Today's Recipe - Tan Tan Noodles

Today's Recipe
If you don't know what to serve for dinner tonight ...

This great tasting recipe will help you add the health-promoting benefits of buckwheat to your Healthiest Way of Eating.
Tan Tan Noodles
Prep and Cook Time: Prep and cooking time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:

• 1/4 lb soba noodles*
• 1/2 cup minced scallion
• 
  
• Sauce
• 2 TBS peanut butter
• 2 TBS rice vinegar
• 1-1/2 TBS soy sauce
• 1 TBS honey
• 2 medium cloves garlic, chopped
• 2-1/2 TBS minced or grated fresh ginger
• 2 TBS water
• pinch cayenne to taste
• Salt and white pepper to taste
• * for those who are gluten-intolerant, it's possible to find soba noodles that are made from 100% buckwheat rather than part buckwheat and part wheat.

Directions:

1. Bring lightly salted water to a boil and cook soba noodles according to package instructions.
2. While water is coming to a boil, blend sauce ingredients together in a blender and minced scallion.
3. Drain noodles, and toss with sauce and scallion.

Serves 4 as side dishPrinter Friendly Version of Tan Tan Noodles
In-Depth Nutritional Profile for Tan Tan Noodles

Healthy Food Tip

Does eating over 100% of the Daily Value for a nutrient one day mean that you have to avoid taking in so much of that nutrient the next day?

No, eating over 100% of the Daily Value for a nutrient does not mean that you have to compensate by avoiding that nutrient on the following day. Your question is an excellent one, however, and I'd like to take the time to explain more fully how to interpret these percentages, including %DV, that I present in my book, The World's Healthiest Foods, as well as on the World's Healthiest Foods website (www.whfoods.org).
In order to give readers a shorthand method for determining the nutritional benefits of any particular food, we decided to use a concept called "Daily Value" on the World's Healthiest Foods website, which I adapted for The World's Healthiest Foods book. Daily Values are the standards (set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA) by which foods are evaluated on packaging labels. On most packaged foods you'll find an information panel on the back of the package (or sometimes on the side of the package) called "Nutrition Facts." The right hand column in this Nutrition Facts panel always lists "% Daily Value." With a few exceptions, these are the exact same Daily Values that are used in the book and website! You'll notice that these Daily Values are not specific for men versus women, or older persons versus younger persons. They are a "one size fits all" type of measurement. While I know that, in reality, one size does not fit all, I believe that these Daily Values ar e a great shorthand method for selecting foods.

When you get 100% of a nutrient's Daily Value, it means that you are getting enough of the nutrient to meet the average daily need for a generally healthy adult. "100% DV" means that there is enough of the nutrient to cover the general biochemical need for that nutrient in the human body for one day. It does not guarantee, however, that you have enough of the nutrient to meet your personal, individual needs. For example, there are many chronic health problems that deplete certain nutrients from you body. These problems would cause your body to need more than 100% DV as would the use of certain prescription or over-the-counter medications. The 100% DV guideline is simply a ballpark estimate that should get you thinking in the correct general category of nutrition. For example, if you only have 10% DV for a nutrient, you are highly likely to be getting an insufficient amount of that nutrient.

When you go over 100%DV, it simply means that you have provided your body with more than enough of the nutrient to meet your body's general biochemical needs on that day. Your body will decide what to do the extra amount. It may decide to eliminate it altogether, and so you will find it passing out of the body when you urinate or move your bowel. Your body may also decide to store the nutrient, either temporarily or for a longer period of time.

In general, we do not recommend going over approximately 200% DV for any particular nutrient unless you have some evidence to suggest that more than 200% is needed. Many healthcare practitioners go far over 200% DV in recommending nutrient intake to their patients, and many research studies show that even 1000% DV is sometimes needed to meet the body's needs. But unless you know what is happening inside your body from a biochemical and nutrient standpoint, large excesses can also be potentially harmful to your health. This is our reason for suggesting people stay, in general, within a 100-200% DV range, unless under the guidance of a licensed healthcare practitioner.