Healthy Pad Thai? YES.

Hello hello! I am back from a wonderful visit in Los Angeles with friends and family. I was anxious to get back to cooking, so I stopped at the store on my way back into town and stocked up on a bunch of fresh ingredients to fill my week with new recipes. Among them was a spaghetti squash and some powdered low-fat peanut butter, both of which were calling me the next day when I was craving pad thai.

Pad thai is delicious, but never really considered healthy, so I was on a mission to reduce the guilt of this incredible dish as much as possible. Using baked spaghetti squash instead of rice noodles cuts the carbs down by about 30g per serving, and by using powdered peanut butter, the fat is reduced by 85%.

Here's a nutritional comparison for this recipe vs the same exact one prepared with regular peanut butter and rice noodles:

This recipe: 135 calories, 3g fat, 21.1g carbs (full nutrition facts at the end of this post)
Traditional: 430 calories, 16.7g fat, 55.9 carbs

The numbers don't lie. Onward to the recipe!

Healthy (low carb, low fat, low calorie, vegan!)  Pad Thai

Serves 2-4, depending on how ravenous you are

• 1 large spaghetti squash (makes about 4 cups cooked)
• 1/2 cup powdered peanut butter (I use this one because it's organic, which is important with peanuts)
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 tbsp. tamari, soy sauce or liquid aminos
• 2 tbsp. rice vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 2 tbsp. lime juice
• 1 tsp. sesame oil (optional if you want to lower the fat even more)
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 2-3 cups vegetables of your choice (defrosted/rinsed if using frozen - I used 2 cups of frozen stir fry vegetables, because I made this on a whim)
• Green onions and lime wedges for garnish (optional)

This would be amazing tossed with some tofu or other protein, I just didn't have any at the time. Give it a try and let me know how it goes!

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F
2. Slice the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds and pulp with a large metal spoon. I like to use kitchen shears to cut out the stubborn strands - like giving the squash a haircut ;)
3. Place the two halves face-down (rind side up) on a baking sheet (lined with parchment paper or oil-sprayed foil) and bake for 40-50 minutes, until a fork can puncture the flesh easily. Let cool.
4. While squash is cooling, blend the peanut butter, water, tamari (soy sauce, or aminos) vinegar, garlic, ginger, lime juice, oil (if using) and cornstarch in a blender until smooth. Scrape the sides and re-blend if any powder gets stuck to the sides.
5. When the squash is cool enough to handle, gently scrape the flesh with a fork to create spaghetti-like strands. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
6. Cook the vegetables however you like (steam, saute, bake, roast, leave raw, etc), and stop just before they are finished. Toss with sauce and briefly cook in a large pan for 3-5 minutes until warm and sauce is thickened. Add more water if needed, but do so sparingly as sauce should be thick.
7.  Toss vegetables and sauce with spaghetti squash and serve. Garnish with sliced green onions and lime wedges.

(Per 1/4 serving)

• Calories: 135
• Total Fat: 3 g
• Sodium: 484.7 mg
• Carbs: 21.1 g
• Fiber: 3.6 g
• Sugars: 7 g
• Protein: 7.7 g