There are certain canned items that I pick up while on my weekly grocery store “big shop” for “just in case” scenarios. This includes, but is not limited to: dijon mustard, almond butter, chickpeas, black beans, cannellini beans, diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, solid white albacore tuna in water, kalamata olives, capers, coconut milk and curry paste.
Yesterday, I looked in my pantry to grab my vegan protein powder for my morning smoothie and my eye caught 6 bottles of curry paste: 5 green and 1 red. I took that as a sign that a) I have a slight food hoarding problem and b) it’s about time I make a green curry dish on da blog.
Who knew your own pantry could inspire a meal, right? You may want to clean out your own pantry, you may be surprised to see what you find.
This happens in my fridge all the time, but rarely in my pantry. More often than not, I’ll see an almost-too-ripe zucchini in the back of my “zucchini drawer” (yes, I have a drawer just for zucchinis) and I’ll whip something up for dinner with zucchini noodles – or plan something for the blog.
Finding inspiration for meals is especially easy with user-submission sites like Foodgawker. I’ve definitely wasted many hours of my life on Foodgawker, but it definitely inspires me when I’m in a recipe rut.
Actually, if you’re looking for more spiralized recipes outside of Inspiralized (how dare you!), keep in mind that I have a Pinterest board solely dedicated to all other spiralized recipes on the ‘net, aptly named “Not Inspiralized, but Inspiralized.” Check it out:
Follow Inspiralized’s board Not Inspiralized… but Spiralized! on Pinterest.
Anyway, this vegan lemongrass Thai green curry soup with zucchini noodles is the the ideal light meal for those days when you’ve had a heavy breakfast and lunch or you want dinner AND dessert and don’t want to sacrifice: this soup tastes like it should be heavy in calories, but it’s not at all and it’s still filling, as always. It definitely leaves room for a few dark chocolate squares or a trip to the frozen yogurt place.
Speaking of frozen yogurt: if you have to walk a mile to get it and a mile back to get home, it’s kind of like you worked it off anyway, right? I’m totally adopting that mantra. #froyoseason
You can adapt this curry soup to your own preference – add coconut milk for heartier flavors, swap in chicken or shrimp for a non-vegan protein or use daikon noodles instead. This recipe can totally be used as a base for customized curry soups – the proportions are spot-on! If you make some substitutions, I won’t be offended. I promise.
I chowed down on this for lunch (as per below) and let me tell you, it got me through a grueling Monday night workout on the spin bike:
Nutritional Information & Recipe
Vegetarian Lemongrass Green Curry Soup with Zucchini Noodles
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or virgin coconut oil
- 1 lemongrass stalk diced
- 1 garlic clove minced
- ½ teaspoon minced ginger
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon Thai green curry paste
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup water
- 1.5 oz mushrooms of choice a large handful
- 2 oz snow peas
- 2 oz baby bok choy chopped in 3" pieces
- 1/3 cup diced scallions
- ½ cup small-cubed tofu
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 large zucchini or 2 medium zucchinis Blade C
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add in the lemongrass, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes and green curry paste. Cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Add the broth and water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add in the mushrooms, snow peas, bok choy, scallions, tofu, lime juice and zucchini noodles.
- Let cook for 3-4 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Once tender, add in the cilantro, season generously with salt and pepper and stir to combine and serve into bowls.
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