Raw Pad Thai

This raw dish is packed with detoxifying vegetables. Zucchini makes a wonderful substitute for noodles and boasts only 25 calories per cup (250mL). Cabbage and cauliflower both contain indole-3-carbinol (I3C), which helps to balance hormones by reducing excess estrogen in the body.

Almonds are high in omega-9 and vitamin E, and make a great substitute for the typical peanut sauce.

Ingredients:

1 medium zucchini
1 large carrot
1 green onion, chopped
1/2 cup (125 mL) shredded purple cabbage
1/2 cup (125 mL) cauliflower florets
1/2 cup (125 mL) mung bean sprouts or radish sprouts (spicy)

Sauce:

2 tbsp (30 mL) tahini
2 tbsp (30 mL) almond butter
1 tbsp (15 mL) lime or lemon juice
2 tbsp (30 mL) tamari (wheat free)
1 tbsp (15 mL) raw honey
1/4 tsp (1 mL) garlic, minced
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) ginger root, grated

Directions:

1. Use a spiralizer (or mandolin, or vegetable peeler) to create noodles from the carrots and zucchini. Place them in a large mixing bowl and top with the vegetables.

2. Whisk sauce ingredients in a bowl. The sauce will be thick, but will thin out after it’s mixed with the vegetables.

3. Pour the sauce over the noodles and vegetables and toss. This dish tastes even better the next day once the flavors have had a chance to blend.

Makes 4 servings.

Excerpted from Meals That Heal Inflammation by Julie Daniluk, R.H.N. Copyright © 2011 by Daniluk Consulting. Photographs Copyright © 2011 by Julie Daniluk. Excerpted by permission of Random House Canada. All rights reserved.