Zucchini Spaghetti with Asian Walnut Sauce

I was feeling a bit lazy today in terms of cooking. When this happens I frequently turn to raw food. As long as there isn’t soaking or dehydrating involved raw food can be a good fast meal.

Today I was thinking about sesame noodles but I wanted something that was healthier of course. Spiralized zucchini was the obvious substitute for pasta. I substituted walnuts in place of peanut butter for the omega 3 fatty acids. In place of fresh ginger I used powdered for a couple of reasons. First we get a lot of fresh ginger in our diet in the form of fresh juice. Second I recently learned that the powdered ginger was better at reducing inflammation. I have been adding to our oatmeal and banana soft serve since learning this. Medjool date was included to round out the flavor with a touch of sweetness. Tamarind paste was included for the sharpness it adds. Here is what I made late this afternoon:

Zucchini Spaghetti with Asian Walnut Sauce
Serves 4

Sauce Ingredients:

1 cup walnuts
1/3 cup water
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
½ teaspoon powdered ginger
2 tablespoons liquid aminos
1 Medjool date, to lightly sweeten
1 tablespoon tamarind paste (or substitute lime juice)

Vegetable Ingredients:

4 large zucchini, spiralized
2 carrots, julienned
1 bell pepper, thinly slice
5 inches cucumber cut into thin half moons
¼ cup cilantro (a tablespoon saved for garnish)

Optional Garnish Ingredients:

black sesame seeds – for the color contrast
thinly sliced radish – would add nice color, crunchy texture and spicy flavor

Directions:

Combine the sauce ingredients in your blender and process until smooth. If you aren’t using a high speed blender soak the walnuts in water for an hour so they soften. Then drain the water from the nuts. Also reduce the water you add by at least 2 tablespoons so your sauce doesn’t get thin. You want a thick sauce, similar to the texture of sour cream. Refrigerate the finished sauce until you are ready to serve. Don’t combine the sauce with the veggies until you are ready to plate. The sodium in the sauce will draw water out of the veggies. That is why you need to start with an extra thick sauce so it doesn’t make a runny dish in the end.

When ready to serve toss the zucchini with the dressing. Add the other veggies and toss to combine. Top the zucchini with a little cilantro and serve.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 281.89
Calories From Fat (59%) - 165.04

Total Fat - 19.73g
Saturated Fat - 1.92g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 533.16mg
Potassium - 993.71mg
Total Carbohydrates - 24.67g
Fiber - 6.87g
Sugar - 13.49g
Protein - 8.21g

Comments:

I really like this sauce. It has a subtle but complex flavor but still reminds me of the peanut sauce I was trying to replicate. This sauce would make a nice veggie dip and I may make some for that purpose later this week. ;-)

If you still use salt you may want to increase the liquid aminos and reduce the water by the same amount. Other than that I can’t think of any changes I would suggest.

Each serving of this “salad” has approximately 8,300IU of vitamin A, 85mg of vitamin C, 90mg of calcium, 2mg of iron, 1.3mg of vitamin E, 0.8mg of B6, 115mcg of folate, 220mg of phosphorus, and 100mg of magnesium.

We had this as the starter course today for the mid day meal with my folks. Surprisingly both the elderly omnis gobbled this up. Clearly this was a winner with the vegan and omnivores alike. This “salad” was followed by a bowl of the vegetable and red lentil soup from yesterday.

Unrelated note:

Today has been a slow day, but a good day. Dan has been working away in his office. Poor baby. I have been reading and trying to get organized for the week. When you shop at the farmers’ market and buy what looks good sometimes it is a challenge to figure out what to make to eat later in the week.

We did end up getting hungry about noon and had a bowl of oatmeal to hold us over until the 3pm meal with my parents. Of course we will be eating again around 8pm. As I said many times before Dan and I really do eat all day long, or at least it seems that way to me. We are thinking something Mexican inspired for dinner. But that could change between now and 8pm, I do tend to be fickle.

Do any of you own or have read, “The New Rules for Lifting for Women”? I think I need a new weight lifting book, since mine are all over 10 years old. I was curious if any of you have thoughts on the book. From what I have read on line it looks like a good one.

Time for me to clean up my kitchen, so I can make it dirty again in a couple of hours. I will be back later tonight, or tomorrow, with dinner this evening. I hope you are all enjoying your weekend. Talk to you again soon.