My Love Affair With Peanut Butter

Ah, the creamy deliciousness that is peanut butter.  I love the satisfying and indulgent flavor of peanut butter along with its versatility.  From the heavenly combination of peanut butter and chocolate, to my all time favorite peanut butter cookies and peanut thai salad, this stuff goes with many different dishes.  Plus, it's full of protein and really fixes my cravings. Today's dish is inspired by pad thai, which I love, but it's a raw pasta salad version.  Here you go:

Peanut Dressing Recipe

1/2 cup no salt added peanut butter (creamy works best)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce or Braggs Amino Acids
1 tbsp raw organic agave nectar
4 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cayenne powder
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 cloves of garlic, minced finely

whisk all ingredients together in a bowl.  I like my peanut dressing to be spicy so I add chopped jalapeno pepper if I have it on hand.  For the salad itself, this is a raw dish so the vegetables will be a mock pasta.

1 zucchini, julienne cut
5 cups of julienne cut broccoli and carrot (I like to buy the pre-cut organic Trader Joes bag)
1 bunch of cherry tomatos (you can also use roma tomato's but my garden vine tomatoes are cherry and very ripe today)
1/2 white onion, finely chopped
1 bunch cilantro to taste
3 cups shredded organic spinach

I try to always use all organic produce.  For foods like spinach and the vegetables we are using, buying organic is important.  They have no peel and the outer skin of zucchini is very thin, so these foods are quite susceptible to pesticides.  Put all of your ingredients into a bowl and toss them in the peanut dressing.  I like to garnish with fresh cilantro and chopped peanuts (but I didn't have them today) to add extra flavor.  Since I'm eating this dish for lunch, I added a top of shredded carrot in lemon juice so that it's extra light and fresh and springy tasting.  Here is the finished product: