Spaghetti Squash "Pad Thai"

 

OK.  So it's not quite Pad Thai.  Those aren't rice noodles.  And there aren't any peanuts.  Or soy sauce.  Because those are all explicitly no-no's on the Whole30.  But it worked.  And along with the Thai Salad and Pineapple Coconut Chicken fulfilled my Thai cravings that week.  Plus I got to bash open a coconut which is (shocked?) right up my alley...

Makes: ~6 servings

Per serving: 109 calories,

11g protein,

4g fat,

7g carbs

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash

2 cups bok choy, coarsely chopped

8 oz sliced mushrooms

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup carrots, thinly sliced

40g almonds, ground (~1/4 cup)

1 T vinegar

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 tsp Chili powder

juice from 1/2 lime

1/2 lb grilled chicken breast cut into 1" pieces

Directions:

Prepare the spaghetti squash however you'd like. I roast mine whole (because cutting that sucker in half raw almost always ends up with my knife stuck halfway through and me pretty sure I'm going to lose a finger) in the oven at 375 on a foil like baking sheet until it is easily pierced with a fork.  Depending on size, usually about 45 minutes.

* Saute bok choy, carrots, mushrooms and garlic. Saute over medium heat until tender.

 

* Add chicken broth, ground almonds, lime juice, vinegar and chili powder.  Simmer for 10 minutes.

 

* Stick it on top of your squash or toss to mix & dig in!

Thai coconut salad

 

Makes: ~6 servings

Per serving: 152 calories,

7g protein,

7g fat,

16g carbs

Ingredients:

1 cup coconut water

juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup ground almonds or almond butter

1/2 T sesame oil

2 clove garlic, chopped

1/8 tsp ground cayenne

1 small onion, thinly sliced

6.5 oz mushrooms, sliced

6.5 oz bok choy, chopped

2 carrots, sliced

1/2 T dried cilantro

1/2 bunch red leaf lettuce

8 cups shredded cabbage

6oz coconut 

1 chicken breast grilled and shredded

Directions:

First up, the dressing... 

Simply put everything together and puree it.  I used by food processor. You can use whatever you'd like!  Mix coconut water, chopped ginger, juice of 1 lime, 1/4 almonds, 1/2 T sesame oil, 2 clove garlic, 1/8 tsp cayenne.

  

Grill chicken breast and shred.

Saute together the onion, mushroom, bok choy, carrots and cilantro. 

   

I was excited about the mason jar packing idea so I split the ingredients evenly in 6ths and layered all of my ingredients in 6 jars as follows and had a small jar of dressing left over for later. 

-- 1.5T dressing

-- chicken

-- sauteed vegetables

-- cabbage

-- coconut

-- lettuce

Pineapple Coconut Chicken Curry

I'm not sure curry is the right description but it is definitely a Thai flavored concoction.  Spicy, sweet and filling.  You can easily add or remove vegetables as you see fit - or get rid of them all together - add this would still work. On the flip side, leave out the chicken and you've got a great vegetarian/vegan dish.  If you have a particular aversion to one of the spices or can't find it anywhere, leave it out, I imagine this is still going to work just fine.

 

Makes: ~6 servings

Per serving: 244 calories,

31g protein,

7g fat,

13g carbs

 

Ingredients: 

1 3/4 pounds chicken

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp ground mustard

1 1/2 tsp garam masala

2 tsp coriander

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp salt

1 can (14oz) lite coconut milk

1 cup coconut water -- I used this because I had recently opened a fresh coconut; you could easily substitute for store bough coconut water or just plain old water.

1 red onion, sliced

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 yellow bell pepper, sliced

2 cubanelle pepper, sliced

1/2 lb snow peas

3 oz coconut meat -- Possibly substitute unsweetened shredded coconut instead if you don't have or don't want to deal with opening and shelling your own coconut

8oz mushrooms, sliced

4 oz pineapple sliced and cut into 1" pieces

2 T chopped ginger

1 tsp guar gum*

1 tsp xanthum gum *

*(you could substitute 1T of corn startch, flour or thickener of your choice)

Directions

Cut the chicken into roughly 1-inch cube sized pieces. Mix with the spices, 1/2 of the coconut milk, and 1/2 of the chopped pineapple.  Place in the refrigerator overnight to marinate (or chill for at least 1-2 hours)

 

You can also prepare the other ingredients ahead of time if you wish.  I prepped everything and was able to have everything cooking at the same time in different pans to speed things along. 

Mix the snow peas with the sliced mushrooms and coconut in one container.   In a second container prepare and combine the onion, peppers, garlic and ginger.

 

Mix the onions, peppers, garlic and ginger in a saute pan and quickly saute just until onions start to turn translucent.  Add 1/2 of the coconut water and allow to simmer until fully cooked - about 20 minutes.

 

Remove the pepper mixture from the pan and replace with mushroom mixture, add remaining pineapple.  Saute until the mushrooms just start browning and simmer covered for about 15 minutes stirring occasionally.

 

Place chicken in large pan and cook over medium heat stirring occasionally until chicken is cooked, about 10 minutes.

 

Add remaining coconut milk, coconut water, guar gum and xanthum gum and simmer until desired consistency, about 15 minutes.

 

Combine pepper mixture with vegetables in pan and stir to mix.

 

Combine to serve.  Serve alone or over your choice -- as below with glucomannan noodles, regular pasta or rice noodles, rice, shredded cabbage, salad greens, etc.  I initially left the chicken and veggies separate and combined over the noodles but later mixed them all together and it works just fine as well if you want to combine before serving.