When it comes to eating healthy, I absolutely hate restricting myself!  Sure you can eat all the lettuce, fruits and veggies that you want and lose weight, but eating the same foods day in and day out can get pretty boring.  Having a variety and lightening up your favorite {indulgent} recipes makes eating healthy an enjoyable experience.

Ok, so I don’t know about you, but ordering take-out in the middle of the week when you’re completely exhausted and don’t feel like doing much of anything, let alone cooking, always sounds amazing…just not so amazing for your mid-section.  One of my absolute favorite recipes to order are peanut noodles, but they can typically run you over 400 calories per serving!  Yeah no thanks.  So I decided to make my own healthier version.  I used soba noodles rather than regular pasta, I cut out over half the oil the typical recipe usually calls for and threw in some fresh veggies for additional flavor.

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This recipe turned out amazing and I was really pleased with how it tasted!  The combination of soy sauce, lime juice and peanut butter was fantastic and the brown sugar added the perfect sweetness.  Screw takeout, this takes little to no time at all and cuts over half the calories from any place you’d end up ordering from!

I know what you’re thinking.  If you’re too tired to cook and want to order in, then what’s the point in making your own??  Well I can promise you that you can make this entire dish in less time than it takes the restaurant to cook your meal and have the delivery man bring it to you!  It’s also super easy and if you can boil water then I guarantee that you’re already one step ahead of the game.

Oh and did I mention this is only 222 calories per serving?

Yeah you’ll never order take-out again.

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And don’t even get me started on my chopstick debacle.
When I had picked this recipe to make, I KNEW I wanted to display chopsticks in my photo because duh, it’s the best way to eat Asian food {and sushi}.  Well who knew that finding nice chopsticks would become my weekend mission?!  I had assumed they could be found at Bed, Bath and Beyond, or any other home goods type store for that matter, but after 5 different stores with absolutely no success, I finally just went into my local takeout place and sheepishly asked for their free chopsticks. Yeah you know the kind that comes in the plastic wrap that you break apart to use. Yep those ones.
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I had contemplated offering to buy their super fancy ones from the sushi bar, but chickened out at the last minute and didn’t really want to look that desperate.  Sigh.  Alas, you should appreciate the chopsticks you see before you as they clearly are the most important aspect in this dish.
I kid I kid.
Thai Peanut Noodles with Chicken
 
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Serves: 6 servings
Ingredients
  • 12 oz. soba noodles
  • 6 Tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 3 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
  • 3 Tbsp reduced-fat peanut butter
  • 1 Tbsp Splenda Brown Sugar Blend (or 3 Tbsp of regular brown sugar)
  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 cup cooked chicken, chopped
  • 1 small red bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • ¼ cup scallions, sliced
  • ¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
  • ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • ¼ cup fresh mint, chopped
  • Sesame seeds, as garnish
Instructions
  1. Cook soba noodles according to package directions.
  2. Meanwhile, whisk together peanut butter and 3 tablespoons of lime juice.
  3. Whisk in the rest of the ingredients, including your fresh herbs, and toss with the noodles. Garnish with sesame seeds and enjoy!
Nutritional Information
Serving Size: 6 • Calories: 222 • Fat: 5.8 g • Carbs: 32.7 g • Fiber: 0.8 g • 12.8 g • Protein: 12.8 g • WW Points+: 6 pts
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Enjoy friends!

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