Ginger Cashew Chicken Stir Fry with Coconut Cauliflower Rice from HGG Reset

Ambitious Kitchen

Ginger Cashew Chicken Stir Fry with Coconut Cauliflower Rice from HGG Reset

Incredible Ginger Cashew Chicken Stir Fry with Coconut Cauliflower Rice from the new Healthy Glow Co. HGG Reset! This protein-packed dish has bright colors, delicious flavors, and is perfect for meal-prep.  It’s almost the weekend and I’m SO excited to be sharing one of my favorite recipes from the HGG Reset. I started our 4-week [...]

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A Sweet Pea Chef

Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai

This spaghetti squash pad thai recipe is a low carb alternative to chicken pad thai and is so incredibly delicious!  This recipe is clean eating, gluten-free, dairy-free, and paleo.

Pad thai is one of my absolute favorite Thai foods.  The combination of flavors and textures and sauce and heat is just so amazing.

My only sadness with pad thai is that I don’t often get to enjoy it because it is pretty heavy on the carbs, considering it is made up of a lot of noodles.

So, instead of using regular rice noodles, I chose to use spaghetti squash noodles for this pad thai recipe.  The spaghetti squash adds a fun alternative to the rice noodles and also reduces the carbs and calories, while increasing the nutrients, like protein and fiber.

Really, what this means is I get to enjoy pad thai more often, and you can, too!

What is Pad Thai?

If you’ve never tried it before, pad thai is delicious.  It’s basically a stir fry that consists of rice noodles, stir-fried with eggs and another protein, like tofu, chicken, or shrimp. The strong flavors comes from the pad thai sauce, which commonly contains tamarind pulp, fish sauce, garlic, red chili pepper, and palm sugar and it’s usually served with lime wedges and topped with chopped peanuts.  See?  YUM.

One of my favorite things about pad thai is all the toppings you get with it – they add all sorts of flavors and textures.  Common pad thai toppings include lime wedges, roasted peanuts, bean sprouts, cilantro, and so on.  I use many of these in this spaghetti squash pad thai recipe.

How To Make Spaghetti Squash Noodles

Spaghetti squash noodles are a fabulous alternative to regular pad thai noodles because they are low in carbs, gluten-free, grain-free, and contain fiber and protein, along with other nutrients. Cooking the spaghetti squash couldn’t be easier.  To see step by step directions on how to make spaghetti squash noodles, go to this post.  There are a couple main ways to make spaghetti squash, which I’ve listed out below:

HOW TO BAKE SPAGHETTI SQUASH NOODLES IN THE OVEN Slice the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise (you could cut into rings if you’d like, but I find lengthways to be easier to remove the seeds and bake) Remove the seeds Drizzle each cut side with olive oil and season with sea salt and black pepper (this step is totally optional, but will add flavor to the baked spaghetti squash noodles) Place each half of the spaghetti squash face down on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil Place in the oven and roast for about an hour The squash is done when the noodles easily pull away from the skin and you can easily pierce the skin with a fork Using a fork, scrape the insides of the squash to separate the strands

It takes literally 5 minutes to prep the spaghetti squash to be cooked once the oven is preheated.  So easy!

HOW TO COOK SPAGHETTI SQUASH IN THE MICROWAVE Slice the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise (you could cut into rings if you’d like, but I find lengthways to be easier to remove the seeds and bake) Remove the seeds Drizzle each cut side with olive oil and season with sea salt and black pepper (this step is totally optional, but will add flavor to the baked spaghetti squash noodles) Place one of the spaghetti squash halves face down in a small microwave-safe casserole dish or rimmed plate Pour 3-4 tbsp. water into the dish Microwave 8-10 minutes, or until the skin is tender when pierced with a fork Using a fork, scrape the insides of the squash to separate the strands into the spaghetti noodles

The microwave method is quicker, but doesn’t provide as much flavor as the roasting – but works great when you’re in a rush!

How To Store Spaghetti Squash

Since having spaghetti squash noodles on hand is a great way to decrease the prep time for making this spaghetti squash pad thai, you can quickly and easily freeze your spaghetti squash noodles once they’ve been cooked to grab at a later time.

Believe it or not, it is very easy to freeze spaghetti squash noodles.  Yay!  While the texture wont be quite the same as if it were freshly baked (it will be slightly more soggy once defrosted), it will still work in a pinch.  All you have to do is portion it out and freeze it without any sauce.

Freeze the cooked chicken and pad thai sauce separately.  Then, when you’re ready to cook the pad thai, allow the frozen pad thai sauce and spaghetti squash noodles to thaw overnight in the fridge, then add everything together and heat through.  Easy peasy.

