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!

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Zucchini Pasta with Walnut Pesto (low-carb and low-calorie)

I had a pretty great Sunday. It started with my first-ever Zumba class and swimming with my good friend Nena (whose awesome Tech blog you can find here, btw). Afterward, there happened to be a farmer's market in the parking lot, so we got some cash and went produce hunting. I scored on a lot of goodies that will be sure to inspire many new recipes this week. Here's my loot:

GET IN MAH BELLY

Inspired by the unhealthy hummus we found there, we went back to my house and made the hummus that I posted yesterday, and then I started to think about what else I could make this week. I got some extra long zucchini that would make great noodles, and so much basil would have to become pesto. So yesterday afternoon I got to work, determined to make a delicious new pasta dish that would be as healthy as possible.

If you've never made zucchini noodles, you're missing out. Cooked just a little, zucchini closely resembles the texture of pasta, and when you add some sauce you can hardly tell the difference. It makes a great lasagna noodle as well. 

To cut the noodles, a special slicer is ideal. I have a mandoline slicer (this one) that can make julienned strips, but this spiral slicer is officially on my wish list. If you don't have the appropriate slicer or the cash to splurge on one right now, you can use a vegetable peeler to create long, flat, linguine-like shreds. I don't recommend just using a knife for this, though. I tried it once, and the results were not worth the time and effort required.

Whether you peel the zucchini first is up to you - it's really just a question of aesthetics and nutrition. The skin adds a bit more color and fiber, but I'd recommend peeling your zucchini if it isn't organic, to reduce your chemical intake. However you choose to slice your noodles, stop when you get to the seeds. I like to save the insides for other recipes - they're good grilled! :)

If you want more info on the various ways to prepare zucchini noodles, check out this thorough Wikihow article. 

Ummm, hi.

Onward to the recipe!

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Roasted Kale Chips Recipe

Kale is one of those vegetables that can do no wrong. It's both nutrient-dense and versatile in recipes. My personal favorite uses are to either steam it and cover it with sauces and stews, or dehydrate/bake it into a crispy chip. Today I'll be sharing a quick and simple way to make a crunchy side dish of kale while you're preparing a meal. All you need is some kale, and any oil/seasonings that you like. This recipe is oven-baked, but stay tuned if you have a dehydrator, I have plenty of kale recipes for that!

Roasted Kale Chips Recipe

Ingredients (Serves 4-6)

• 1 bunch kale, de-stemmed and cut into small pieces
• I often use a bag of trader joe's organic tuscan kale, as I did in this post. Even with ready-to-go kale, however, you can de-stem a little further if you want just the leaves. I skipped that step this time, but I do it when I have more time, and recommend it!
• Just enough oil to coat the kale, about 1/2 - 2tbs.
• I often use olive oil, sometimes sesame or coconut when I'm going for a different flavor. Any oil will do!
• Seasonings to taste 
• I just used sea salt and crushed pepper today. I've done this with lemon pepper, sesame seeds, a little lemon or lime juice, 

Method

1. Preheat oven to 250° F. (You can do 300° F or possibly higher if you're in a hurry or baking something at a different temp, just be prepared to check the oven often to avoid burning.)
2. Prepare your kale, and toss in a bowl with the oil and seasonings until coated evenly. I use my Misto sprayer to use as little oil as possible while still evenly coating the chips. That's why I'm not sure exactly how much I'm using :)
3. Spread the kale evenly on a baking sheet or two, and bake for 15-20 minutes until crispy. Check the oven often and rearrange the chips if necessary to insure even baking. The exact time will depend on your oven, the temperature you bake it at, and how much oil you used, so the first time you make these you'll figure out what works best for you.
4. When they're done, remove from the oven and enjoy immediately! If you manage to have any leftovers, store them in the refrigerator and reheat in the oven at 200° F. 

I made these while I cooked Happy Herbivore's Caribbean Sweet Potatoes (which is one of my favorite recipes for using up apples). That recipe is from Everyday Happy Herbivore, which can be found here.

Have a beautiful Sunday!

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Chickpea Salad from Adventuresome Kitchen

Happy 4th of July! I hope you're all enjoying a nice relaxing day off with friends and family.

I'm headed to a potluck today, and found myself without a recipe last night. I texted some friends in a panic and told them I was thinking about a chickpea salad, and my lovely friend Jessica came to my rescue with this link. It was a miracle! I actually had almost everything on hand, and only needed to run to the store for a few things this morning. So this post is dedicated to Jessica, for saving my 4th of July :)

As usual, I made a few modifications (less oil, mostly!) to the recipe, which I'll explain in this post, but you can head over to Adventuresome Kitchen for the original recipe if you like.

