Spaghetti Squash with Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce

Omg. I love spaghetti squash. I love peanut sauce. Typically, I don't cook with peanut sauce because, well, peanut butter and oil. However, I've found a delicious new way to make it that is so much lower in calories! I love PB2.

Check out the labels and click on "spaghetti squash" for all my spaghetti squash recipes!

1 medium spaghetti squash
salt, pepper, garlic powder
¼ c chopped parsley
2 tbsp crushed peanuts
green onions (I put green onions on everything)

Peanut Sauce:
1 can (14 ounces) light coconut milk
1/2 c PB2 (don't add the water, just leave it powdered)
¼ c Stevia (or sweetener that measures cup-for-cup like sugar)
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp white or apple cider vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp red curry paste


Spaghetti Squash: You can cook your spaghetti squash however you'd like. I always make mine like this: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place whole spaghetti squash on baking sheet and stab it all over with a fork. Bake for 45 min to 1 hr. I like to rotate my spaghetti squash about every 20 min. Let the squash cool, and slice it lengthwise down the middle. Scoop out the middle part with seeds, Use a fork to shred the spaghetti squash.

Peanut Sauce: Place all sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Then turn down to low and simmer for 5 minutes while stirring almost constantly.
Take off heat to cool sauce.

To serve: I used a fork to pull up the noodles, sprinkled some salt, pepper, and garlic powder on them. Then I poured the sauce in and mixed. I actually ended up with a little extra sauce. Sprinkle parsley and crushed peanuts over the top. Enjoy!

Original recipe found here.

Raw Rainbow Pad Thai Salad

This time of year, every time I make something I think - "Can I do this during the school year?" Answer: YEP! Spiralize everything on Sunday, and make individual containers. This could easily be my lunch every day.

Also - this was my first time to try hemp seeds!

Sweet potato noodles were for Cajun Sweet Potato Noodles!

Salad:
1 medium zucchini, spiralized
2 large carrots, julienned (I spiralized)
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 c thinly sliced red cabbage (I also spiralized this!)
1/2 c frozen edamame, thawed
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 tbsp hemp seeds
1/2 tbsp sesame seeds

Peanut dressing:
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 c PB2 (powdered peanut butter, go ahead and mix it with water)
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp water
2.5 teaspoons pure maple syrup (or other sweetener) (I used Stevia)
1/2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp freshly grated ginger



Prep vegetables. Add the zucchini, carrots, pepper, and cabbage into one or two large bowls. Toss with hands to combine.

Prepare the dressing by processing all dressing ingredients in a mini processor (or simply whisk by hand). The dressing may seem a bit thin at first, but it thickens as it sits.

Top bowls with edamame, green onion, hemp seeds, and sesame seeds. Pour on dressing and enjoy!

Original recipe found here.

Cajun Sweet Potato Noodles

Last weekend I realized - I have TWO weeks of summer left... TWO weeks to try new recipes, and recipes that might be a little more time consuming! So I planned out 3 new veggie noodle dishes for this week... they ALL turned out delicious.

After I prepped for this, I realized it would be super easy to prep veggie noodles (sweet potato, zucchini, etc.) on Sundays. They keep well, so you could just have them on hand for the week. Check out inspiralized.com - it's a whole site devoted to spiralizing... how-to, meal planning, storage, recipes!

THESE WERE SO TASTY. The ENTIRE recipe is about 500 calories... I ate it all by myself since Will was at a work dinner! I'm glad I got it all to myself!

Sweet Potato Noodles:
2-3 medium-sized sweet potatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Cajun seasoning
½ tsp sea salt

Veggie Noodles:
1 large red bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
8 oz mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced
1 large red onion, peeled and the ends sliced off
1 large zucchini, about 12 ounces, ends sliced off
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tomatoes, about 12 oz, chopped
Chopped fresh cilantro, about ½ of a small bunch



Preheat the oven to 450ºF.

Start by spiralizing the sweet potatoes, and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Spiralize the red onion and zucchini and set them aside. Clean the spiralizer right away for easy cleanup!

Toss the sweet potato noodles with the olive oil, Cajun seasoning, and sea salt.  Place the sweet potato noodles in the oven to roast, until softened, about 8 minutes.

While the sweet potato noodles are roasting, sauté the prepared bell pepper, mushrooms, onion, zucchini, and garlic in the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil until the veggies are just tender.

Remove sweet potatoes from the oven and add them to the pan with the sautéed veggies. Add chopped fresh tomatoes, and fresh cilantro. Cook just long enough to heat through and serve immediately!

Original recipe found here.