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.
