2-way spaghetti

Everyone loves spaghetti. Luckily there are so many amazing substitutes to the white starchy noodles that are just turned into sugar in your body that causes inflammation, that most people eat. There are so many different types of substitutes for pasta. Beyond the grain noodles like  spelt, whole wheat, kamut, buckwheat, and quinoa (vegan macaroni with quinoa post is soon to come) -are all excellent substitutes for white pasta, but there is a whole other world of “noodles” out there. There are kelp noodles (from seaweed), black bean noodles, zucchini, yellow squash, or spaghetti squash! Plus a ton more I cant think of right now. There are so many options out there that so many people never experiment with, because they don’t know it exists! you almost always cover your pasta in some sauce or spread, so why not just use something that is very very close to that white pasta consistency or look and still have that “italian” dish.  You save the empty white carbohydrates, and pack in more protein, fiber, B-vitamins, and so much more nutrients.

 

First I made spaghetti with zuchini noodles and a homemade raw tomatoe sauce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spiralize zucchini, squash, or other veggies in the spiralizer from Amazon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the raw tomato sauce I threw in a very large ripe tomato, 3 small garlic cloves, and fresh basil from the farmers market. I added nutritional yeast, ground pepper and a little salt, some sun dried tomatoes, 1 large carrot, and some water to thin! I didn’t measure anything and just used what I had, it turned out great!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I sprinkled some dried oregano, basil, and ground pepper on top

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…Topped with some shredded slices of soy vegan cheese!

 

Spaghetti Noodles # 2 …topped with fresh pesto!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This basil is from the FM, but my parents just brought me a potted basil plant to keep in my backyard! Although I am a little worried that someone may knock it over on accident..For the pesto I used about 3 large handfuls of basil, 4 garlic cloves (I like it really garlicy), some parsley I had leftover from the farmers market, ground salt + pepper, 2 scoops of nutritional yeast, around 12 soaked almonds, and about 1/3 cup of EV olive oil. Then some water to thin if necessary. I just vitamix it, then taste to see what needs to be added.

This time I used spaghetti squash that I got from the student garden at Smithfield!

-Sidenote: almost every time I go to the Sustainable Food Corps meeting, someone brings a box of produce from the garden that they insist we take. I never refuse (: This tomato was like 3 pounds, and the eggplant was tiny. So cute.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spaghetti squash is so so awesome because it is very mild and a tiny bit sweet, so it is good topped with anything.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Save the seeds for roasting, they have an amazing nutty flavor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve made pesto so much since being back at school. It is super easy and convenient with all the fresh basil, and I keep it in the fridge for several days to use with other types of “noodles” or just a bunch of random veggies I have, or even over a spinach salad.

 

Spaghetti squash nutritional benefits: It should be said that compared to butternut and acorn, spaghetti squash is not as dense in vitamins and minerals, especially beta carotene. It is however still smart to substitute for pasta, besides the obvious of eating a vegetable over a white flour. The carb count for these are low, especially compared to other “starchy” veggies. (Not the same type of starch in white flour)  There is however significant amount of vitamin A, C, B3, and B6. These B vitamins help convert the carbs in the squash to energy in your body!

good earth

What a gorgeous place I get to work at everyday….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With gorgeous organic fruit growing on the vine…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some great recent purchases…

sweet heirloom tomatoes & cucumber & yellow zucchini

 

fresh organic berries

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a zucchini-squash "squaini maybe?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

black bean spaghetti

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These look great because there is one ingredient: black beans.  We just got them in and apparently people love them. It’s a great pasta replacement!

 

kelp "salt"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These kelp granules are great, you just use them to replace salt. Whenever you would use salt,  just replace with the kelp and get all the benefits kelp offers. (Especially the iodine, which many vegans lack their adequate intake of)

fettucini alfredo

When I was younger one of my favorite meals was fettucini alfredo. I would make a creamy alfredo sauce  with heavy cream and romano cheese when I made it at home. Then that was always my go-to dish if on the menu when eating out at a restaurant. I cringe at the thought of how often I would eat that meal. I remember it tasting good, yet feeling heavy and run down after. Maybe that was due to the loads of saturated fat, mucus producing dairy, and insulin spiking white pasta. Not to mention the 2,000 empty calories with no nutritional value.  I will hold myself back from talking more about the horrific effects of eating cheesy white pasta. This dish on the other hand does not lack in flavor or volume and is something you will feel good about eating, knowing you are consuming all raw whole food that your body will thank you for.

