Vietnamese Stir Fry: Dalena Bui & Danielle Little

Dalena Bui Reflection

In this unit I learned how our food is not what believe it is. As we learned what goes into our food, not really much ingredients we call food is there. The FDA doesn't protect us as much as we like to think. So many chemicals and dyes go into our food and the FDA regulates them as okay? But our bodies can't digest these certain chemicals and thats why we have so many diseases relating to the way we eat. 

We have a choice to eat healthy and unhealthy but healthy eating is vert expensive. Also getting fresh vegetable and fruit is very hard and sparse. Unless someone lives on a farm or is willing to drive very far for some fresh food it isn't happening. Also the farmers we think provides us with healthy food, that always doesn't happen either. Many farmers spray their crops with pesticides that harms our body. 

For me I eat very little junk food because I don't like the taste. When I younger I grew up on fresh, healthy foods so I grew up loving my veggies and fruits. I can make better choices in what I eat but for the most part I eat pretty healthy considering my lifestyle. Also I could also check if the food I'm buying is fresh but also where can I get them locally. 

Dalena Bui & Danielle Little Vietnamese Stir Fry 

 Serves 4-5

Time: about 20-35 min

The Ingredients 

White Noodles

Seasonings ( pepper, chili powder , a little bit of salt)

Shredded Carrots 

Shredded Cucumbers 

 Sesame oil 

 Garlic

Lemon Juice 

Green Onions 

Lime Juice 

Fresh Cilantro 

Dalena Bui Food Rules 

-Eat less processed food

-Shop in the veggies and fruit aisles only

-Avoid the snack sections 

-Buy organic foods from local farmers 

-Eat at least 1 home cooked meal a week. 

Directions 

1. Get a pot of boiling water and put in the noodles to make it soft. Cook for about 15 min

2. The start washing your vegetables. Make sure to have a vegetable wash so you can get all the dirt off

3. Then start slicing your veggies. Make sure you have a grater for the cucumbers and carrots. The veggies must be thinly sliced for the stir fry

 4.Remove the noodles from the put and drain them 

5.Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and put in the noodles and start stirring

 6.Then mix in the veggies with noodles. Stir for about 15 min

7. Let it cool down for 5 minutes 

8. Top it with fresh cilantro 

7. Then serve. 

Dalena Bui Analysis 

This is a really popular dish in my house because its really healthy because of all the veggies that is involved. This dish uses veggies purchased from Trader Joes. I decided to get the freshest ingredients possible. The only thing I didn't purchase from Trader Joes is the white noodles. I got that from the Vietnamese market my family shops at.

Everything I purchased came to a total of $15 dollars. This dish is meant to be served for a lot of people since it is a stir fry. Since the entire dish is a process and a lot of the ingredients are organic. The vegetables I use it fresh because I talked to a worker at Trader Joes and they say they buy from local farmers so this also benefits the farmers when I bought the vegetables 

The only unhealthy part of this meal is the white noodles used because traditionally we use white noodles and it makes the dish taste better. It could be made with whole wheat noodles but traditionally Vietnamese people use white noodles. This dish would be a 8/10 on the healthy scale. There are things that could make the aspect of the dish healthier but overall its a very fast yet healthy meal 

Danielle Little Reflection

Within this unit, I have learned the definitions behind the labels. For an example the true difference between low-fat and reduced fat. Or wether or not organic is better than non organic fruits and vegetables. I have also learned in the unit the different between supermarkets such as Shop Rite verses Whole foods. In my household we only by organic items and only shop at Whole foods and trader joes. 

Out of habit I would always by organic products, because I was taught that these items are best for me and my future diet. Reaching the end of our unit I am learning and researching the difference between many different food products that my parents have taught me either to avoid or buy. 

In my household my mother is a vegan leaving the rest of my family members to follow her vegan diet in the house. Twice a week, once on a weekday and weekend I eat outside of my household "diet". I would like to slightly change my food choices, to become less snack oriented by focusing on just eating 3 meals per day with 1 or 2 snacks. 

Danielle Little Food Rules 

-Do not eat any foods that have been cooked with Dehydrated Oils

-Eat less dairy products 

-Eat less processed foods 

-Buy more organic products 

-Cook more meals at home 

-Add veggies to your meal 

Danielle Little Analysis Part 2

In this dish, were involving many different kinds of veggies, that comes from different backgrounds. Such as Bok Choy is a Chinese vegetable. I will be including veggies that my family uses in our stir fry. Such as green onions and shredded carrots. The only processed food in our meal is from the oil we use in the stir fry, and either rice or white noodles. We will either go to whole foods market or Trader Joes.