Rainbow Veggie Noodle Bowl
If you made last week’s recipe and loved the sauce, or if you just thought it looked good, here’s a remix of the delicious creamy miso tahini sauce that will dress a plethora of colourful veggies.
Hello! Thank you for following my new project, Platypus, and tuning into my second recipe! This one’s all about how eating more plant foods, specifically veggies and fruits, makes us feel good and can boost our creativity and happiness.
I’ve included some interesting science-backed benefits of “eating the rainbow,” how many servings of veggies and fruits we should be eating, and a recipe to help you do that. There’s a lot of info in here, and should you wish to dive deeper, all references are included at the end of this post.
Why are fruits and veggies healthy? We generally feel good after a healthy meal and know that eating colourful veggies and fruits can make us healthier, but why? Research has linked eating a regular diet of a variety of colourful veggies and fruits with lowered incidence of heart disease and some cancers, in addition to improved mood. This is because plant foods contain phytonutrients, which act as antioxidants and can help combat environmental pollutants' effects on our health.
Eating a wide range of veggies and fruits could also make us happier and more creative.
In a study of 405 young adults over 13 days, participants who consumed more fruits and veggies reported higher levels of creativity and curiosity.
In another study of more than 12,000 adults, eating up to 8 servings of colourful fruits and veggies was associated with an increase in happiness, life satisfaction, and well-being, equivalent to moving from unemployment to employment*.
(*This is not to say that anyone struggling in this economy should eat a salad! Rather, it highlights the importance of eating more of these foods to better weather life’s stresses and remain resilient.)
How much should we be eating? The benefits of the second study were demonstrated with eight servings of veggies and fruits per day. Old recommendations were for five servings, but most modern recommendations for veggie and fruit intake will be more in this 8-10 servings per day range. Each serving looks like 1 cup of fresh fruits/veg or ½ cup of cooked veggies (e.g. cooked greens).
Which foods? The consensus is that, generally, we should aim for as many colourful plant foods as possible, in a variety of colours. I found an interesting scientific review that simplified the general benefits you’d expect from eating each colour of veggie/fruit. Here’s a quick highlight:
Inflammation reduction: red foods
Reproductive health: orange foods
Digestion: yellow foods
Cardiovascular health: green foods
Brain health: blue/purple foods
There’s so much more to get into, but not enough time this week. However, if you’ve had some good servings of veggies this week and you’re still curious, you can dive a little deeper into each colour group’s foods and phytonutrients with this more detailed chart.
Raw or cooked? There’s tons of evidence for both! Some veggies’ nutrients are more bioavailable when cooked (think of lycopene found in tomatoes) but in general, for mental health, it seems better to leave veggies raw to retain mood-boosting carotenoids (found in carrots, yellow bell peppers and dark leafy greens) and vitamin C.
Ok, this stuff is all scientific, so let’s get back to more of the fun and creative stuff.
Rainbow Veggie Noodle Bowl
I’ve included a veggie from each colour group in the recipe. I haven’t specified serving amounts, but remember that a serving of veggies equals ½ a cup of dense veggies or 1 cup of leafy greens. You can easily get 4-5 servings of veggies by eating this salad.
If you have veggies left over, great! Just make more dressing. Then if you have leftover dressing, prep more veggies. Repeat, repeat, repeat!
Miso Tahini Dressing:
3 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp miso
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp minced ginger
6 tbsp water
Salad:
Rice soba noodles or cooked brown rice (2 servings, I like Lotus Foods)
Thinly shredded kale or spinach (around 1-2 cups)
Thinly sliced red or yellow bell peppers (1 whole pepper)
Shredded red cabbage (1-2 cups)
Julienned carrot, or thinly sliced with a vegetable peeler (1 large carrot)
Sliced sugar snap peas (1 cup)
Steamed edamame, or sub green peas (½ to 1 cup)
Sliced radishes (½ cup)
Optional: apples cut into matchsticks (1 apple)
Toppings:
Sliced green onions
Toasted sesame seeds
Fresh cilantro
Hot sauce
Cook noodles according to directions. Strain, rinse with cold water and set aside.
To make the dressing, whisk the miso, tahini, rice vinegar and ginger in a bowl, adding water until smooth and to your desired consistency.
Working with a sharp knife, chop the vegetables. Thinly sliced is the easiest to eat.
Prep the toppings.
Toss noodles in some dressing and divide them among two big bowls. Top with a big pile of veggies and drizzle more dressing overtop. Finally, sprinkle the toppings overtop as desired and dig in.
That’s it for this week. I’ll be back next Thursday with another healthy recipe for you. Until then, may you feel more happiness, curiosity and creativity because it’s what the world needs now. Welcome to your Rick Rubin era!!
References:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25080035/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27400354/
Love this! Especially since I have almost all of the ingredients on hand!!
Must try this one.