Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai 2.0

One of my favorite activities is eating different cuisines from all over the world. It’s a fantastic way to expand my culture and learn about a country. Food is the universal language to the soul and my mission is to unlock as many as possible to transform into my dishes back home. I enjoy the flavor combinations that expand my palette that I wouldn’t normally think of on my own. Sweet and salty is a fun combo I like to work with. Pad Thai is a dish that combines sweetness from brown sugar and saltiness from fish sauce/tamari with the tanginess from lime juice. I grew up eating stir fry, so when I found this recipe in college, I wanted to learn how to create this back at home. If you find this at a restaurant, it can range from anywhere from 600 calories on the extremely generous side to well over 1000 calories. Also, it’s packed with more sugar than you need in a day’s serving. Using spaghetti squash as the “noodle” and ingredients from the supermarket, I will share with you how I cut down the calories and up the veggie ante to make this a well-rounded healthy dish. Find my recipe for Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai below:

Ingredients:

•       1 lb cooked protein of choice

•        1 Medium to large spaghetti squash

•        2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided

•        1/2 cup shredded carrots

•        3 eggs, whisked

•        3-4 green onions, sliced thin

•        1 15 oz can of bean sprouts, drained or 1 cup fresh bean sprouts, washed and drained

•        Salt and pepper to taste

•        Top with lots of chopped peanuts, extra crushed red pepper flakes, lime wedges

For the Sauce:

•        1/3 Cup vegetable broth

•        1/3 Cup brown sugar or turbinado sugar

•        4 Cloves garlic, minced

•        1/4 Cup fish sauce

•        1/2 Cup Tamari or Liquid Aminos

•        2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar

•        1 Tbsp. sriracha (optional)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place spaghetti squash halves face down on a baking sheet with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper on each half. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until squash is fork tender.

2) Begin cooking your protein. If you're using chicken, add it on a separate foiled baking sheet and cook with the spaghetti squash.

For shrimp, cook on the skillet over medium heat for 5-10 minutes or until pink.

For tofu, sandwich a 14 oz block of firm tofu between paper towels, press and drain for 30 minutes.  Next, cut the tofu into 1/4 inch slices.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook the tofu in 1 tablespoon oil in a non-stick pan in a single layer for 2 minutes, undisturbed.  Then flip the tofu and cook on the second side for 1-2 minutes, until lightly browned.  Transfer to a clean plate and set aside for 5 minutes to cool. After, cut tofu into cubes.

3) Combine ingredients for sauce by whisking them all together until mixed through. Set aside.

4) Chop your veggies. On medium heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil to a pan. Place the carrots and bean sprouts in your pan and sauté for 5 minutes.

5) Combine all ingredients to the sauce in a separate bowl, set aside.

6) When your spaghetti squash is done, let it cool for 5-10 minutes. Spaghetti all of your squash with a fork and add it to your vegetables.

7) Add the cooked protein, and sauce mixture to your veggie mixture and stir to mix through.

8) In the pan, move everything aside to make room for the eggs. Pour the eggs into the pan and stir constantly until cooked through. Stir everything to combine.

9) Top with additional toppings and green onions. Enjoy!

Want more spaghetti squash dishes like this one? Check out some of my latest recipes below:

Spinach and Artichoke Dip Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

PS: Looking for other creative ways to use spaghetti squash? Check out some of my other recipes on how I’ve transformed spaghetti squash into healthier versions of my favorite dishes.

Spaghetti Squash Stir Fry

When you think of stir fry, you think healthy.

A rainbow of vegetables mixed with noodles (or rice), protein, and sauce in a bowl.

On the surface, it seems like a balanced dish.

Now, you see stir fry in food courts and all over the fast food scene.

Stir fry, which is a healthy dish has been saturated by the market.

What a lot of the restaurants don’t tell the consumers is how it’s prepared with peanut or canola oils.

The amount of carbohydrates in stir fry with noodles or pasta is much more than an amount needed in one meal.

