A typical Pad Thai with tofu contains 940 calories, which is far too many calories. My Zoodle Pad Thai has approximately 260 calories. Although I don’t count calories, I am not eating 940 calories when I can eat 260 instead, without losing flavor or taste.
Zoodles are my new favorite go to staple! Since reading Eat to Live, and taking another step toward good health, I deleted pasta from my menu and added Zoodles. I can honestly say, with my new love of Zoodles, I don’t miss pasta at all.
In fact, I love Zoodles more now that I cook with them often. Although my family adores pasta, everyone in our family has raved about the Zoodle dishes I created. In fact, my son called recently to find out when I was making Zoodle Pad Thai again.
“Zoodles” are zucchini noodles, or spaghetti-like strands made from spiralized, raw zucchini. Low in calories and carbohydrates, zoodles contain no flour or wheat, making them gluten-free. Although Zoodles take minutes to prepare, cooking them properly demands particular attention. Many people make the mistake of cooking their Zoodles too long, creating soggy noodles. Because zucchini contains so much water, the amount of time you cook them, as well as how much sauce you use, is detrimental. Too much sauce creates a soupy, undesirable consistency.
Although many people suggest not cooking the noodles at all, I prefer to cook them to maintain heat throughout the dish I am preparing. It literally takes 3 minutes to cook the Zoodles, in a Wok. A high heat Wok cooks the Zoodles perfectly without making them soggy.
A small amount of sauce goes a long way because of the zucchini contains so much water. Less is more, which is quite beneficial in terms of calories and taste. Although most of the water evaporates from the other vegetables, when you add the Zoodles and sauce last, everything comes together.
I add a few peanuts, a wedge of lime, and some cilantro to bring it all together. Try it, you may LOVE it!
Vegan Zoodle Pad Thai
Zoodle Pad Thai is a low-fat, low-carb, gluten-free delicious version of one of your favorite meals. Don't miss out on one of your favorite dishes when you can eat it without losing the taste or flavor of a typical pad thai dish.
Ingredients
Vegetables:
- 4 small to medium, Zucchini spiraled using the spaghetti blade (I used green zucchini, but you may use yellow)
- 1/2 small Red Cabbage, shredded
- 1 Red Bell Pepper, sliced into thin strips
- 1 medium, White Onion sliced thin strips
- 1 cup Shredded Carrots
- 1 inch grated Fresh Ginger Root
Sauce:
- 1/4 cup Homemade Peanut Butter or Almond Butter
- 2 Tablespoons Lime Juice
- 2 Tablespoons Low Sodium Soy Sauce or Tamari
- 2 Tablespoons Pure Maple Syrup or agave nectar
- 2 teaspoons, grated Fresh Ginger Root
- 1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
- 3 Tablespoons Water
Garnish:
- 1 ounce Peanuts per bowl
- 1 ounce, chopped Cilantro per bowl
- 1 lime, cut into 4 edges (1 per bowl)
- 4 Green Onions, chopped (equally distributed in each bowl)
Instructions
Prepare Vegetables:
- Spiralize the zucchini using the spaghetti blade. (Choose small/or medium zucchini). Large zucchinis are great for baking, but Zoddles are best prepared using small or medium zucchinis.
- Shred cabbage and carrots,
- Slice red bell peppers and onions.
- Grate ginger.
Low-Fat Peanut Sauce:
- Blend all ingredients in a small blender.
Preparing the Pad Thai:
- Heat a Wok to medium high heat, WITHOUT ANY OIL. You do not need oil. The vegetables contain so much water, you don't need oil.
- Add the onion first. Cook until translucent.
- Add cabbage. Cook for a few minutes.
- Add Carrots and Red Bell Pepper.
- Cook and toss for a few minutes.
- Add Zucchini Zoodles and cook for 3 minutes, tossing often to make sure it gets hot.
- I use a timer for this.
- Add sauce and toss.
- Remove from heat.
- Serve with garnishes on top
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