Vegan Almond Butter Mung Bean Noodle Stir Fry

The name says it all.

Everyone has a favourite standby meal. The dish that you can easily throw together with whatever you have lying around in the kitchen. But it’s not just a plain ol’ ordinary dish; it’s one boasting with robust flavour and excitement from the simplest ingredients.

This one is mine.

I’m not the biggest fan of eating Westernized Chinese food because some of the dishes are way too greasy and require a lot of salt and soy sauce which generally contain a whack load of wheat and sugar. So I concocted one that was “Charmaine” friendly and used healthier ingredients while keeping the sodium to a bare minimum. Remember, my blog is not about getting rid of your favourite comfort foods but optimizing them so that you’re still satisfied while being able to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Plus, stir fry can be incredibly delicious and easy to make! When I’m not in the mood for a raw veggie bowl or salad, I’ll toss ’em in a skillet, add some whipped up homemade sauce and voila – a perfect Asian Fusion dish!

Grease free, MSG free, low sodium, satisfying and protein packed from the almond butter!

I used Dastony’s organic sprouted raw almond butter which is absolutely divine. Admittedly, I’ve caught myself eating straight from the jar a few times that I burned some of my mung bean noodles during the making of this dish. That good.

The neatly stacked jars of almond butters at my local health store is a shelf I often find myself visiting and gazing at for many minutes. I’ve had plenty of fine relationships with all kinds of almond butter products but this one….this one is special. You may find that some nut butters are blended with a slew of undesirable and unnecessary additives such as refined sugars like can juice, added sodium and cheap rancid vegetable oils just to name a few. Not to mention some of them use roasted or dry roasted almonds for their products which means they’ve probably been exposed to exceedingly high temperatures that dilutes the almonds’ nutrients. I haven’t found another almond butter like Dastony’s that uses the sprouting method. Organic, raw, stone ground AND sprouted?! They make the other almond butters look like chumps! I’m also a sucker for fabulous and innovative branding and packaging. The delightful purple elephant had me sold.

So why sprouted almonds? Well, we all know that the almond’s nutrition profile is packed with healthy fats, fiber and powerful vitamins and essential minerals your body needs. Almonds are naturally gluten and wheat free and can be prepared in a multitude of delicious ways – from almond flour to almond butter. But did you know that seeds, grains and nuts (like almonds) were once plants that were alive? They all came from trees, stalks or plants of some sort and when they were once alive, they contained active enzymes. After being picked off and then harvested, the enzyme inhibitors take over which then blocks the enzymes from the almonds. It’s their natural way of protecting the almond’s ability to grow and reproduce until the environment is good for germination. This leaves us with nuts that contain enzymes in an intolerable, dormant state.

How do we get the full nutrients from the almonds then? That’s when sprouting comes in!

The active enzymes actually increase vitamin content, notably Vitamin B, dramatically and as well produce some more vitamins that are only accessible when they’re sprouted such as Vitamin C! Sprouting also helps the lipase, an enzyme which helps break body fat down, in almonds available for digestion.

Ever heard of phytic acid? It’s actually a substance that almonds (and other nuts) have that serves as a physiological protectant which inhibits your body’s ability to fully assimilate all the wonderful benefits they offer. That’s good ol’ phytic acid for you! If they’re eaten raw without sprouting/soaking, this safeguard compound binds to minerals in the digestive tract which can cause irritation and help contribute to the probability of nutrient deficiencies.

Sprouting and soaking your almonds help to neutralize the phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors which means your body will be able to get use of the greater amount of vitamins and also activate helpful enzymes that increase nutrient absorption. They’re much sweeter, moister, softer to chew and easier to digest!

You can enjoy the full breadth of nourishing benefits and flavours from all that Dastony’s lip smacking sprouted almond butter spread has to offer either alone on a spoon or in this vegan stir fry I’m about to share with you.

What you’ll need:

Almond Butter Sauce:

3 tbsp of Dastony’s raw sprouted almond butter

2 tbsp of filtered water

2 tbsp of wheat free tamari soy sauce

1 tbsp of liquid aminos

1/2 tsp of garlic powder

1/2 tsp of ginger powder (or chopped up ginger)

Other ingredients:

Mung bean noodles (or other gluten/wheat free noodles like brown rice)

2 tsp 100% sesame oil

1 tsp minced garlic

Scallions or green onions, chopped

Baby spinach

Frozen veggies of choice

Raw bell peppers (best to keep these uncooked for extra enzymes!)

Cook noodles of choice until tender. Drain, rinse and set aside.

Heat sesame oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add frozen veggies of choice and saute for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and onion and continue to saute until lightly brown.

In the meantime, in a small bowl, combine the almond butter ingredients. Whisk until well mixed and smooth. Set aside.

Add noodles to heated pan and baby spinach. Saute until desired crispiness is achieved.

You have two options: you can toss the almond butter sauce into the heated pan and cook for a minute or two, OR, you can can remove cooked noodles and veggies from the pan and coat them with the sauce as a dressing.

Top with raw bell peppers and sprinkle cracked black pepper and a squeeze of lemon for an extra health kick. Enjoy. x