Low Carb Grain-free Pad Thai!!!!

My home smells like an exotic, savory get away.  I just keep breathing deeply and enjoying the joy of my own, homemade pad thai that is low carb and amazing.

Yes, you read right.  Homemade, low carb pad thai.  I used kelp noodles to approximate pho last winter, and they are back to star in this dish.  Just a tad firmer than rice noodles, kelp noodles are a fabulous substitute.  They don't take the prettiest photo, but they do taste delicious!

This is really simple to pull together, too!  It's full of easy to find ingredients, it tastes fresh but deep, and it's ready in a jiff.  What more can you ask for?

By the way, this serves four with big heaping helpings that come out to 6 net carbs per serving when using tofu as the protein.

Ingredients:

Sauce:

1/4 c tamarind paste

1/4 c fish sauce

4 packets truvia

1/4 c peanut butter (not necessarily part of the usual dish, but I didn't have any chopped peanuts to garnish and wanted the peanutty flavor)

sizeable squirt of sriracha

The rest:

giant pack of kelp noodles

3 cloves garlic, pressed

4 T coconut oil

protein of choice (chicken, beef, tofu)

2 eggs

4 green onions, chopped

a few spring cilantro, chopped

*I have heard that you can soak kelp noodles in a slightly acidic water bath for 30 minutes to get them to soften up.  I personally have had good luck just boiling them for 30 minutes.

1) Soften noodles.  Give them a few snips since they seem to be one glommed up big noodle.

2) Sautee garlic in coconut oil. Add protein and cook through. Remove to plate.

3) Toss sauce ingredients in large pot.  Mix until well blended.  Toss in noodles, 

4) Scramble an egg into the noodles by pushing the noodles to one side of pot and cracking eggs into the empty space. Mix into the noodles.

5) Add in protein.  Add in cilantro and take off the heat.  Serve.  Indulge.  Enjoy.