Some days you just want your lips to tingle and to feel the heat of a spicy curry in your belly. Unfortunately there are no Thai or Indian restaurants where I live so I am left to experiment with coconut milk curry pastes and vegetables.

Curry always seems like a simple dish, however, the flavor profile is complex and achieving the right amount of heat is important. Of course you can always just use some curry paste and coconut milk and call it a day but I figured a little more flavor was needed and added a dash of soy sauce, a squeeze of lime juice and a drop of apple cider vinegar.

I did not have wild rice in the house and wanted to try a little something different with the base. Rice is awesome because it soaks up the flavors of the curry and offsets the heat but I had grand visions of raw carrot noodles; crunchy and sweet. The carrot noodles were a complete fail, how does one make a carrot noodle? I tried my fancy Kitchenaid spiralizer but the carrots were too small and I wound up with slivers of carrots and my handheld couldn't grip the carrot well enough to get a noodle either so I used the carrot slivers which I call rice even though it technically wasn't. Next time I will just go ahead and rice the carrots and skip all that crazy mess.

As you can tell, the entire meal was an experiment and a work in progress - the result was a delicious curry and with a few tweaks to the base would be an awesome week night meal.

Red pepper and Chickpea Coconut Curry with Carrot Rice

Serves 2

1 Onion, sliced

1 Red pepper, Sliced

1 cup Sprouted Chickpeas

3 cloves of Garlic, chopped

1 in of ginger, minced

4 Collard Green Leaves, chiffonade

2 tbs Olive Oil

2 tbs Curry Paste (Red or Green)

1 cup Coconut Milk

1/2 cup Water

Juice from 1/2 of a Lime

1 tbs Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tsp Soy Sauce/Tamari

4 Carrots, shredded

Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium high heat. Add the sliced Onion and Red Pepper, cooking until they begin to soften. Add the garlic, ginger and chickpeas to the pan, cooking for another minute before adding the curry paste. Saute the curry paste and vegetables for 1-2 minutes before adding the coconut milk, water, lime juice, soy sauce, and vinegar. Add the collard greens, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, shred the carrots in your food processor until a rice like consistence is created, you could use cauliflower of broccoli for this as well. Divide the carrot between 2 plates and top with the curry.

Enjoy and healthy eating!

Tomorrow I am leaving for Mexico to celebrate the wedding of 2 wonderful people, I love destination weddings - it means that I get to go to a destination! Mexico is definitely one of those places where you expect to be in a bikini the whole time and that means a quick round up on your bikini body food consumption.

Bikini bodies are toned and lean but still soft in all the right womanly places. Mid winter is not really bikini body season so what is a girl to do but eliminate dairy and up her veggie content. I love my veggies but in all honesty by this time of year I am sick of the limited variety. In the summer it is so easy to eat delicious, healthy, fresh foods but around this time I am anxiously awaiting an asparagus stalk to rise from the frozen grounds so that I do not have to eat one more root vegetable. Now don't get me wrong, I adore sweet potatoes, squashes, and beets but I want some arugula, peas, and peaches already!

My spirits lifted this past week when I received an email from my CSA that it was time for sign ups - veggies are not far away! If anyone is looking for a great CSA, try Royal Acres Farms out of Pine Bush, NY. John is awesome and uniquely you get to choose your own vegetables! He is pretty much my favorite person all summer long, he is always a laugh, has great products, and is knowledgeable, what more could you ask of from your CSA?!

In preparation for my bikini body trip I have been eating a lot of fresh melon, salads, and spiralized noodles, I really can not get enough of my Kitchenaid spiralizer, if you have been debating buying one, do it, it is so worth it. These sweet potato noodles were think and velvety, sauteed with garlic, onions, and tomatoes and then topped with hummus, tahini, lemon, and parsley. Delicious! I hope you enjoy.

Sweet Potato Noodles with Hummus, Tahini and Parsley

1 serving

1 Large Sweet Potato, Spiralized

2 Cloves Garlic, chopped

1/2 Onion, chopped

1 Tomato, chopped

2 tbs Olive Oil

1 tbs Hummus (store bought or homemade)

1 tsp Tahini

Parsley, a Lemon Wedge, and Avocado for Garnish

Heat the oil over medium high heat in a saute pan. Add the onion and cook until softened. Add the garlic and spiralized sweet potato, sauteing until the sweet potato has turned bright orange and is cooked to your desired tenderness. Add the tomatoes, cooking for another minute. Transfer to a plate.

Top with a dollop of hummus, a drizzle of tahini, a squeeze of lemon and a smattering of parsley. Enjoy and healthy eating!