Thai Chicken Wrap Bistro Boxes with Peanut Dipping Sauce

This morning I was talking to my kids about "eating the rainbow" and what that actually means.  It seems I had just finished making up a nutritional metabolism lecture for one of my classes and it was still fresh in my mind.  Of course for my kids, whatever my college students are learning about tends to spill over into our home life, so they often have so suffer through hearing about the lecture du jour.  Now I must admit, this concept (eating the rainbow and antioxidant research) is near and dear to me, as the concept of it ties into what I did my dissertation on many years ago.  But that's another story. 

So anyway... one of my littles doesn't eat probably 75% of the stuff in this recipe.  Nope.  So this was a test.  A blatant, flat out test.  But when he walked in from school, he sniffed the air and declared, "Mmm, it smells so good in here!"  (Aha.  This could work.  He has it in his mind that he likes wraps.)  I had some grades to enter so I didn't push for anything more.  I said my thanks and left it at that.  I mentioned the meals were in fridge and they could help themselves as I had some things to attend to.  He did.  Later, I asked for a report.  "Mommmm,  those were PHENOMENAL!"  Wow!  That's definitely a score!!!  Need more in the pluses category?  All of the "fresh" ingredients I purchased cost $20, with the rest being pantry items I had on hand (including recycling my Chinese takeout containers).  For five very healthy and tasty meals?  I'd say that's a budget friendly meal worth putting on the rotation, wouldn't you?  

#mealprep #healthy #easy #budgetfriendly #quick #asian #eattherainbow

#kidfriendly #lunchbox #brownbag #dairyfree #glutenfree options

Ingredients:

• 1 pound thin sliced chicken breast filets  or breasts that have been pounded flat (or equivalent amount of chopped cooked chicken, about 3 - 3 1/2 cups)
• Montreal chicken seasoning (or seasoning blend of choice) 
• 1 Tbsp cooking oil or cooking spray

Slaw:

• 1 bag Power Blend Slaw mix 
• contains:  Brussels sprouts, Napa cabbage, Kohlrabi, broccoli, carrots and kale
• 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
• 3/4 seedless cucumber, peeled and sliced into thin matchsticks 
• 1/2 heaping cup chopped fresh cilantro

For the peanut sauce:

• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari for gluten free
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon ginger pasted or finely minced
• 1 tablespoon garlic paste or finely minced
• 2 tsp sriracha 
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup water

To assemble:

• 4 (8'') tomato basil tortillas or gluten free if desired
• 1/4 cup peanuts crushed
• 2 1/2 cups grapes or fruit of choice
• 5 meal prep containers
• 5 (2 oz) portion cups with lids

Step-by-Step - 

On your clean chopping board, prep your cucumber, pepper, cilantro, and peanuts.  Set these aside. 

Now you can make use of the same chopping board without fear of cross contamination.  If not using thinly sliced chicken, pound chicken breasts flat for quick, even cooking time.  Season liberally with seasoning blend of choice.  (The one I used contains salt, pepper, onion, garlic, etc so it makes meal prep easy and fast.)  

Put a little oil in a heavy bottom pan (or use cooking spray).  When hot, add chicken and cook on until golden brown on each side on medium high.  These are so thin that they only take 3-4 minutes on each side to be cooked through.  Remove from pan and allow to rest uncut while you make the sauce.

1 Tbsp canola oil

*Another alternative is to use precooked deli chicken or a rotisserie chicken

allow to rest before cutting to retain juices

For the sauce, throw all the sauce ingredients in your vitamix or blender.  That's it.  
(An immersion blender or whisk could also be used if necessary)

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

2 Tbsp soy sauce or tamari 

2 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1 Tbsp ginger paste or minced

1 Tbsp garlic paste or minced

1 Tbsp fresh lime juice

2 tsp Sriracha hot sauce

Start assembling the wraps.  Lay out the tortillas.  Divide the power blend evenly.  Distribute the veggies.  Chop and divide the chicken.  Drizzle a couple of tablespoons of sauce everything.  Something needs to be the glue.  Ha.  Roll and cut as you wish.  Divide among the five lunch containers.  Pour the rest of the dipping sauce into 2 oz portion cups and place into lunch containers.  Add fruit to each.  Refrigerate for up to 5 days.

