How to make ramen at home with spaghetti noodles
With just one surprising pantry staple, you can turn spaghetti noodles into a ramen-worthy dish in minutes.
Kids are heading back to school, and life is getting hectic at home. So it’s time to be strategic about preparing healthful lunches for your kids — and yourself. Today’s Asian Noodle Bowls make a great lunch that can be prepared ahead of time, and they break the boredom associated with opening a lunch box containing a sandwich and piece of fruit.
We love this recipe because each bowl provides a cup of vegetables. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that people eat 2½ cups (or five servings) of vegetables each day. So in just one meal, you’ve almost reached the halfway point.
The vegetables and the whole-wheat spaghetti used at the bottom of the bowl offer lots of benefits. In one bowl, you’ll get about one-third of your daily fiber requirements, and you’ll stay full through the afternoon. For color and crunch, there are carrots, red cabbage and zucchini. Convenient canned chickpeas are a great source of plant-based protein.
To manage sodium intake, remember to drain and rinse the chickpeas. Instead of using soy sauce, which contains about 280 milligrams of sodium per teaspoon, we’re using coconut aminos with about 90 milligrams of sodium per teaspoon.
Coconut aminos are made by naturally aging the flower blossoms from coconut palm trees. Then the sap is combined with a little sea salt, producing a savory and mildly salty flavor. Coconut aminos are gluten-free and soy-free, so this vegan recipe is useful for people with common allergies. However, if you’re concerned about allergic reactions to tree nuts, simply use sunflower butter instead of almond butter.
After you’ve prepared these bowls, they will stay fresh in the refrigerator for about three days. If you’re using a bento lunch box with compartments for holding other foods, include some grapes, low-fat yogurt or other healthful choices.
Bethany Thayer is a registered dietitian nutritionist with Henry Ford Health. For more recipes and health information, visit henryford.com/blog. For questions about today’s recipe, email HenryFordLiveWell@hfhs.org.
Make-Ahead Asian Noodle Bowls
Makes: 4 servings/ Prep time:Â 20 minutes / Total time: 30 minutes
8 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti, cooked, cooled and drained
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup shredded red cabbage
1 cup spiralized zucchini
1 cup chopped green onion
¼ cup almond butter
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons coconut aminos
2 tablespoons lime juice
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ cup warm water
Divide pasta and vegetables evenly among 4 meal prep containers. In a jar or salad dressing shaker, stir together almond butter, garlic, rice vinegar, sesame oil, coconut aminos, lime juice and red pepper flakes. Add warm water until sauce reaches desired consistency. Drizzle sauce over pasta and vegetables in each container. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
From Henry Ford Health
280 calories (38% from fat), 12 grams fat (1 gram sat. fat), 37 grams carbohydrates, 11 grams protein, 406 mg sodium, 0 mg cholesterol, 119 mg calcium, 8 grams fiber. Food exchanges: 2 starch, 2 vegetable, 2 ½ fat.