High Protein “Pad Thai” Inspired Zoodles

Pad Thai is a stir-fry dish from Thailand traditionally made with rice noodles, a protein such as shrimp or chicken, peanuts, and a scrambled egg. Oh yes and the best part – a heavenly tangy & sweet sauce that pulls it all together.

My version is not traditional by any means, but it is inspired by those beautiful Pad Thai flavors and ingredients. I’ve made this recipe lower carb and lower sugar for those who need/want lower carbs.

We’re using zoodles, lots of protein, crunchy peanuts, and a lower-sugar sauce that you will absolutely love!

Traditional Pad Thai sauce often contains a decent amount of sugar, which is delicious but I wanted something a little lighter. I found that adding just one Tablespoon of pure maple syrup or raw honey combined with the peanut butter made for a very delicious tangy and balanced just slightly-sweet sauce.

High Protein + Low Carb

You know what?! I don’t have anything against carbs. I love carbs.

They’re an important and VERY delicious part of my everyday life. I feel much better when I include them regularly, and I require them often for energy. However, sometimes I FEEL like a “lighter” meal, or maybe I’ll have already eaten my carbs for the day, and decide to “go easy” with my evening meal.

Whatever YOUR reason is for wanting a lower-carb meal – THIS ultra-flavorful recipe definitely hits the spot!

Rachel’s Tips:

Super Soggy-Wet Zoodles always messing up your meals?

Here’s how to prevent that from happening.

Place your zoodles in a colander.

Lightly sprinkle salt on your “zoodles” then set aside for 15 minutes.

Blot your zucchini noodles of excess moisture with paper towels. The salt should have drawn out a bit of water from them, so gently pat them dry.

If Peanut Butter isn’t your thing, you can use almond butter, cashew butter, or even sun butter. So basically, you can try out each of these nut butters/seed butter until you find YOUR personal favorite combination that fits your tastes and dietary needs.

Feel free to add some bean sprouts if you like! My grocery store didn’t have any when I was shooting photos for this.

6 servings

Ingredients:

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup all-natural peanut butter
• 1/4 cup warm bone broth or water
• 1/4 cup coconut aminos, tamari, Braggs liquid aminos, or low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon, lime, or orange juice
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup or raw honey

Salad:

• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, or butter/ghee
• 4 large eggs whites
• 1 lb cooked small shrimp, tails removed
• 2 large zucchini, spiralized
• 1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced into strips
• 1/4 cup peanuts, coarsely chopped
• 1 bunch of fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
• 8 green onions, sliced

Instructions:

In a small bowl, whisk all of your dressing ingredients together really well then set aside.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-low heat. Add in your beaten eggs and allow them to cook undisturbed until almost set. Use a spatula to flip the eggs once, and continue to cook for a couple of minutes, then cut them into thin slices as shown.

Alternatively, you can simply scramble your eggs as you would for fried rice.

In a large bowl add your cooked shrimp, zucchini noodles, bell pepper, peanuts, cilantro, and green onions.

Drizzle your creamy dressing over everything then add in the scrambled eggs.

Gently toss to combine and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Rachel

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