Low(er) Carb Pad Thai

  

Low(er) Carb Pad Thai

 

 

If you spend time on Facebook or Pinterest you've likely seen the quick videos from Tasty outlining how to make various, scrumptious looking dishes.  I don't think they typically have anyone's health or diet in mind... but boy do they inspire!

 

Today I watched several of their video tutorials and I ended up combining two to make a low carb Pad Thai dish.  First I was inspired by their video on spaghetti squash three ways (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/554857616570185628/).  Then I saw their Pad Thai video (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/554857616570196990/),

 

Put the two together and you have a really fantastic lower carb noodle dish!

 

Just a word of caution before you get too far into this... If you prepare this to my exact specifications, you'll end up with a pot with the following nutritional profile:
-132 g Carbs
-34 g Fiber
-103 g Protein
-149 g Fat
- 2,200 Calories

You can split this into 4 large servings or 6 medium sized servings.  If you do 4 servings, that means you'll have a dish with 24 grams net carbs.  If you do 6 servings, you'll have 16 grams net carbs.  So while the carbs aren't super low, they are much better than if you use actual noodles.

With Spaghetti Squash:  24 g net carbs
With Spaghetti Pasta:     58 g net carbs
With Rice Noodles:         68 g net carbs

Ingredients:
- 1 med/large Spaghetti Squash
- 2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 Eggs
- 1 diced Chicken Breast
- 8 oz diced Firm Tofu
- 1/4 cup of diced Shallots
Sauce:
- 1/8 cup fish sauce
- 1/8 cup rice vinegar
- 1/8 cup soy sauce 
- 1/8 cup lime juice
- 1/8 cup sriracha sauce (increase or decrease according to the level of heat you like)
- 4 packet of splenda (or other sugar substitute you like)
- 1/4 cup of natural peanut butter

Directions:
Prepare your "noodles" by  puncturing your spaghetti squash several times with a knife (apparently if you don't it may explode as you heat it up!).  Microwave that baby for 4 - 6 minutes (depending on the size of your squash).  When it's done cooking, you'll have to let it cool a bit before you can handle it.  Once you can, cut it in half, scoop out the seeds (like you would a pumpkin),  and then use a fork to strip the noodles out.  Toss in 1 Tbsp of olive oil and 1 Tbsp of sesame oil, and then set your spaghetti squash noodles aside.

Next prepare your sauce by mixing up all the sauce ingredients above.

Pour 1/2 Tbsp of sesame oil into your pot and scramble your eggs. When the eggs are finished cooking, set aside. Pour another 1/2 Tbsp of sesame oil and 1 Tbsp olive oil into the pot and add your shallots, chicken, and tofu. Once chicken is fully cooked add your "noodles" and pour in your pad thai sauce, mix up well.  Then add your eggs back and stir in.

My husband and my 4 year old both really enjoyed this, as did I.  The spaghetti squash noodles were a bit crispy, but that was really the only difference I noticed from a regular noodle.  Other than the slight crunch, they took on the pad thai flavoring wonderfully!  Also, I added 1/4 cup of the sriracha sauce and while my little girl liked the dish, it was a bit too spicy for her.  Next time I will stick with 1 - 2 Tbsp of sriracha.