It’s been the summer of cold salads in my house. The heat has been unbearable, and the only thing I like less than cooking hot food is eating hot food. Because yuck.

I’ve been all about Pasta Salad and Potato Salad and Quinoa Salad and Fruit Salad and Garden Salad and Mexican Veggie and Bean Salad (future recipe post to follow) and… I think you get the picture. I get up super early on Sundays, before the heat hits, cook and prep large batches of a couple of salads and then eat them all week for lunch or with dinner. This has been working out great in terms of time management and having healthy food at the ready, but flavor-wise, things had gotten a bit boring.

Until this Sunday.

In search of some flavor in my salads, I turned to the internet, and after a couple of searches for ‘cold dinner ideas’, I found the following recipe on LaaLoosh (an invaluable resource for healthy, and specifically Weight Watchers friendly, recipes).

Oriental Cold Noodles (adapted from LaaLoosh)

Ingredients

1 12 oz. package Whole Wheat Spaghetti
1 large cucumber, diced
1 cup carrots, diced
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup cilantro, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 ½ tsp sesame seeds
Juice from 1 lime
Instructions
Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain, and rinse with cold water. Place in a large bowl. Toss in cilantro, cucumbers and carrots, and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, vinegar, lime juice, garlic, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, and sesame oil.
Pour dressing over noodles and toss to combine. Top with sesame seeds.

Cover and place in refrigerator for at least 1.5 hours.
Preparation time: 10 minute(s), Cooking time: 15 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 6
PER SERVING: 231 calories; 3.5g fat; 41g carbohydrates; 6g protein; 2.5g fiber

Recipe Source: LaaLoosh

Now, I’ve never met a recipe I didn’t want to tweak, but I stayed very close to the original on this. The only changes I made were to add some scallions and to usage Whole Wheat Spaghetti instead of Soba Noodles (because I had it on hand). Also, I measure nothing. Ever.

The result?

Ooooooodles of Noodles

BOOM. FLAVOR EXPLOSION IN MY MOUTH.

You guys, this was SO good. Aside from cutting veggies, the prep work was very minimal. And aside from the 20 minutes of boiling water and cooking pasta, I didn’t have to turn on the stove. WHICH MAKES ME VERY HAPPY.

This and some diced chicken breast were my lunch on Monday, and the rest will be a side dish for the Turkey Teriyaki Meatballs I’ll be making for dinner one night this week. You know, if it lasts that long.

If you’re a Weight Watcher’s member, I calculated this differently than the website did. Mine came up to 4 Points Plus for 6 servings or 7 Points Plus for 4 servings (I went with four servings because I was HUNGRY!)

So, whip yourself up a batch and set them aside for the next hot night. Which is surely imminent. SIGH.

When it’s hot out, what’s your go to cold dinner? Help Bec out. Her family is ready to mutiny if she serves sandwiches one more time.