving bowl.
- Wash the lettuce leaves and separate onto a plate.
- To serve, spoon the chicken into the lettuce leaves and devour.
These are so delicious! ? my husband and I have become addicted to lettuce wraps! We make them at least once a week now in all kinds of varieties. So simple and so much flavor-not to mention they are good for you! Thank you, Stacey, for such an awesome recipe and the inspiration! ❤
My husband and I tried this recipe yesterday, and loved it! So much flavor and tastes great with lettuce wraps. We will definitely be making this again 🙂 Thanks, Stacey! We love your blog.
Thanks so much, Kendall! Glad you enjoyed them. 🙂