This light and refreshing salad is a great way to enjoy nutritious vegetables. Served cold with rice noodles, it makes a filling lunch that is easy to pack for work or school.

Yield: 4 servings

Preparation time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 small Persian cucumbers (or 1 English cucumber)
• 1 medium carrot, peeled
• 1 small red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• ½ tsp dark sesame oil
• ¼ tsp low sodium soy sauce
• Juice of 1 a lime
• 1 6-ounce package of thin rice noodles
• 6 cups hot water
• ¼ cup chopped unsalted peanuts

Directions

1. Use a vegetable peeler to cut the cucumbers and carrots into ribbon-like pieces. Combine the cucumber, carrot, and bell pepper in a medium-sized bowl.
2. In a small dish, stir together the rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce, and lime juice. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
3. While the vegetables rest, place the rice noodles in a bowl. Pour the hot water over the noodles. Move the noodles around so that they are all completely submerged. Add more hot water if necessary. Let the noodles sit for 15 minutes until they are softened. Drain and cool.
4. Divide the noodles into four equal servings, and top each with an equal amount of vegetables. Garnish each bowl with one tablespoon of chopped peanuts before serving.

Lori Rice, M.S., is a nutritional scientist and author with a passion for healthy cooking, exercise physiology, and food photography.