Is Pad Thai Paleo?

Good news, paleo friends.  This pad thai recipe is paleo.  The major culprit for why pad thai might not be paleo would be the noodles and the soy sauce.  So, since we are using spaghetti squash noodles instead of wheat noodles, it makes it easy.  While rice noodles aren’t technically not paleo, they’re also not Not paleo, meaning they cause some confusion for people.  Also, this recipe doesn’t call for soy sauce, which makes it easy since soy isn’t allowed on a paleo diet.

Is Pad Thai Gluten-Free?

While you can easily make your own homemade pad thai gluten-free, you’ll need to be careful when ordering out at restaurants.  You’ll need to know whether the noodles are rice-based, like vermicelli or pad thai noodles, or wheat-based, like egg noodles.  Also, you’ll need to replace regular soy sauce with a gluten-free alternative, such as coconut aminos.  Coconut aminos works just like soy sauce, which makes it very easy to make your own gluten-free spaghetti squash pad thai recipe at home.

Since this spaghetti squash pad thai recipe uses spaghetti squash noodles instead of wheat noodles and doesn’t call for any soy sauce, that makes it a gluten-free pad thai recipe.

Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai

This spaghetti squash pad thai recipe is a low carb version of chicken pad thai and is so incredibly delicious!  This Pad Thai recipe uses spaghetti squash noodles instead of rice noodles.

6 cups spaghetti squash noodles ((1 medium spaghetti squash), cooked) 1/2 cup hot water 1 tbsp. tamarind paste 3 tbsp. coconut sugar 3 tbsp. fish sauce 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes 2 tbsp. olive oil, (divided) 6 cloves garlic, (minced) 1 1/2 lbs. boneless and skinless chicken breasts, (diced into bite-size cubes) 2 eggs 1 yellow onion, (diced) 5 green onions, (thinly sliced) 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, (chopped) 1/2 cup raw peanuts, (chopped, plus more for garnish) 2 limes, (sliced into wedges for serving)

In a small mixing bowl, dissolve the tamarind paste in the hot water. 

Add the coconut sugar, fish sauce, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until well-browned, about 5-6 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a plate for later, reserving the drippings in the pan.

Add onion to the same pan and stir to combine. Cook 4-5 minutes, or until onion becomes tender. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute. Push ingredients to one side of the pan and add 1 more tbsp. olive oil in the cleared area. Add egg and scramble until cooked through. Combine cooked egg with onion mixture.

Return the chicken to the pan. Add the cooked spaghetti squash noodles and sauce. Toss together to incorporate sauce with noodles. Cook 4-5 minutes, until noodles get slightly golden-brown.

Remove from heat. Add green onions, cilantro, and the chopped peanuts. Toss once more.

Serve with a couple wedges of lime and sprinkle some crushed peanuts over the top. Squeeze lime over Pad Thai prior to eating, if preferred.

 This post contains affiliate links for products I use regularly and highly recommend.

The post Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai appeared first on A Sweet Pea Chef.

A Couple Cooks

Savory Vegan Pot Pie with Sage Crust

  

Fact: the human brain remembers negative events better than positive ones. (Heres’ one source, there are many.) Yes, it’s true. Those snide remarks, criticisms, fears, and worries stick out like sore thumbs. Have you ever had something fabulous happen, then to be dwarfed by the smallest “negative” event your mind can’t help from focusing on?

Confession: my perception of what parenting would be like was skewed to the negative. Hearing what parents all around me had to say about it, I assumed my life would be full of dirty diapers, sleep deprivation, frustration, helplessness, loneliness, and boredom. But what I’ve realized is that I’ve heard positive things from parents too, I just didn’t remember them as well.

It’s the best, most fun thing you’ll ever do. (Check!)
Your soul is changed; you cherish the smaller things more. (Check!)
Looking at your kiddo makes your heart melt in a way you’ve never felt before. (Check!)

And it goes on. I do think Alex and I got lucky: Larson is an extraordinarily awesome kid who is fun-loving, curious, hilarious, and sweet, and pretty much the most fun person to be around in the universe (I know, I’m biased!). But I think the fact that I’m surprised that parenting is the most positive thing I’ve ever done is because my brain hears and remembers negative loud and clear.

