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What better time than summer to get healthy and focus on the foods you eat! While it is a great time of year to travel and spend time with family, most of us get caught up in losing our regular nutrition routine, falling away from our healthy habits. Take the time this season to enjoy healthy, clean eating, and use the longer days of summer to try new and nourishing recipes for the family. Here is one I love to make for my kids from my book, What Doctors Eat: 

Basil Rolls

•1-tablespoon peanut or canola oil

•½ pound boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces

•16 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

•2 cups dark leafy greens (such as romaine, spinach, or kale), chopped fine

•½ cup chopped fresh mint

•½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

•8 round rice paper (spring roll) wrappers (8-inch diameter)

•24 fresh basil leaves

•¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce

•¼ cup hoisin sauce

1. Preheat a large skillet over high heat. Add the oil, and heat it until it smokes. Add the chicken and stir-fry until nearly cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the shrimp and continue stir-frying until the shrimp turns pink, 2 to 3 minutes more. Let it coolslightly, and then chop the shrimp into bite-size pieces. Place the cooked chicken and shrimp in a medium bowl and set aside.

2. Toss the greens, mint, and cilantro in a large bowl.

3. Fill a pie plate with warm water. Working with one wrapper at a time, dip one side of the wrapper in the water for 30 seconds, then the other side. The wrapper will be pliable, but still firm. (If the wrapper is very soft, either the water is too warm or you kept the wrapper in the water for too long.)

4. Transfer the wrapper to a flat surface. Starting about ½ inch from the bottom of the wrapper, spread 1/3 cup of greens horizontally across the wrapper. Place about 1/3 cup of the chicken and 2 shrimp on top of the greens. Top with 3 basil leaves.

5. Fold the bottom of the wrapper up over the greens, tightening as you fold. Then fold in the sides, and continue rolling up from the bottom. Set the completed wrapper on a plate, and cover it with plastic wrap.

6. Repeat steps 3 through 5 with the remaining 7 wrappers.

7. Whisk together the soy sauce and hoisin sauce. Slice the rolls in half on the diagonal and divide them among 4 plates. Serve with the sauce for dipping.

 

Try them poolside or at the beach for a protein filled snack! The kids will never know just how healthy these are!