Hello my Foodie Friends. Spring is only a few weeks away. I am certainly looking forward to the sunnier, warmer days. During the winter we tend to eat heartier foods that stick to our ribs challenging some of our New Year’s Resolutions. What could be more satisfying than carbs on a cold night? One of the adjustments that our household has made has been using vegetables in place of pasta. Both Paula and I grew up in an Italian family so many meals included pasta and bread. Today, I try to be a little more cautious about my carby obsession, but that usually tends to amount to adding more veggies to my pasta sauce. Then a beautiful thing happened. The world invented the slicer spiral vegetable slicer, a gadget for turning everyday veggies into veggie noodles to help curb our carb cravings. The spiralizer is a unique kitchen gadget that can turn all your favorite vegetables into delicious zoodle recipes you can add to any meal. Probably everyone’s favorite reason for spiralizing, spiralized vegetables are mostly light in calories, carbs, fat and sugar. By spiralizing, you’re naturally eating more vegetables – without even noticing (especially when they’re covered in a delicious tomato basil sauce!) This small shift in the way you eat helps lead to weight loss, because you’re consuming more vegetables and less processed foods while still remaining satisfied. Vegetables are high in water (such as zucchinis) and help detox your body, ridding it of unwanted toxins and leaving you refreshed and hydrated. Vegetables have an abundance of dietary fiber, which helps keep you fuller longer and help with your everyday digestion. Certain vegetables even help spike the metabolism, such as zucchinis. Most importantly, after eating a bowl of vegetable noodles, you’re left feeling light and energized – ready to have a productive and healthy day, which means you’ll be more motivated to exercise and eat well.
What are the Best Veggies for Spiraling?
You can transform all sorts of vegetables into noodles, but the best candidates are those that are firm (not floppy) and long or that can be cut long (if you want long spaghetti that you can easily spiral). One of the best aspects of veggie noodles is their spectacular names.
Here are some of the best vegetables for spiraling:
Zoodles (zucchini noodles)
Coodles (carrot noodles)
Swoodles (sweet potato noodles)
Squoodles (squash noodles)
Boodles (broccoli stem noodles)
Poodles (parsnip noodles)
Toodles (turnip noodles)
With the Easy Twist Spiralizer, you can spiralize foods such as zucchini, squash, carrots, potatoes and more. There are three cutting options: thick and thin julienne and ribbon, and includes easy adjustable rotating blade settings with no loose blades. The Easy Twist Spiralizer has silicone capped feet for stable slicing - no suction base required. It can be held and used over a bowl, pan or plate and its non-skid feet fold in for storage.
Stop by Compliments to the Chef located at 33 Railroad Place to see our assortment of vegetable spiralizers and other “cool tools” for cooks. Make beautiful salads and other vegetable dishes that taste as good as they look. Remember my Foodie Friends, “Life Happens in the Kitchen.”
Take Care,
John and Paula
I’m sure there are a lot of people who either own a spiralizer already but may not know what to do with it, or people who are considering buying one but aren't sure if it would be worth it; here is an idea for creation that you can make:
