Besides the crisp fresh veggies, we found this lovely tri-colored pasta at our local Farmers Market and wanted to turn it into a nice summer salad.

Shhhhh….it’s also gluten free, no one would ever know.

When it comes to pasta salad I think of backyard BBQ’s and potluck suppers and big bowls of fresh bright flavors. This is the perfect warm weather salad served cold or room-temperature and travels nicely as well.

The recipe inspiration for our Thai Pasta Salad with Peanut Dressing came during a Summer Roll “Wrapping” Party. We’ll call it a party, there were three of us diving into the art of rice paper and thinly sliced veggies and the most glorious peanut dipping sauce. All of which would pair so nicely with this gorgeous tri-colored veggie pasta.

I hope you give this Thai Pasta Salad a try before summer thyme slips away. If you do, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think. And I’d love to see your Instagram pics – feel free to tag me @lemonythyme.

All my best, Libby

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Thai Pasta Salad {with Peanut Dressing}

You'll love this Pasta Salad for it's delicious peanut sauce dressing and crispy veggies. Add a little sriracha if spicy is your thing!

Course Side Dish

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

For the Pasta Salad

• 1 pound dried pasta like rotini or cavatappi
• 1 cup shredded or matchstick carrots
• 1 cup shredded purple cabbage
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 3 scallions thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup peanuts chopped
• sriracha hot sauce to taste

For the Peanut Dressing

• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 2 Tbl. sesame oil
• 2 Tbl. soy sauce or coconut aminos for GF Version
• 1 Tbl. rice wine vinegar
• 1 Tbl. honey or maple syrup
• 1 Tbl. sriracha or more for spicy version

Instructions

For the Pasta Salad

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and cool to room temperature. Toss with a little sesame oil to keep from sticking.
• Toss cooked pasta with remaining pasta salad ingredients (reserve some chopped cilantro and peanuts for garnish). Toss with prepared peanut sauce.

For the Peanut Dressing

• Whisk together all ingredients. Pour over pasta salad and toss to coat completely. Garnish with chipped cilantro and peanuts.

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Thai Cauliflower Rice Salad {with Spicy Peanut Sauce} is one delicious bowl full of colors, textures and flavors.  Intended to be served cold or even room temperature, this salad makes a wonderful picnic dish.

The recipe begins with Cauliflower Rice.  Click Cauliflower Rice for our method.

Next comes the flavor infusion.  Coconut milk, fresh shredded and diced veggies & herbs, and a punchy (and spicy) peanut sauce brings it all together.

While I chose purple cabbage, carrot, jalapeno, red onion, scallion, peanuts and cilantro….the raw ingredients you choose can be adapted according to taste.

While my goal was to build a full-flavored salad that could double as a vegetarian meal, the fact that it weighs in at 4 WW Pts+ per serving is a welcomed bonus.  Using cauliflower rice vs. traditional rice reduced the calories by almost 200.  Using PB2 instead of peanut butter further reduced the fat and calories.

What? What? PB2.  I know, it’s new to me as well.  I discovered it during a Weight Watchers meeting discussion.  Powdered peanut butter, with 85% less fat, with a mostly peanut butter flavor and texture.

I caved and bought a jar.  I’m happy to say, it’s actually quite good.  I’ll let you do your own research.  Feel free to use traditional peanut butter in this recipe. wink. wink.

Recipe Note:  with our Spicy Peanut Sauce I knew I wanted specific flavor infusion.  This Honey Ginger White Balsamic Vinegar worked perfectly in this recipe.

You can find Honey Ginger White Balsamic Vinegar online at Gabby’s Olive Branch.

Or you can combine 1 Tbl. grated ginger, 1 Tbl. honey, 1 Tbl. white balsamic vinegar.

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Thai Cauliflower Rice Salad {with Spicy Peanut Sauce}

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 1 medium head cauliflower
• 1 Tbl. olive oil
• 1 cup lite coconut milk
• 1 1/2 cups shredded purple cabbage
• 2 medium carrots shredded
• 1 lg. jalapeno fine diced
• 1/2 cup red onion fine diced
• 1/2 cup peanuts
• 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 scallion thinly sliced

For spicy peanut sauce…

• 2 Tbl. sesame oil
• 1 Tbl. srirach sauce or more to taste
• 1/2 cup PB2
• 1/2 cup water
• Or 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 3 Tbl. ginger honey balsamic vinegar
• Or 1 Tbl. fresh grated ginger
• 1 Tbl. honey
• 1 Tbl. white balsamic vinegar

Instructions

• Cut cauliflower into florets, discarding tough core. Process in food processor, using pulse feature, until it resembles rice sized pieces. Sauté cauliflower in covered skillet with 1 Tbl. olive oil and 1 cup coconut milk, for 8-10 minutes. Drain.
• Slice & dice veggies and reserve.

