MEAL TALK MONDAY: SKINNY SHRIMP PAD THAI

It has been a while since I have done a 'Meal Talk Monday'... mostly because the holiday season had me so busy I was scrounging together whatever leftovers or random things from my pantry I could to try and make a meal. Now that things have calmed down I have made it a priority to put aside to cook for myself and my husband more often.

As much as I joke about how much I hate cooking, there actually is something really special about serving a home cooked, healthy, and delicious meal for you and your hubby. For our entire relationship, Matt has been the one who has cooked 90% of the time so now that my skills have been slowly but surely improving I am trying to show off a little bit.

Recently, I heard about these 'Better Than Foods' from the F Factor Diet and from Heather Dubrow's podcast and figured I should give them a try. They are gluten free, no carb, fiber packed, and super low calorie alternatives to rice, noodles, and pasta. I was super skeptical at first but I didn't have much to lose. I already replace all of the delicious, gluteny carbs, with still carby but not as delicious alternatives. If I could find something that either tastes better or is better for me then I was willing to make the switch.

I got a sample pack of the rice, noodles, and pasta AND I AM OBSESSED. This stuff actually tastes like the real stuff... or at least what I remember it to taste like and it at least trumps most of the other gluten free alternatives. They are packed with fiber so at first I was uncertain about the effect they may have on my sensitive stomach but I have had zero issues and actually felt pretty great after eating the meals I have made. Not kidding, this stuff tastes so good I was researching it so much to make sure it was legit. Well, based on my research and experience, it definitely is. The secret is that they are made with konjac flour which you can get all of the details on here. So far I have tried the rice and the noodles in two different 'Asian takeout inspired' dishes that have been big hits in my house.

Matt and I are suckers for some good old take out but it is hard to, number one, find options that are gluten free, and number two, find options that are healthy. Luckily this stuff makes it a lot easier to check both of those boxes. 

Last week I made shrimp fried 'rice' which Matt said was a winner and this week I tried out a shrimp Pad Thai which was even more of a win according to the super picky husband. 

I used this recipe for skinny shrimp Pad Thai from skinnytaste and modified it slightly. I swapped out the rice noodles for my Better Than Noodles and I swapped out the bean sprouts for brussels sprouts mainly because I couldn't, for the life of me, find bean sprouts in the grocery store. It was a debacle that turned out well thought because they tasted great in the Pad Thai and added a nice crunch.

This recipe was surprisingly easy, didn't take long to make, and was relatively easy to clean up-- a lot easier than the rice at least. The rice situation was not great and somehow I literally made it explode all over my kitchen. I suck at rice. Big time. Not even kidding, when I was little my parents would make me eat rice in the bathtub if I wanted it because I was a terrorist when it came to eating it. I also really enjoyed using chopsticks which probably contributed to the problem. Yikes. 

Anyway.... I think this shrimp Pad Thai was a serious success and it will probably become a staple in our house. I am so excited to continue my cooking journey and start getting down in the kitchen a lot more often now. 

Make sure to check out skinnytaste for delicious and nutritious recipes as well as Better Than Foods  to get some skinny noodles for yourself!

​xx