Lunch: Chilled Sweet and Sour Cucumber Noodles

Skip the pasta in favor of this healthy and refreshing cucumber noodle salad that's the perfect no-cook sweet and sour side dish or appetizer.

This recipe includes superfoods such as:

Sesame Seeds

Health benefits of Chilled Sweet and Sour Cucumber Noodles

Sesame seeds help with progesterone balance. Lignans found in in sesame seeds help to prevent excess estrogen production.

Ingredients

2 medium cucumbers, peeled
1/2 cup diced red onion
3/4 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons white sesame seeds

Instructions

Attach the julienne blade to the mandoline and adjust it to the 1/8-inch-thick setting. Applying medium pressure, carefully run one of the cucumbers down the blade to form noodles, slicing until you reach the core. Rotate the cucumber a quarter turn and continue slicing and rotating until you've cut the entire cucumber. Repeat the slicing process with the second cucumber then transfer the cucumber noodles to a medium bowl.
Add the red onion, rice vinegar, 1/4 cup water, sugar and crushed red pepper flakes (optional) to the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the cucumber noodles for a minimum of 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until chilled.
When ready to serve, use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer the noodles to serving plates and top with the sesame seeds.
Kelly's Notes: If you're using a spiralizer instead of a mandoline, simply twist the cucumber into the spiralizer to form noodles.