Sweet and Spicy Kale Pad Thai

Pad Thai is one of the most popular dishes in Thai restaurants Since this is one of the dishes we will be eating in the Nourishing Foods Summer Cleanse August 4-8, I wanted it to be raw and vegan with lots of nourishing vegetables. I decided to add in some kale for extra nutrition and bright green color. Instead of the traditional rice noodles I used cabbage. There are many variations you could use for this dish but I wanted it to be simple to make without any hard to find ingredients. I replaced the traditional fish sauce with wheat free tamari. The result is this sweet and spicy version of Pad Thai.

The sweetness come from the almond butter and a little stevia. I choose almond butter instead of the traditional peanut butter. Peanuts can be very toxic. They have naturally occurring poisonous molds called aflatoxins present that grow on them, which is probably why so many people have intense allergic reactions to peanuts. These molds can infect our blood and our liver.

Almond butter is full of minerals, antioxidants, Vitamin E and protein, without the dangerous MOLD!! Plus it is a great blood sugar stabilizer.

You can adjust the peppers according to your own taste. One chili pepper will make it slightly spicy. You want the sauce to be quite spicy as the flavor will be less hot when you put it on the vegetables.

4 servings

Sauce Ingredients
½ cup almond butter
½ cup water
1 thai chili or Serrano chili, seeded and minced
3 Tb lime juice
2 Tb wheat free tamari
1 Tb fresh ginger, minced
1 tsp garlic, chopped
1 Tb shallots chopped
4 drops liquid stevia (optional)
1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Vegetable Ingredients
2 cups green cabbage, very thinly sliced (1/4 of a medium cabbage). You can cut the cabbage with a sharp knife but it is easier if you use a mandoline
2 cups kale, stems removed, thinly sliced
1 zucchini cut into ½ x 1 ½” strips (1 cup)
1 yellow squash cut into ½ x 1 ½” strips (1 cup)

I used a mandoline to cut the zucchini but it is not necessary.

1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips (1 cup)
¼ red onion, thinly sliced (1/4 cup)
½ cup chopped cilantro

Blend all sauce ingredients together in a blender until smooth
Mix all the vegetables except the cilantro together in a large bowl. Mix in the cilantro.

Add enough sauce to coat the vegetables about 3/4 of the batch*.
Toss vegetables in the sauce.
Serve with a little extra sauce drizzled on top

*Note: If you plan to serve this dish over 2 days toss only half the vegetables with the sauce. Save the vegetables and sauce separately. The next day mix them together, it will taste fresher.