I was so excited to finally get this World Cuisine spiral vegetable slicer. It slices, spirals, and makes raw veggies and fruits into crazy shapes and forms. But it is most popular for making pasta-usually squash and zucchini noodles! Although I know many make curly fries for potatoes and sweet potatoes, and also curly apple rings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perfectly shaped noodles! I was way too excited when I used it the first time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the Creamy Alfredo Sauce

1 1/2 cups of soaked raw cashews (soaked atleast 4 hours, or overnight)

2 garlic cloves

1 Tbs nutritional yeast

1/4 large onions

1/4 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 Tbs olive oil

1 Tbs lemon juice

dash of ground salt & pepper

Combine in vitamix. Add water , coconut water, or almond milk if it is too thick. Blend to desired consistency!

This sauce is so awesome, I bet most people wouldn’t ever guess it is raw, cheese-free, gluten-free, animal-free & artery clogging-free! This protein-rich sauce will fill you up and keep you comfortably satisfied, since the combination of low starch vegetables and nut-based sauce will stabilize your blood sugar levels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add halved cherry tomatoes and chopped broccoli with the zucchini and squash noodles. Top with sauce!

Even if you are looking for a healthy alternative to this dish and don’t care about eating raw, you can always partly cook the squash and zucchini and even heat up the sauce if you want it warm and softer to better mock the real thing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Replace this with a typical fettucini alfredo=not sacrificing flavor or satisfaction=not shaving approximately 8 months off of your life  (:

thai anyone?

While my parents were here I had to make some delicious peanut pad thai. This dish has seaweed noodles (kelp noodles) Kelp noodles one of the best food inventions. They actually have very little taste, but they are almost clear and shaped like noodles- the perfect pasta! There are endless possibilities of raw dishes with these great noodles. Kelp noodles are the gel that comes from the kelp, is completely raw, and looks and tastes like noodles. Sea vegetables are so important in the raw food diet to get all the trace minerals. Kelp helps with thyroid function. Now you can only get kelp noodles at asian markets, and there aren’t exactly any that I am aware of, here on the eastern shore. So I had my mom pick them up before coming down here. Sadly, one of the asian markets that I previously got kelp noodles at recently closed. The other asian market in Centreville (since there are SO many) did not have the right ones 😦 So she made the effort to get a form of  kelp noodles, but it ended up being the green, soggy kind. So I had to improvise and use soy noodles this time. They were very close to the composition of kelp noodles, but soy noodles technically are not raw. The dish still turned out great though!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fresh baby bok choi gives the pad thai the perfect crunch. I love how this dish is loaded with vegetables, and I don’t often eat bok choi or radishes, so it’s a great way to get in that variety.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are the soy noodles (should be kelp noodles, but look identical) Soak in water and lime juice for a bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Raw Pad Thai  (this recipe was originally from Sunny’s Raw Kitchen)

Veggies

2-3 cups sliced baby bok choi

1 cup julienned carrot

1 cup grated or julienned daikon radish

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

2 green onions, sliced

Sauce

1 cup raw almond butter

2 Tbs fresh ginger

1/4 cup coconut water to thin

4 Tbs lime juice

1/4 cup agave nectar

3 Tbs nama shoyu (or soy sauce)

4 tsp sesame oil

2-3 garlic cloves

1/2 jalpeno chile (I used a tiny bit of chile powder)

Soak kelp noodles in water and lime juice for 20 minutes. Then drain and combine with veggies (may need to cut some of the long kelp noodles) Combine sauce in vitamix and pour noodles & veggies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This raw “peanut sauce” is similar to the sauce I made for the lettuce wraps. It is soooo good-I could just drink it plain (well maybe not too much). I did not hold back with the sauce!

 

 

 

 

 

For dessert? Raw chocolate coconut ice cream!