 *I like this slaw blend because these veggies hold up well without wilting which means they maintain a nice crunch for you.  They are also super healthy, balanced, tasty and colorful.

*I was initially going to make 4 wraps, but this was SO much chicken that I decided to divide it up into 5 portions and make 5 wraps and it was STILL a lot!  You get to decide how many you'd like to make, but I was scared I wouldn't be able to close them up.  These were already huge!  

* I used some beautiful thin tomato basil tortillas for these wraps.  Feel free to use the tortillas of your choice, including a gluten free variety for those on a GF diet.

power blend slaw, red bell pepper strips

cooked chicken chunks

cilantro

cucumber pieces

chopped peanuts

drizzle with a few tablespoons of peanut sauce

Wrap and cut, or leave whole if you wish.  Add fruit, which acts as a palate cleanser and side.  Add remaining sauce to 2 oz portion cups that have lids.

So much healthier (and less expensive) than eating lunch out!

Don't like the idea of eating the same thing for a week?  What I recommend is finding a group of friends who want to share "lunch meal prep" duties.  Each person makes one recipe, then you share the things you made so that you get to cook once but get to eat each of 4-5 different things. 

Lunch for a week, or awesome lunch for tomorrow for you and your favorite people!

Refrigerate for up to 5 days.

Family Friendly Bonus Recipes - 

Mini Sausage Pancake Muffins - perfect for on-the-go mornings for little kids and not so little kids alike! 

Baked Chicken Parmesan - Classic, family friendly, Italian with a healthier twist!

Ritzy Cheddar Baked Chicken - Because we are always looking for something different to do with chicken, right? 

Mongolian Beef - Easy, quick and satisfying ... there's no reason for takeout! 

Individual White Chocolate and Raspberry Bread Puddings - Let's look at this as purposeful  "portion control" for your loved ones. 

How to get the Menu Musings Cookbook -  each recipe includes a scannable QR code that links back to the blog with step-by-step photos!  Makes a great gift for this year's graduates and newly weds.  

Method:

On your clean chopping board, prep your cucumber, pepper, cilantro, and peanuts.  Set these aside. Now you can make use of the same chopping board without fear of cross contamination.  If not using thinly sliced chicken, pound chicken breasts flat for quick, even cooking time.  Season liberally with seasoning blend of choice.  (The one I used contains salt, pepper, onion, garlic, etc so it makes meal prep easy and fast.)  

Put a little oil in a heavy bottom pan (or use cooking spray).  When hot, add chicken and cook on until golden brown on each side on medium high.  These are so thin that they only take 3-4 minutes on each side to be cooked through.  Remove from pan and allow to rest uncut while you make the sauce.  *Another alternative is to use precooked deli chicken or a rotisserie chicken 

For the sauce, throw all the sauce ingredients in your vitamix or blender.  That's it.  (An immersion blender or whisk could also be used if necessary)

Start assembling the wraps.  Lay out the tortillas.  Divide the power blend evenly. Distribute the veggies.  Chop and divide the chicken.  Drizzle a couple of tablespoons of sauce everything.  Something needs to be the glue.  Ha.  Roll and cut as you wish.  Divide among the five lunch containers.  Pour the rest of the dipping sauce into 2 oz portion cups and place into lunch containers.  Add fruit to each.  Refrigerate for up to 5 days.

Notes - 

 *I like the Super Blend slaw blend because these veggies hold up well without wilting which means they maintain a nice crunch for you.  They are also super healthy, balanced, tasty and colorful.  It contains:  Brussels sprouts, Napa cabbage, kohlrabi, broccoli, carrots, and kale. 

*I was initially going to make 4 wraps, but this was SO much chicken that I decided to divide it up into 5 portions and make 5 wraps and it was STILL a lot!  You get to decide how many you'd like to make, but I was scared I wouldn't be able to close them up.  These were already huge!  

Wrap and cut, or leave whole if you wish.  Add fruit, which acts as a palate cleanser and side.  Add remaining sauce to 2 oz portion cups that have lids.

These are so much healthier (and less expensive) than eating lunch out!

Notes:  Don't like the idea of eating the same thing for a week?  What I recommend is finding a group of friends who want to share "lunch meal prep" duties.  Each person makes one recipe, then you share the things you made so that you get to cook once but get to eat each of 4-5 different things.  Refrigerate for up to 5 days.