Thai-Inspired Peanut Butter Noodles

I was pondering my previously professed love for peanut butter (say that five times fast) and though it would make a nice Thai-inspired twist on Lo Mein. None of my measurements are precise; I just eyeballed amounts, tasted, and in some cases, added more. I’m giving you what are, I think, the final amounts. But you would probably want to adjust the seasonings and sauces to suit your own taste. Don’t sweat about being precise.  And if you want to reduce the fat content of the recipe, you could skip the sesame oil and just use cooking spray for sautéing, and use PB2 instead of the actual peanut butter.

Ingredients:

Whole wheat spaghetti, enough for 2 or 3 people
1 cup frozen broccoli
½ cup frozen corn

1 Tbs sesame oil
½ to 1 tsp grated fresh ginger (I keep nubs of it in the freezer and just grate it frozen)
Dash garlic powder
Dash onion powder
Dash ground cumin
1 cup cabbage, chopped
1 cup cooked pork (I used leftover roast pork tenderloin)
½ cup water
½ cup peanut butter (I used Naturally More)
3 Tbs hoisin sauce
1 Tbs roasted chili paste
1 Tbs soy sauce

Cook enough whole wheat spaghetti for two really hungry people. I served this as a one-dish meal so I cooked plenty of pasta. When the pasta is close to done, add frozen broccoli and corn to the water to defrost.

While the pasta is cooking, heat a tablespoon of sesame oil in a skillet. Grate maybe half a teaspoon of fresh ginger into the heated oil and add the ground cumin, garlic powder and onion powder. Then add the chopped cabbage to the skillet, stirring it to coat. When it is wilted and becoming translucent, add the pork. Stir occasionally. Once the pork is heated through, add the water, peanut butter, hoisin sauce, chili paste and soy sauce. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the peanut butter is melted and the ingredients have distributed evenly.

Drain the pasta and vegetables and stir into the peanut butter mixture.

I loved this. I would probably like it a tad spicier; next time I’ll probably use some regular chili paste, as opposed to the roasted chili paste. Or that garlic chili sauce. So don’t be afraid this will have too much heat. The flavors come together so nicely, and with all the fiber and protein it’s really filling.

Blueberry Oatmeal Pancake

I could have sworn I found this recipe on the internet, but I have searched and searched and cannot find where it came from, now. So if this is your recipe, please comment and let me know and I will attribute it to you.

The recipe makes 1 serving and calls for:

½ cup egg beaters (I use 3 egg whites)
1/3 cup oatmeal
1/3 cup blueberries (I use frozen)
Dash cinnamon
Dash salt
Splash vanilla

Mix them all together and cook like any pancake: in a pan sprayed with non-stick spray and watch carefully for flippin-time. I would recommend cooking on a lower heat setting so that the pancake cooks all the way through; with the blueberries and the oatmeal, it is a thicker pancake. I used ½ cup frozen blueberries this time and it was a little too many berries for the batter.
 
I use either fat-free Promise or I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Spray, and instead of syrup, heated agave nectar. The amber variety of Madhava Agave Nectar has a smoky, almost maple flavor and goes very well with pancakes. It also has a lower glycemic index than syrup, or so I hear. Which it means it has less impact on blood sugar. Keep in mind that all my medical information comes from random internet searches so take my statements for what they’re worth. All I know is I lovelovelove Agave Nectar! I will probably dedicate an entire post to it sometime in the near future.
 

 
The pancake looks a little scary because the frozen blueberries squished; trust me, it is yummy! And it’s low in fat, packed with protein and fiber and antioxidants… all those things that I like to seek out for my healthier diet. The protein and fiber help keep me full almost all the way to lunchtime.

I just wanted to share that I have gone to the gym for the first time in months, and I have gone two days in a row! Yesterday I did 20 minutes on the elliptical machine, stretched out and did some situps, and today I did the same thing except added 10 more minutes to the elliptical. I go so slowly on the elliptical because I try to stay in the “fat-burning zone” and I reach that pretty quickly. It’s almost embarrassing and whenever I hear anyone laugh I look around to make sure it’s not because of my slow-mo workout! Ok, two more trips to the gym this week and I get my reward of a new pair of sneakers.

Have a fab week!