A lot of sauces are prepared with more sugar than the daily recommended serving.

Those alone decrease the healthfulness of the dish.

Knowing what I do now about health and nutrition, I decided to take a stand and recreate this dish back in my kitchen.

By embracing my body having a hard time digesting gluten, I created my own version of stir fry.

I removed all of the processed ingredients and did some research to find sauces with the fewest ingredients.

I learned how fun making spaghetti squash can be.

It yields a ton of leftovers to make food for an entire week.

Stir fry at a restaurant can run your wallet $20 or more. Get your bang for your buck with my spaghetti squash stir fry recipe below!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb cooked protein of choice (I used shrimp)

• 1 Medium to large spaghetti squash

• 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided

• 1/2 Sweet yellow onion, chopped

• 1/2 Red bell pepper, chopped

• 4 Oz shiitake mushrooms, chopped

• 1 Cup fresh spinach, chopped

• 1/2 Cup sugar snap peas or snow peas

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Top with sesame seeds

For the Sauce:

• 1 Cup vegetable broth

• 1/2 Cup peanut butter

• 4 Cloves garlic, minced

• 1 Inch piece of fresh ginger, minced

• 1/2 Cup Tamari or Liquid Aminos

• 3 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar

• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil

• 1 Tbsp. sriracha (optional)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place spaghetti squash halves face down on a baking sheet with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper on each half. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until squash is fork tender.

2) Begin cooking your protein. If you're using chicken, add it on a separate foiled baking sheet and cook with the spaghetti squash. For shrimp, cook until pink.

 
3) Chop your veggies. On medium heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil to a pan. Place the onions in your pan and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the peppers and mushrooms and sauté for another 5 minutes. Add the spinach. Sauté until the spinach is wilted and your veggies are nice and soft. 

4) Combine all ingredients to the sauce in a separate bowl, set aside.

5) When your spaghetti squash is done, let it cool for 5-10 minutes. Spaghetti all of your squash with a fork and add it to your vegetables. 

6) Add the cooked protein and sauce mixture to your veggie mixture and stir to mix through.

7) Top with sesame seeds. Enjoy!

PS: Looking for more creative pasta alternatives? Check out my food substitutions blog where I share a handful of recipes that will cater to those looking for a lighter dish. With a few tweaks, you will have a tasty meal that will have you forget that you’re not eating pasta!

Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai

I freaking love Thai food. I’ll go out with my friends to a Thai restaurant and I will order the pad thai almost every time. Lately, I’ve noticed that when I eat it, I feel an immense amount of bloating and inflammation. It’s to the point where I’ve had to keel over trying to walk out of the restaurant. This is followed by immense amounts of constipation and gas with more stomach aches.

Ugh…

But why?!?!

Later, I’ll go look up the ingredients typically used in a restaurant-style pad thai.

Rice noodles

Carrots

Bean sprouts,

Eggs

Broccoli on occasion

A protein of choice

Topped with peanuts and a lime

Sounds totally kosher, right?

At the surface, yes it sounds like a great well-rounded dish. Did you notice I left off the sauce? The sauce is usually the calorie killer to dishes. Take a moment and look that a typical dish of pad thai served is not only more than one serving, but each serving can range from 800-1000 calories. That’s eating half your calories in a small meal followed by more carbs than your body can digest and a hell of a lot of sugar. You guessed it. Sugar is the culprit. While a lot of restaurants won’t disclose ingredient lists unless you ask, sugar is a ton of empty calories as well as a slew of ingredients you don’t even know that are in there.

Mind = blown!

Never to fear, I always have a recipe for that. With a few small tweaks, I have modified this recipe to make it a much healthier option for those that are health conscious. Check out my Duxified recipe for Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai.

