Bok Choy and Shiitake Mushroom Sauté with Sprouts and Peanuts

I have a new love. Once you check out the cookbook Clean Food, I'm guessing you will to.

I have a lot of health cookbooks that concentrate on whole foods and healthy meals, but this one is different. It still does all of that, but it also incorporates a truly holistic approach to health. One that is about balance and not just food. As her website states, Terry Walters (the author) "is all about good health - body, mind, and soul." Ah, happy words.

Plus, her recipes are absolutely delicious. What more could you ask for?

I have been flipping through the cookbook every chance I get - it's on my nightstand at night, on the couch with me in the morning while I drink my coffee, and in my bag when I leave for work so that I can read it on my lunch break. I have been wanting to make almost every recipe I read. Immediately. Unfortunately, I can't drop everything and spend my days in the kitchen (no matter how hard I wish I could), but I can spend my evenings there.

Last night I made a stir-fry with bok choy and shiitake mushrooms.

Shiitake mushrooms have been a staple of mine for some time. I absolutely love their taste and versatility, not to mention their amazing health benefits, so they end up in at least one or two meals a week.

Bok choy, on the other hand, is not usually a vegetable that I buy. It's not that I don't like it, but habit usually has me reaching for kale or mustard greens or swiss chard when it comes to my regular leafy greens. After the meal last night, however, bok choy is sure to become a much more frequent visitor to the kitchen. It's absolutely delicious (with surprisingly tender sweet leaves)!

This recipe also includes onion, ginger, garlic, and clover sprouts. Talk about health in a bowl. And did I mention that it's delicious?

Bok Choy and Shiitake Mushroom Sauté with Sprouts and Peanuts, adapted from Clean Food by Terry Walters

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tablespoon (about one inch) grated fresh ginger
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, sliced
3 tablespoons gluten-free tamari
4 tablespoons gluten-free Thai peanut sauce
2 heads bok choy, chopped
4 oz package of clover sprouts
1 cup dry-roasted peanuts

In a large skillet, sauté the onion, ginger, and garlic in the olive oil until onions are translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the mushroom, half the tamari and peanut sauce and cook for 5 minutes until mushrooms are caramelized. Add one tablespoon of water at a time to deglaze pan as needed. Add remaining tamari and peanut sauce and continue sautéing the mushrooms another 3-4 minutes.

Stir in bok choy and mix with other vegetables until well blended. Cover pot and steam for one minute. Uncover, fold in sprouts and cook everything for one more minute. Stir in peanuts and serve hot.

Makes three servings.