Chickpea Salad (adapted from Adventuresome Kitchen)

Ingredients (Serves about 10)

• 4 cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans) drained
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced into cubes
• 1 large red onion, diced
• 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 bag, or several bunches of spinach, torn into smaller pieces
• 2 1/2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4-1/2 cup vegetable broth or water
• 3 tbs red wine vinegar
• 1 tbs dried rosemary
• 1 tbs herbes de provence
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Dice the sweet potato and onion. Place in a large bowl with 1/2 tbs oil and stir.
   
   Place on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and sprinkle lightly with salt. Cook until softened - about 30 minutes.
   
2. Drain chickpeas and place in a large bowl. Add tomatoes. When the sweet potato onion combo has finished cooking, add to the bowl.

   

   I had a few different brands of chickpeas lying around. Can you see the color difference?

3. Place the torn spinach and 1/4 cup vegetable broth into a large pan and heat over medium heat. Saute until the greens are barely wilted- about 2 minutes, adding more liquid if necessary. Add to the bowl.

   

   Magically shrinking spinach

4. Whisk together the remaining 2 tbs oil, red wine vinegar, and herbs, and pour over salad.
5. Using a large spoon, gently toss all the ingredients together.
   
6. Salt and pepper to taste, and enjoy!

We'll be heading to the potluck with this, some blue corn chips and salsa, and a red summer wine. Hope you have a beautiful day!

Nutrition (Per 1 1/4 cup serving)

• Calories: 219
• Total Fat: 6.7 g
• Saturated: 0.5 g
• Polyunsaturated: 0.4 g
• Monounsaturated: 2.5 g
• Trans: 0 g
• Cholesterol: 0mg
• Sodium: 430.5 mg
• Potassium: 219 mg
• Carbs: 37.9 g
• Fiber: 12 g
• Sugars: 4.6 g
• Protein: 9.8 g
• Vitamin A: 114.7%
• Vitamin C: 18.8%
• Calcium: 9.5%
• Iron: 41%

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Black Bean Tofu Scramble

I love to cook, and while I frequently make modifications to recipes, I very rarely create my own from scratch. This morning I decided to make an exception and throw together a tofu scramble with what I had lying around. The result was a very versatile recipe that can easily be adapted to suit whatever is currently in your kitchen!

I had one half of a twin pack of organic sprouted tofu from Trader Joe's, some veggies, spices, and an onion. Here's what I came up with:

Ingredients (fills 8 tortillas)

• 1 tbsp olive oil (or 1/4 cup water or vegetable broth, if you are limiting fats)
• 1/2 onion, diced (roughly 1 cup, and I used red)
• 2/3 cup bell pepper, chopped (any variety, I used a frozen mix)
• 1 jalapeño, diced (optional, and can be seeded to lower heat - but I like it spicy!)
• 1 clove garlic, minced (I adore frozen Dorot cubes)
• 7.5 oz tofu, drained and pressed
• 1/2 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tbsp chili powder
• salt and pepper (or other seasonings) to taste
• Tortillas
• Your favorite salsa (Mine is Trader Joe's habanero and lime) 
• Toppings of your choice (spinach, tomatoes, avocado, cilantro, etc!)

This recipe can easily be doubled if you have more tofu and veggies on hand, and most anything can be tweaked to suit your tastes.

Method

1. Drain the tofu and slice into 1-2 inch thick slabs. Set a few layers of paper towels on a plate, lay the tofu on top, and cover with more paper towels and another plate. This will "press" the tofu and the paper towels will absorb any excess moisture. Let this sit for a few minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
   
   
   


2. Discard the paper towels and mash the tofu with a fork, until crumbly.

3. Heat the oil (or substitute) in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion, peppers, garlic, jalapeño (if using), and a few dashes of salt. Saute for 2-3 minutes.
   
   
   
4. Add the tofu, spices, and black beans and stir to combine. Cook for another 3-5 minutes, then remove from heat and season to taste.
   
   
5. Warm the tortillas with your preferred method (I like heating them straight over a flame)
   
   
6. Fill each tortilla with scramble and top with salsa. Then add whatever other toppings you like! I chopped some spinach and cherry tomatoes, but I can't wait to try this with avocado!
   
   

Want to try this recipe? Have any questions or suggestions? Let me know in the comments!

Nutrition (Per 1/8 serving, scramble only)

• Calories: 78
• Total Fat: 3.4 g
• Saturated: 0.6 g
• Polyunsaturated: 0.2 g
• Monounsaturated: 1.3 g
• Trans: 0 g
• Cholesterol: 0mg
• Sodium: 160.5 mg
• Potassium: 46.7 mg
• Carbs: 8.1 g
• Fiber: 2.2 g
• Sugars: 1.4 g
• Protein: 4.6 g
• Vitamin A: 12.2%
• Vitamin C: 34.9%
• Calcium: 7.5%
• Iron: 6.3%

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