Vegetable Chow Mein

Simple and soothing, vegetable chow mein is a tasty low calorie and healthy side dish that goes great with almost any meal, Or tossed with a protein and rice, it can be eaten as a meal.

The first time I tasted vegetable chow mien, I was ten years old..

That was many years ago long before most people were even familiar with Chinese restaurants (1960).

In those days, our town had only one Chinese restaurant.

It was tucked away on a dark side street off the beaten path off an area known as " downtown"

I thought the Chinese restaurant was fascinating- the restaurant housed live lobsters bound in tanks ( never could deal with that) , colorful and unusual red foreign decorations, not so cheerful men who spoke a language I couldn't understand, curious wooden chop sticks, prolific pots of hot tea, cookies that told your fortune, and really good food. It was a fun place to go.

My mother always ordered sum gum chow mien; I ordered vegetable chow mien.

My order was one of the the simpler choices on the menu, but I found it soothing and filling. It must have been the combination of slowly sauteed and well cooked sweet sliced onions, celery, cabbage, and bean sprouts in the gooey Chinese white sauce that was so delicious.

I liked Vegetable Chou Mien then, and I still like it now!

I add sliced mushrooms to my recipe and leave out the sauce. It suits my diet somewhat better.

On Weight Watchers, the Points Plus value is just about " 1 " per serving due to the oil.

I can make a batch rather quickly, and it adds some variety of nutrients to my vegetable side dishes. If I prefer to eat the chow mein as a meal, I eat it with rice and a protein. YUM!!

All vegetables add important nutrients to the diet..As you may have noticed, this dish is mostly white vegetables. I was surprised to find out that despite their lack of color, white veggies don't fall short on providing protective nutrients. White veggies, like mushrooms, sprouts, cabbage and onions provide powerful immune boosting activity to the body and are very important for a strong immune system.

seasoning: salt and; pepper to taste. Tamari sauce if desired.

Spray a large skillet with olive oil spray. Add 2 tsp of olive oil and saute onions, celery, carrots, shredded cabbage and cook on high slowly for about 4 minutes. Reduce to medium /low heat and saute slowly until vegetables are tender but not overcooked.

sauteing in the skillet with bFor the greatest variety of nutritional benefits, vary the colors of your veggies. Each color group provides unique properties. My rainbow salad provides nutrients from almost every color group.

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