For the Pad Thai

• 2 spaghetti squash (medium sized)

• 1-2 medium carrots, julienned

• 1 cup fresh or 1 15 oz can bean sprouts

• 3 green onions, chopped

• 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

• 3 eggs, lightly beaten

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided

• Optional: peanuts and sesame seeds for topping

For the sauce

• ½ cup liquid aminos

• ¼ cup fish sauce

• 2 tbsp brown sugar or turbinado sugar

• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

• 1 lime chopped into wedges (for squeezing on top)

Directions:

1)      Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut spaghetti squash in half on the direction without the stem. Scoop out all the seeds from the center.

2)      Season with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Put face down in the oven and cook for 30-35 minutes or until it can be flaked with a fork.

3)      Combine all ingredients for sauce. Set aside

4)      Clean off the shrimp and cook on medium heat until cooked through. The shrimp will turn a more vibrant pink when cooked.

5)      Chop your vegetables. Add remaining olive oil to a large, deep pan and begin sautéing.

6)      Get your spaghetti squash out of the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes.

7)      Carefully fork your spaghetti squash and add it to your vegetables.

8)      Add your cooked shrimp and eggs to the pan. Stir until the eggs are cooked through.

Add your sauce, mix well, top with desired toppings, and enjoy!

PS: Looking for other creative ways to use spaghetti squash? Check out some of my other recipes on how I’ve transformed spaghetti squash into healthier versions of my favorite dishes.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

I definitely outdid myself on this one. For those of you who don't know me, I am obsessed with dip. I would make spinach artichoke dip all the time and I would eat it just as fast as I made it! 😂 But this time, I added spaghetti squash, more veggies, and some meat to made this a meal. As an added bonus, the entire dish is dairy free! Yesssss it's so good I felt called to share this. This dish can be vegan as well if you remove the meat. It's still plenty filling with or without the meat. Check out the recipe for my Spinach and Artichoke Dip Stuffed Spaghetti Squash!

Ingredients:

• 2 medium spaghetti squashes, halved lengthwise

• 1 lb cooked meat of choice (optional)

• ** 1 cup cashews

• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast

• ½ cup almond milk or vegetable broth

• 2-3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided

• ½ cup veganaise (or you can use regular mayo here)

• 1 lemon, squeezed

• 1 Tablespoon arrowroot starch

• ½ cup vegan Parmesan cheese (find the recipe here)

• 1 cup dairy free mozzarella cheese (can be found at Whole Foods or any health food store)

• 4 cloves of garlic

• ½ teaspoon sea salt

• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1 can artichoke hearts, chopped

• 1 yellow onion, chopped

• 1 red bell pepper, chopped

• 8 oz Portobello mushrooms, chopped

• ** 1 8 oz bag of frozen spinach or buy a large bag of fresh spinach

• Parsley (for topping)

Directions:

** If you don’t have a high powered blender or a food processor, soak the cashews in 1 cup of water overnight, so they are ready to blend.

** If you decide to use frozen spinach, thaw according to directions on the package. Make sure it’s completely dry before adding to the rest of your vegetables.

1.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place spaghetti squash halves face down in a baking sheet with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper on each half. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until squash is fork tender.

2.       Chop your veggies. On medium heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil to a pan. Place the onions into your pan and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the peppers and mushrooms and sauté for another 5 minutes. Add the artichokes and spinach. Sauté until the spinach is wilted and your veggies are nice and soft. Add the mozzarella cheese and your cooked meal.  Stir until the cheese is melted.

3.       Place cashews, nutritional yeast, almond milk or veggie broth, veganaise, lemon, arrowroot starch, parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper into the blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. Set aside.

4.       When your spaghetti squash is done, let it cool for 5-10 minutes. Spaghetti all of your squash with a fork and add it to your vegetables. Keep the squash halves because you will use them in the following steps.

5.       Add the sauce mixture to your veggie mixture and stir to mix through.

6.       Turn the oven up to 400 degrees F. Spoon the mixture back into the spaghetti squash halves. Top with extra mozzarella cheese if desired.

7.       Bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted. Top with parsley and enjoy! :)