low carb nutty noodle-ness

A short time ago I banned sunflower seed butter from the house because I had a problem.

At hubby’s insistence, I rescinded the ban last week. With conditions (FYI these conditions only apply to me…hubs has no problems eating it in moderation *gasp*  Frankly I’m astounded at his strength).

making the dressing. Warning: may lead to eating the dressing

Condition number one: it must only be used in recipes and not eaten straight from the jar with a spoon.

Number two: it must never be combined with honey and slathered on rice cakes because that way starts with ‘I’ll just have one cracker’ and ends in damnation.

Three: I can never be left unattended with an open jar.

chives!

While I cunningly circumvented #3 by ensuring that Dog was with me at all times, the rules have been pretty successful so far.

Except that they’ve led to a rash of sunflower seed butter recipes.

digging in

This one is basically a low-carb version of a cold pad thai salad – using spaghetti squash instead of rice/wheat noodles. If you’re not a SSB junkie like myself, you can easily sub in your nut butter of choice. I’m sure peanut would be equally as delicious.

Nutty Noodle Salad (serves 2-3)

• 1/2 large spaghetti squash
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp sunflower seed butter
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp chives, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup almonds, sliced
• 3 tsps sesame oil
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsps lemon juice

1. Brush the flesh of the spaghetti squash with olive oil, season well and place it flesh side down on a baking tray. Bake at 375 for 45 mins to an hour, until the flesh is soft. Remove and let cool.
2. Put the almonds under the grill/broiler for about a minute to toast them.
3. Whisk together the sunflower seed butter, honey, sesame oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and garlic.
4. Gently fork the now cooled squash so it separates from the skin in ribbons. Transfer these to a bowl, season well and fold in the chives. Pour over the dressing and mix well. Sprinkle the toasted almonds over the top and serve or chill to be enjoyed later.

Like this? You might also like:

• Satay Sauce
• Honey Walnut Chicken Salad
• Not-Potato Salad