Gluten Free Spicy Rice Noodle Salad {Vegan Option}

Gluten Free Spicy Rice Noodle Salad – 2 Ways! Cold gluten free noodles are a healthy addition to any meal. You can spice them up and then add a protein for a main meal, or try this dish vegan friendly by just adding veggies and chopped nuts.

Hi there Fellow Lauren’s Nutrition friends! My name is Lindsay Cotter and I blog over at Cotter Crunch. So happy to be sharing her space here today as she rests and recovers.

Anyways, about me and COTTER CRUNCH. I’m married to a former pro athlete and endurance sport coach from New Zealand. I’m also a Nutrition Specialist for Endurance Athletes and Gluten-Free eating. My blog is a gluten free guide (for all). I do my best to share proper nutrition tips one “bite” at a time. Hence the Crunch, haha! Consider me your gluten free guru with nutrition and healthy recipes.

But the other main reason I blog is to support others by educating them about KEY nutrition within a recipe!

So let’s talks about the nutrition and food today! What food is best for post workout or even for gut health and why?

Cold noodle cabbage salad is a must during Texas summers. Especially when you’re training, extra active, or even coaching others! You (we) need those good nutrients and carbohydrates to refuel between sessions.

But let me explain something else here. There is yet another reason why we love COLD RICE pasta. Can you guess it? Yep –> it’s a resistant starch.

Wait, hold up. I think I should probably go over this RS (resistant starch) thing again. What is it, why do we like eating it?

To sum it up:

Resistant starch is “the sum of starch and products of starch degradation not absorbed in the small intestine of healthy individuals.” Instead of being cleaved in twain by our enzymes and absorbed as glucose, resistant starch (RS) travels untouched through the small intestine into the colon, where colonic gut flora metabolize it into short chain fatty acids. Thus, it’s resistant to digestion by the host. Definition Source via Marks Daily Apple

Sounds bad, right? Actually it’s not.

Resistant starch can actually HELP provide more bacteria in the gut because it is resistant to breaking down into sugar/glucose. And new research has discovered that if you cook your rice or rice pasta in 1 tsp of coconut oil first, it actually increases the RS (resistant starch). So we did just that, a little experimenting with the cooling time too.

We let the pasta sit overnight, which really helped with the soaking up the spices and flavor. Plus cooling it for 12 hours is the so called “peak time” for RS.

“Cooling for 12 hours will lead to formation of hydrogen bonds between the amylose molecules outside the rice grains which also turns it into a resistant starch.”

Once the rice noodle salad was cooled, we mixed it up two ways. One with just slightly sautéed veggies (vegan friendly), and the other with a beef tips (for that extra protein and iron) and veggies added. Both nutritious, but I thought it would be good to have a vegetarian option as well. Maybe one you could eat at 6am, like me? Haha, or wait till after your workout and eat the BEEFY salad for a healthy meal or refuel!

Print

Gluten Free Spicy Rice Noodle Salad

Course dinner, main dish

Cuisine Asian

Servings 3 -4 servings

Author Lindsay Cotter of Cotter Crunch

Ingredients

• 3-4 cups chopped cabbage and green salad mix
• 300 grams 10 ounces rice noodles
• 3-4 tablespoons tamari
• 1-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
• lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion or chives
• 2-3 tablespoons chopped nuts
• 1 tablespoon chili pepper sauce
• 2 teaspoon coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame or avocado oil optional
• dash of black pepper
• red pepper flakes
• Optional topping – sliced grilled peppered steak strips or any other protein desired.

Instructions

1. First cook your rice noodles according to instructions.
2. Usually takes around 10 minutes or less.
3. After cooked, place in a bowl and add in 1 teaspoon coconut oil, pepper, salt, and your 1 tablespoon chili pepper.
4. Mix and place in fridge to cool. For best flavor and resistant starch, let it sit for at least an hour.
5. After it's cooled, toss your noodles with the rest of your ingredients.
6. You can slightly sautee or steam your cabbage salad first or leave it raw.
7. Mix with you nuts, tamari, onion, vinegar, and garlic. Add more pepper and sesame oil if desired.
8. Toss in bowl and squeeze fresh lime juice on top. Add red pepper flakes for extra spice!
9. Serve or keep in fridge for when ready.
10. If you want to cook the steak, just slice a 6 ounces steak into strips, add black pepper and a tablespoon avocado oil to a pan and sear each side until medium done.
11. Probably around 8 -10 minutes on medium high heat. You can slice the meat before cooking if it's easier.

You see where I am going with this? Yes, eat cold noodles all the live long day! Just kidding. But now you know the GUT HEALTH reasons on why you should keep a big batch in your fridge this summer.

Plus it’s just darn tasty, can’t go wrong with that! Ready to start slurping?

Well folks, that’s all for now. Let me know if you give this recipe a whirl or if you have ANY questions on nutrition. I’d love to answer!

Cheers!

Lindsay

Let’s stay connected! LET’S STAY CONNECTED. SO VIA FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, AND TWITTER.

Or shoot me an email.
Email- cottercrunch@hotmail.com

Disclaimer – I am currently a Nutrition Manager and specialize in services including diet analysis, menu planning and more. As a Nutrition Managers I adhere to all state licensure laws by working directly with an AASDN licensed sports dietitian. If you have any medical questions, please contact your general practitioner

Thank you SO much Lindsay!  Please go visit her everywhere, she has the most amazing recipes and is so inspiring!  I don’t know about you but I can’t wait to make this salad!