Spicy Rainbow Pasta With All-Veggie Noodles

More Information

Recipe From Megan
Olson of Paleohacks

If you’re about to cook a bowl of pasta, I urge you to
reconsider. Traditional pasta noodles contain gluten, a type of protein that
can be detrimental to your health. It’s known to interfere with the breakdown
and absorption of nutrients in your stomach. Furthermore, undigested gluten
causes your immune system to attack the lining of your small intestine, which
can lead to diarrhea, constipation, nausea and abdominal pain.

Instead of gorging on wheat-based pasta, try using
vegetables for the noodles. Not only is this a healthier approach, but it’s tastier
as well. This recipe from Paleohacks uses a mixture of vegetables in a spicy
sauce to deliver a warm, flavorful heat that’s sure to get your spirits up and
going.

Ingredients:

·
1 medium organic red beet, washed and peeled

·
1 medium organic sweet potato, washed
and peeled

·
1 medium organic zucchini

·
1 medium organic summer squash

·
2 teaspoons of homemade sriracha
sauce

·
2 tablespoons of Dr. Mercola’s coconut oil

·
2 teaspoons of raw apple
cider vinegar (ACV)

·
2 teaspoons of coconut aminos or organic soy
sauce

·
Pinch of salt and pepper

·
Fresh parsley for garnish

·
1/8 cup of raw pistachios, unshelled and chopped

Procedure:

1.
Cut the ends of the zucchini, summer squash,
sweet potato and beet. Spiralize them using a small, 3 millimeter blade.

2.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add
the coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, coconut aminos and sriracha sauce to the
pan. Heat them for a few minutes, then add the vegetable noodles.

3.
Toss the ingredients to coat the vegetables with
the sauce. Cook for five to seven minutes until the noodles are al dente.

4.
Remove the skillet from the stovetop and
transfer the dish to a bowl. Garnish with chopped pistachios and parsley to
serve.

Additional Tips:

·
Add 1 tablespoon of grass fed butter to the
sauce to make it extra rich and delicious.

·
If you really want to turn up the heat, add
crushed red pepper flakes to the sauce. It will add an extra layer of spice!

Mixing Various Vegetables Can Create Tasty and Colorful Noodles

While it’s certainly possible to use just one vegetable to
make veggie pasta, why stop there? You can diversify your recipe’s flavor and
improve the nutritional profile by using several veggies. In particular, this
recipe uses four options to great effect:

·
Red beet:
This veggie is rich in fiber, which may help optimize your digestive
health, as well as vitamin C, magnesium, potassium and folate to round out the
nutritional package. But be careful not to add too much of it to your pasta,
because 3 1/2 ounces of red beets already contain 7 grams of sugar.

·
Sweet
potato: Just 3 1/2 ounces of this root crop contains a whopping 284 percent
of the daily recommended value for vitamin A. It’s also rich in various antioxidants that may
help prevent blood clots. However, like red beet, it is high in sugar, so
consume in moderation only.

·
Summer
squash: Similar to sweet potato, summer squash is rich in vitamin A.
Furthermore, it contains good amounts of vitamin C, which can help boost your
immune system by lowering your risk of common infections. You also get
manganese, potassium, thiamin, folate, calcium and thiamin, among other
nutrients.

·
Zucchini:
This vegetable is rich in various B vitamins that may help with blood sugar
regulation, along with several antioxidants that can eliminate free radicals
throughout your body.

Since a couple of the vegetables in this recipe are high in
sugar, I recommend that you reduce their amount and compensate by increasing
the squash and zucchini. This can help reduce your sugar consumption and avoid
its negative effects when eaten in excess.

Also, make sure you purchase your vegetables from reputable
organic growers to avoid ingesting pesticides and other chemicals that can
wreak havoc on your health.

This Spicy Pasta Sauce Can Be Beneficial to Your Health

Sriracha sauce is one of the most popular condiments today
due to its versatility. It can be added to various recipes to provide a warm
burst of flavor or simply used as a dip for snacks. But did you know that it
can benefit your health as well?

The sauce is mainly made from red chili peppers, which
contain a compound called capsaicin. This is the source of the spicy flavor,
and is actually beneficial, too. Recent research suggests that increasing your
capsaicin intake may help lower your risk of inflammatory diseases, as well as
boosting your metabolism that may aid in weight loss.[i]^,[ii]

However, most sriracha brands sold today contain various
additives that can harm your health, such as sugar. As such, you’re better off
making your own sauce using organic ingredients at home to ensure that you’re
eating a high-quality meal. You can learn how to make homemade sriracha sauce
through this article.

To keep the sauce from becoming too spicy, ACV is added, which
contains acidic properties that help balance out the flavor. ACV is actually a
healthy ingredient on its own right — it’s believed that the acetic acid in
vinegar may help lower blood sugar among diabetics by preventing the
complete digestion of complex carbohydrates.[iii]
Vinegar may also help support heart health by helping lower your harmful cholesterol
levels, according to a scientific study involving the use of mice.[iv]

Coconut Oil and Aminos Add a Heaping Dose of Healthy Fat

It’s no secret that coconut oil is one of the healthiest
foods you can add regularly to your diet, thanks to its healthy fat content.
It’s a good way to boost your energy because it is immediately digested and
converted into fuel by your liver. In addition, it contains good antimicrobial
properties to help eliminate harmful pathogens in your gut.

If you’re not familiar with coconut aminos, it’s essentially
an alternative to soy sauce, but has a brown color and is less salty. It’s made
by combining coconut sap and sea salt, and then aging the mixture to bring out
the flavor.[v]

A teaspoon of aminos contains only 90 milligrams of sodium,
compared to a teaspoon of soy sauce, which has 307 milligrams. Using this
product instead of soy sauce can also help you avoid consuming genetically
modified soy that can harm your health.

Remember to Use the Vegetables in Moderation

If you’ve been tired of eating plain old pasta for quite
some time now, I recommend you give this recipe a try. It’s sure to bring life
back into your meals in a healthier and more interesting way. However, remember
to moderate your use of the sweet potatoes and beets due to their high sugar
content. You also don’t want to add too much sriracha sauce, or the dish can
end up becoming too spicy — unless you like the flavor that way.

About the Blog

Paleohacks is
one of the largest Paleo communities on the web. They offer everything Paleo:
from a Q&A forum where users get their top health questions answered, to a
community blog featuring daily recipes, workouts and wellness content. You can
also tune in to their podcast, where they bring in the top experts in the Paleo
world to share the latest, cutting-edge health information.

Source:: Mercola Health Articles