Healthier Pad Thai

Pad Thai is a traditional Thai recipe, and while my Thai food experience is very limited, I really enjoyed this recipe.  Perhaps it's because I love tricking my stomach into eating healthy food disguised as deliciousness...

 

What you will need:

 

1 Spaghetti Squash

1 Bottle of Pad Thai Sauce

2 Cups Shredded Chicken

1 Bag Frozen Shrimp

5-6 Green Onions

2 Carrots

1/4 Cup Red Onions

1 Can Mushrooms

4 Cloves of Garlic

 

Instructions:

 

Preheat your oven to 375.  Cooking the spaghetti squash is the most time consuming part of this recipe.  Before I get into that - side note:  Spaghetti squash rocks!  I struggle adapting to healthier alternatives, but this miracle veggie looks like a squash - and after you cook it, it looks like spaghetti noodles!  Honestly, I don't think my daughter even knew it wasn't noodles....shhh!

 

Anyways....your going to need to wash the outside of the squash and then cut both ends off.  Cut the squash right down the middle and place it cut-side down on a baking sheet.  It will need to bake for about 50 minutes.

 

The next task is the chicken, and they type of chicken you choose will determine how early you should start.  I used half a rotisserie chicken that I had left over from another meal, cutting my prep-time drastically.  (Purchasing rotisserie chickens when on sale, shredding them while they are still warm, and then freezing them for later recipe's is a huge help - plus they are delicious).  You could also cook a couple chicken breasts in olive oil and then shred them with a fork.

 

Next chop all of the vegetables as shown in the pictures above, with the carrots being the only ones to be shredded.  Now you can buy carrots already shredded to save time, but I went all out on this one (joking!).  Sautee all of the vegetables together with a little olive oil until they are softened - but not mushy.  Add the chicken, and enough of the Pad Thai sauce to cover the mixture.  DO NOT add the shrimp yet.

 

Remove the spaghetti squash from the oven, and scoop it out of the peel with a spoon.  They will obviously be really hot, so I typically cradle one half in my oven mitt while doing this (and then I have to wash the oven mitt, because I'm just not that coordinated).  Put all of the squash into a large pan or bowl.  Pour enough Pad Thai sauce into the bowl to coat all of the "noodles."  They will separate are you stir.

 

Add your sautéed veggies and chicken to the squash.  Rinse your shrimp in a strainer to partially thaw it. Use this same pan to cook your shrimp (or I suppose you could do it in a separate pan, but I hate washing dishes...or eating over-cooked shrimp).  Shrimp cooks quickly!  I bought the frozen, precooked, deveined, and tail-off type - size small.  Really it's your pick, but you will definitely want the tails off.  I prefer the raw shrimp, but the store didn't have it this time.  About 30 seconds into cooking the shrimp you will see why we cook it separate.  Shrimp puts off a lot of water while it cooks, and it would have diluted your veggies if you tried to speed up the process.  Raw shrimp you will cook until they look pinkish-orange, and precooked shrimp just needs to be warmed through.  Drain the water from the pan of shrimp and add it to the squash.

 

Mix everything, adding sauce to taste.  This would be great served with egg rolls, but I resisted the extra calories.....this time!