Theo and Sam Make Paleo and Vegan Pad Thai

Hello, everyone! Welcome to another week of paleo and vegan recipes! We're just getting settled into our new house in Appleton, Wisconsin and we're hungry. This week we were feeling inspired by Asian cuisine and Thai food in particular. I was tired of going out and picking up Pad Thai at local take-out places. I felt terrible after eating the gross oil and noodles that restaurants usually use. So, Sam and I went on a journey of inventing our own versions of the dish. One thing that I love about Pad Thai is that you can make so many variations of the dish and add so many different seasonal vegetables.

Her dish is much more traditional and tastes incredibly similar to what you could get at a Thai restaurant (except cheaper and healthier!) My dish substitutes the traditional peanuts for almonds because peanuts, as you probably know, aren't paleo. I also substitute the rice noodles for low carb sweet potato or butternut squash noodles (or any veggie noodle.) Let's get started!

First we both began prepping our onions and garlic for sauteing.

Sam thought that the veggie noodles I bought were super long, so we had to get this picture.

Once we had everything prepped, we went straight into our recipes.

Paleo Almond Pad Thai

Yields enough for 3-4 small portions (portions can be increased by using more noodles!)

For the Sauce:

• 1 heaping tsp red curry paste
• 3/4 cup almonds
• 1-1½ cups coconut milk, carton
• Handful of cilantro
• Half of a lime
• 1 Tbl of honey
• 1 habanero
• 1 tsp chili-garlic paste
• 2-4 tsp of coconut aminos (or soy sauce, if you prefer)
• 2 heaping tsp of almond butter (or an extra ½ cup of almonds)
• 1 Tbl crystallized ginger (You can find this in our store.)

1. Add all ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth, creamy, and tangy. (More coconut milk may be necessary, I added an extra ½ cup to make my sauce more creamy and to stretch it.)

2. Set sauce aside.

Note: I used the seeds in my habanero but you can de-vein and seed the pepper if you don't like spicy foods. I also added the entire half of the lime into the food processor for more flavor.

For the Noodles and Finishing:

• 24 oz sweet potato or butternut squash noodles (I used two pre-cut packaged organic noodle containers)
• 1 small onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Half of a zucchini, sliced in half moons
• Coconut aminos
• Handful of almonds for garnish
• Chicken breast or shrimp for topping
• Lime for garnish

1. Sweat the onion and add the garlic to the pan after 3-4 minutes of cooking.
2. Add a few splashes of coconut aminos to the onion and garlic and let cook for 1 minute.
3. Add the veggie noodles and sliced zucchini to the onion and garlic and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes. Add the sauce to the noodles and cook until noodles are tender but not falling apart.

4. Plate noodles and add your grilled protein topping of choice (I prefer chicken breast or shrimp.)
5. Garnish with a slice of lime, a few sprigs of cilantro, and chopped almonds.

Enjoy!

Vegan Pad Thai with Kale

Yields enough for 3-4 portions

For the Sauce:

• 3 Tbl smooth peanut butter
• 2 Tbl sriracha
• 2 Tbl soy sauce
• 1 Tbl chili garlic paste
• 1 tsp red curry paste
• 1 tsp ginger juice
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1 juiced lime

1. 1. Combine the ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Simple!

For the Noodles and Finishing:

• 1 small onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 block of firm tofu
• 1 - 12-14oz package rice noodles
• Soy sauce
• Lime for garnish
• Handful of chopped peanuts for garnish
• Optional: Chopped green kale

1. Fill a large pot with water and heat on high until boiling.
2. Sweat the onion and add the garlic to the pan after 3-4 minutes of cooking.
3. Add a few splashes of soy sauce to the onion and garlic and let cook for 1 minute.
4. Slice the block of tofu into bite-sized pieces and add into the pan. Add a few more splashes of soy sauce.
5. Add rice noodles to boiling water and cook until tender.
6. Strain the noodles and add them to the tofu and onions

7. Immediately add the sauce mixture and continue cooking for 3-4 minutes until flavors are melded. At this step you can add the optional kale for some more nutrients, color, and flavor.

8. Serve with a slice of lime and chopped peanuts on top for garnish.

Enjoy!

Well that's it for this week folks! I hope you have enjoyed our foray into Thai cuisine and, if you make both recipes, let us know which one you like more (hopefully mine -T). See you next time!