How?
By spiralizing your veggies.
Not "spiraling" down something, like these stairs . . .
or even like these . . .
This post is about using a spiralizer kitchen gadget. These are available in different types from smaller hand-held ones to larger counter-top models. The compact models resemble an oversize pencil sharpener; larger ones are about the size of a toaster.
How do they work?
It's like using a pencil sharpener. Spiralizing is a way of turning vegetables and fruits into noodles using this new and, if you believe advertisements, must-have kitchen gadget that originated from Japan (although most of them are made in China).
On smaller spiralizers, the vegetable is twisted by hand, whereas on larger ones, turning a hand crank makes the gears work. The end result is a pile of curled vegetable (or fruit) ribbons. Here's a pile of zoodles we made last week using yellow squash and zucchini. It's quite colorful too.
We read that health conscious folks like using the spiralizer because spiralized vegetable pasta, for example, is gluten-free, vegetarian, low carb friendly, nutritious and a more wholesome way to eat.
So, who doesn't want to eat healthy, have kitchen fun and buy a new gadget too?
That said Grenville and I have climbed onto jumped into this new food prep method and bought first one, and then a second, larger spiralizer.
Our spiralizing fun started with buying a small spiralizer that looks like a stubby pencil sharpener. Accessories included a ceramic peeler, small cleaning brush and carry bag. While we were having a good time playing with prepping vegetables,but learned we couldn't do ALL veggies using one type or spiralizer. Any that were rounded, like onions, didn't work in the smaller one. So Grenville upgraded to a larger model. (Isn't that what guys do?)
The above photos are not an endorsement for either product since you can find comparable ones in stores or online. These are just the ones we purchased and used.
And, did I mention, that it's fun to make noodles. There's a LOT of veggies and fruits than can be spiraled, like: apple, beet, bell pepper, butternut squash, carrots, cucumber, potatoes, parsnip, onion, rutabaga, zucchini. We haven't tried them all — yet.
Finding recipes is easy as there's a LOT of online websites. You can also buy spiralizer recipe books or you could just have fun in the kitchen, like we've been doing.
Which leads me to the post title. We've done several batches of zoodles the past 2 weeks; it's the the term for spiralized zucchini noodles. We sautéed these with olive oil and herbs; others were topped with tomato sauce. There's a lot less calorie guilt with zucchini pasta!
You could slice and shred vegetables into ribbons with a julienne peeler or mandoline slicer. Being kitchen nerds and foodies, both are in our kitchen arsenal. But using some other gadgets can be more time consuming and not nearly as much fun.
Have you ever zoodled?
