One of the hardest things during pregnancy (aside from the nausea, the backache and the swollen feet) is eating healthy. One one hand, you want to eat a balanced diet and provide the baby with all the nutrients you can. On the other hand, you want to satisfy cravings for what seems like everything sweet, fried and guilty in the world.

As much as I enjoy eating out, I find cooking at home a much healthier alternative during pregnancy. It’s the easiest way for me to say “no” to the fried calamari and the raspberry cheesecake at restaurants. It is also the best place to come up with quick and easy recipes that are good for the baby and the belly.

This is a super healthy dish that I have turned to time and again. Buckwheat noodle, also known as soba, is a Japanese noodle made of buckwheat, a whole grain. You can find it dried like spaghetti in the international aisle of your supermarket. This dish also includes tofu, which provides protein with little fat, and asparagus, which has fiber and folic acid.

The ginger sesame dressing is what lends flavor to this dish. The dressing is tangy from the lemon juice and vinegar, sweet from the honey, salty from the soy sauce and a tiny bit spicy from the cayenne pepper. Like all good dishes, this one has many different textures in one bowl. The noodle is tender, the asparagus is crunchy, the tofu is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. You will be surprised at how interesting these ingredients come together.

If you are expecting like me, I hope you will give this a try and let me know what you think. But you don’t have to be pregnant to enjoy this dish. It’s for anyone who wants to eat deliciously healthy food.

Buckwheat Noodles with Ginger Sesame Dressing

• Lemon zest, from 1 lemon
• Lemon juice, 1 tablespoon (about 1/4 of a lemon)
• Ginger, 1-inch piece, peeled and grated
• Honey, 1 tablespoon
• Cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon
• Rice vinegar, 1/4 cup
• Soy sauce, 1/3 cup
• Sesame oil, 2 tablespoons
• Asparagus, 1 pound, tough ends trimmed, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• Soba noodles, 12 ounces
• Canola oil, enough to panfry tofu
• Extra-firm tofu, 12 ounces, blotted with paper towels, cut into 1 inch long by 1/2 inch thick pieces

To make the dressing, whisk lemon zest, lemon juice, ginger, honey, cayenne pepper, rice vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil in a medium bowl.

Bring a pot of water to boil. Cook asparagus for about 5 minutes. Scoop out the asparagus and cool in a bowl of ice water. In the same pot of boiling water, cook soba noodles according to package directions. When the noodles are done, rinse under cold water to cool.

In a skillet, heat enough canola oil to thinly coat the bottom. Panfry the tofu until golden, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle with a bit of salt.

Divide the noodles into four bowls. Drizzle over dressing according to taste. Top with tofu and asparagus.

Serves 4.