Spicy Spinach Avocado Sesame Pasta

Morgan Spurlock is the equivalent of a superhero in our home, so we were thrilled to discover Alex Jamieson's book The Great American Detox Diet. (When Morgan filmed the documentary Super Size Me, he and Alex were engaged. Now they're married with a pair of super cute kidoodles.) How time flies when you're not stuck in a McDonald's drive through lane.

What I love about Alex's book are her charts that provide nutritional information for non-dairy sources of calcium (p. 140) and plant sources of protein (p. 143). Through the charts, I discovered that one ounce of unhulled sesame seeds provides 381 milligrams of calcium. Alex writes that a cup of cow's milk provides about 290-300 milligrams (p. 139). Who knew?

This blog is about our successes as much as it is about our failures. And my attempt last night at Avocado Sesame Pasta (p. 226) was an epic fail. (I blame my poor depth perception and questionable math methods.) I gave the recipe a bit of a makeover tonight and ... (drumroll, please) the first bite tasted like seaweed salad, but in a comforting, non-sketchy restaurant way. Mushrooms and spinach add an earthiness that some might associate with grass-fed beef. (But not us!)

What you need:

1 lime

1 red bell pepper

1 avocado

12 oz. organic baby spinach

12 oz. sliced mushrooms (any kind you want)

6 0z. rice noodles

2 tbs Bragg's Liquid Aminos or soy sauce

2 tbs sesame oil

1/4 cup unhulled sesame seeds

crushed red pepper (as much as you can handle)

What to do:

Cook the rice noodles according to package directions, which were written for slackers like me. You just pour hot water over the noodles, and let them sit covered in a bowl for 10 minutes.

While the noodles cook, chop the avocado and pepper and set aside.

Then cook the spinach, mushrooms, and sesame seeds in a wok. I used our old school cast-iron Le Creuset, which is a gift from God (bless her heart).

Juice your lime. Then toss the avocado and peppers in lime juice and the remaining sesame oil/liquid aminos.

Once that's done, make a bed of noodles on your favorite plate. Add some avocados and pepper, then the spinach and mushrooms. Top with a freak ton of crushed red pepper. EAT.

BTW: I found that layering with this recipe works better than tossing because the rice noodles can become a stubborn sticky mess if you do not cook them properly. Layering is mistake-proof.

One more thing: While eating, I thought that a salad of shredded red cabbage, carrots, and raisins would make a fine addition.