How does that relate to this vegan pot pie? Well, you may remember us talking about all the kitchen failures we’ve had in the past. Being adventurous in the kitchen calls for taking risks, and with risks comes failures. It can be easy to start to fear failure when you’re taking culinary risks. Last week, Alex said he’d make dinner for me. That evening, he made up this vegan pot pie from scratch based on just an idea in his head. Knowing what I know about risk and failure, I assumed it would be a flop–and I wanted to keep my expectations low in case we ended up eating peanut butter sandwiches. Miraculously, this vegan pot pie was one of the best things I’d ever tasted. The earthy potatoes and onions are slathered in a savory, creamy sauce, along with fried shallots and white beans. And on top, a flaky sage crust that you’d never believe is vegan (his secret: coconut oil).

This time, I decided to bask in the glow of the vegan pot pie triumph. We made it again, and it was spot on. Larson was in love with the pot pie, eating more than we’d ever seen him eat and slamming the table with his hands in glee. And though I know my brain is wired to remember the negative best, I intentionally impressed this positive memory into my brain: Cozy, delicious vegan pot pie. Sparkling snow on the ground. Sweet 11 month old Larson covered in vegetable goo. This is what I want to remember.

Looking for more healthy dinner recipes?

Looking for some healthy dinner recipes? Here are a few more of our favorite healthy dinner recipes, which happen to be vegan recipes:

Moroccan Spiced Cauliflower SoupSpiced Chickpea Tacos with Avocado CreamSimple Chickpea Curry with Tart CherriesCreamy Vegan Pasta MarinaraDid you make this recipe?

If you make this vegan pot pie with sage crust, we’d love to hear how it turned out. Leave a comment below or share a picture on Instagram and mention @acouplecooks.

This recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and sugar-free.

Savory Vegan Pot Pie with Sage Crust

 

Print

by: a Couple Cooks

Serves: 6

What You Need

For the crust 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon kosher salt ¼ teaspoon baking powder 2 teaspoons dried sage ½ cup refined coconut oil (room temperature) 7 tablespoons ice water For the filling 1 large shallot 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans About ⅓ cup olive oil, divided 1 small sweet potato (about ½ pound) 1 small Yukon gold potato (about ½ pound) 1 medium yellow onion 1 small or ½ large red bell pepper 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms 2 teaspoons garlic powder 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 1 teaspoon ground thyme 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 cups vegetable broth 1 tablespoon soy sauce ¾ teaspoon kosher salt

What To Do

Preheat oven to 450°F. Make the crust: In a medium bowl, mix all-purpose flour, kosher salt, baking powder, and sage. Measure ½ cup of room temperature coconut oil and then drop small blobs of the coconut oil into the flour mixture. Use a pastry blender to cut it into the flour mixture until a coarse meal texture is obtained. Sprinkle 7 tablespoons ice water over the flour, mixing gradually with fork until the dough sticks together. Add additional water by the tablespoon until the dough comes together with your hands, but is not sticky (add a bit more water or flour if necessary). Form the dough into a ball and refrigerate in a covered container until the filling is ready. Make the filling: Slice the shallot into rings. Drain and rinse the cannellini beans, shaking them dry. Place a medium skillet over medium-high heat and pour in olive oil until the bottom of the skillet is just covered. Add the shallot and beans to the skillet in a single layer. Cook without stirring for 3 to 4 minutes until the bottoms are browned and crispy, then stir and cook without stirring for another 4 to 5 minutes until crispy and fully browned. Remove from heat and add a pinch of kosher salt. Meanwhile, dice the sweet potato, Yukon gold potato, yellow onion, and bell pepper into ½-inch cubes. Slice the mushrooms. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the sweet potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes, onion, pepper, and mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. When tender, reduce the heat to low. Add the spices and flour and stir until the vegetables are coated. Add the vegetable broth, soy sauce, and kosher salt. Stir for about 4 minutes until the broth thickens into a sauce. Remove from the heat and add the crispy beans and shallots. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired. Pour the filling into a deep dish 9” pie pan or small baking dish, or into several smaller baking dishes. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out on a floured surface until it is large enough to cover the pan. Work quickly as the dough is easiest to work with while it’s just come to room temperature. Drape the dough over the pan and remove excess dough. Lightly crimp the edges (it’s a rustic pie, so it doesn’t have to be perfect!). Cut 4 small slits to vent for steam in the center of the crust. In a small bowl, mix a few drops of water with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and lightly brush it over the dough. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden and crispy. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for several minutes before serving.

3.5.3229

 

A Couple Cooks - Recipes for Healthy & Whole Living

from Merah Hati Cintaku http://merahhaticintaku.blogspot.com/2018/01/ginger-cashew-chicken-stir-fry-with.html
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