skinny general tso

Chinese food: the epitome of diet wrecking.

There are healthier options like beef and broccoli & egg drop soup, but you can only have so much of either. What we’re all really wanting is general tso’s; deep fried, sticky-sauced, spicy general tso. But what if you could have that general tso flavor without all the fried business?  Well, then sign me up!

I’ve subbed out chicken for cauliflower (vegetarian & 0pp!) and baked them until golden brown (you won’t miss it, promise!) No oil or fry pan in sight. This is a “lazy” recipe as I’ve used bottled general tso sauce. You could easily make your own (there are tons of recipes online), but I used what I had on hand and it was 100% satisfying. Faux general tso’s? Could’ve fooled me … 🙂 One whole serving of this recipe (general tso AND rice) is only 7pp. One cup of the take out general tso with chicken is roughly 15pp alone and that’s not counting the rice.

So, to break it down further:
–take-out chinese: 20pp
—skinny chinese: 7pp
–even skinnier chinese: 2pp → scroll all the way to the bottom to find out how I managed that one 😉

But anyway, that’s a savings of 12pp! (or 18pp if you choose the skinnier!)

So … what’s for dessert?? 🙂

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skinny general tso (without rice):
Yeilds 4 Servings
Smart Points Per Serving: 5

1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into florets
1/8C liquid egg whites
1t sriracha
1/4C flour (I used tapioca flour as it has a corn starch consistency)
1/2C* general tso sauce (I used Whole Foods brand)
1-2t chili paste (optional for added heat)

Rice options:
4C brown rice (6sp), cooked. <OR> 4C cauliflower rice (0sp), cooked.
scallions (optional: for garnish and flavor)
sesame seeds (optional)

(*Depends on how saucy you like your general tso. Start with 1/2C and add more if needed 😉  Points tallied are for 1/2C Whole Foods brand sauce)

Start by preheating the oven to 400F.

In a large ziplock bag, mix together egg whites and sriracha (& chili paste for more heat). Then add cauliflower and shake to coat.

Add in flour and shake again, making sure all is coated well.

On a sprayed, foil lined baking sheet, lay out the cauliflower in a single layer (so there’s no overlapping).
Bake for 25min.

While the cauliflower bakes, prepare brown rice as directed & heat up the general tso sauce (or make your own) in a small pan. This is the kind I used. Great flavor but I also add the chili paste to up the heat factor 😉

When the cauliflower is done, spoon about 1/4C of the sauce onto the baking tray and stir around the cauliflower making sure the sauce covers each piece. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes.

When it’s done baking, add cauliflower and the remaining sauce together in a bowl and stir gently.

To serve: Take 1C of brown rice or cauliflower rice and top it with 1/4 of the general tso cauliflower mixture. Garnish with scallions.

 

** To save on even more points, I made “lo mein” noodles instead of rice. (Saves 5pp instantly!) I used this little gadget to make lo mein noodles out of zucchini and tossed them in a non-stick skillet to “stir fry” with some chili garlic sauce/paste. Delicious!