For spicy peanut sauce…

• Whisk sauce ingredients. Pour over cauliflower rice and diced veggies according to taste.

The post Thai Cauliflower Rice Salad {with Spicy Peanut Sauce} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Thai Peanut Chicken.  BE WELL friends take note.

We are always looking for healthy, flavorful and most importantly…..unique lunch ideas.  I think I’ve come up with a good one here, er I mean a good FIVE!!  Take a look.

1. Thai Peanut Chicken Pita Pocket
2. Thai Peanut Chicken Rice/Grain Bowl
3. Thai Peanut Chicken Noodle Bowl
4. Thai Peanut Chicken Soup
5. Thai Peanut Chicken Salad

It all begins with a nice plump Whole Roasted Chicken.  We generally buy the biggest ones we can find (6-7 lbs.)  We enjoy a delicious roast chicken dinner on the first night and then pick it clean for the glorious leftover cooked chicken to be eaten for the next couple of days.  No leftover cooked chicken?  Don’t let that stop you.  A rotisserie chicken works great for Thai Peanut Chicken.

This guy was especially lovely as we tried a new ‘salted’ method to get some nice crispy skin.  Look at all those juices which we turned into some good rich Homemade Chicken Broth.

The base for this great dish(es) is a big bowl of fresh raw veggies with a variety of colors and crunch.  I used cabbage, carrots, kale, radish, broccoli, scallions, fresh cilantro, and a handful of peanuts.  Use your favorites, this is a great chance to work through items in that veggie crisper.  I then added some shredded cooked chicken and tossed it in a little peanut sauce.  You can make your own sauce, I have a recipe here or you can use store bought (we love House of Tsang Bangkok Padang Peanut Sauce).

Tip:  To make your sauce or dressing go farther, drizzle on half of what you think you need then give your salad a shake.  That’s right, cover your bowl and shake, shake, shake.  You’ll be surprised just how far a little sauce can go.

Tip:  Make up a big batch of the chopped veggie mixture at the beginning of the week.  Then add dressing when you’re ready to turn it into a salad or stuff it in a pita pocket.  There will be no excuse not to get your 5 servings of fruits and veggies in that day.

Voila!  Here’s a delicious Salad right out of the bowl or stuff this salad into a Pita Pocket for a portable lunch option.

Tip:  We love Joseph’s brand Flax, Oat Bran & Whole Wheat Pita Bread.  Only 50 calories per and just 1 WW Pts+.

For the Bowls simple toss the veggie/chicken mixture with cooked Asian noodles, rice, or your favorite grains like quinoa or farro.  You may want to add additional peanut sauce for the bowls.  I love a cold noodle bowl, but you could quickly stir fry the veggies for a hot bowl of love.

And for the Soup, bring that chicken broth to a boil, then add in all but the peanuts, scallions and fresh cilantro.  Heat through, then serve in big bowls with peanuts, scallions and cilantro sprinkled on top.

I will be cooking a chicken on Sunday night so that when our office Be Well Challenge kicks off on Monday I’ll have some great Healthy Choices for lunch next week.  Loving the Thai Peanut Chicken {5-Ways}.

The post Thai Peanut Chicken {5-Ways} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Without a doubt my favorite foods are finger foods, which explains why my “served with with fingers or forks” appetizer category has so many posts.  Let’s add skewers to the list of favorite food delivery vehicles.  Random thought….it has been at least 20 years since I’ve ordered a Pu Pu Platter from a Chinese restaurant, not even sure if they’re still popular and on the menu.  Some day soon I may have to try and recreate this fantastic appetizer (along with a flaming Scorpion Bowl).  For now we will focus on Chicken Satay.

Combine all marinade ingredients then coat chicken strips.  Refrigerate for 2 hours or up to overnight.

Soak bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes.  Weave chicken onto skewers and grill over medium heat, cooking each side for 2-3 minutes until done.  Remember the trusty digital meat fork…this will make your grillin’ life so much easier.

Sprinkle with scallions & cilantro leaves and serve with peanut sauce (still love House of Tsang Bangkok Padang Peanut Sauce in a pinch).

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Chicken & Cashew Lettuce Wraps.

Do you ever pick something up to take a bite and quickly realize there’s no putting it down?  It’s just too yummy to stop or too messy to chance a reload.  I find this is the case with most cupcakes, wrap sandwiches, corn on the cob, tacos, and definitely lettuce wraps.  This dish needs to be eaten at the table, with family & friends, where you can lean over your plate, lick your fingers, and not worry about a napkin until you’ve taken the last bite.  

I probably should have addressed this in one of my first posts, but generally speaking we adjust recipes and cook for two (though occasionally we eat for four).  For the lettuce wraps I like bibb lettuce because it’s more pliable, however iceberg lettuce cups are great too and have a nice crunch.

This dish is super easy and really great fun to eat and share with friends.

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