I’ve got a gadget for that
“In my world, there is no fear or guilt, only joy and balance.” — Ellie Krieger
Do you have a New Year’s resolution? Does it involve changing food habits? I don’t know about you, but I’m not into fad diets. In fact, I’m not into diets at all. I’m a firm believer that everything is good in moderation. I consider myself a fairly healthy person — a generally healthy eater. I’d be lying though if I didn’t admit that portions are my weakness. I sometimes struggle to summon enough willpower when it comes to tasty food.
I could live off bread and butter. Honest to my goodness, a toasted slice of homemade bread, especially when it’s made by my 90-year-old grandfather and a good cuppa equals pure bliss. I have to admit, there’s too much bread in my diet. There are too many carbs in general.
Until I was introduced to a spiralizer. If you haven’t heard of it — let me tell you, it will become your new best friend in the kitchen. It creates vegetable noodles and garnishes for all sorts of dishes. There’s the main chummyjigger part of the spiralizer and several blade attachments. You can create a noodle look, or thicker pieces that are commonly referred to as ribbons. Who doesn’t like options?
Don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t mean I’ve cut out bread or carbs from my diet. But what it does mean is that I’m able to minimize the amount I eat and by substituting with more veg. It really is a win-win!
When you use it, please be extremely careful and follow all instructions. The blade accessories are super-duper sharp, similar to a meat slice. I can see the headline now: Col. Mustard was killed in the kitchen with a spiralizer. (sorry, that was bad)
I know, I know. It’s another “thing” to clutter up the cupboards. I have a tendency to get a little carried away with kitchen gadgets, melon ballers, garlic press and olive pitter…. come on, who’s with me? Kitchen tools are fun and can make the task easier. Believe me, a spiralizer is worth the kitchen space and you’re tummy will thank you. Yes, you just received my sales pitch I give my hubby when I come home with another purchase. I can rationalize all kitchen purchases. Haha!
Ok, so what can you spiralize? Well foodie friends, the list is long: zuchinni, apples, onion, sweet potato, regular potato, cucumber, butternut squash, beets, carrots and more.
What do you do with it? My absolute fav is zucchini noodles, otherwise known as zoodles. Cute right? Zuchinni is a great vegetable to use as its light and really soaks up the flavor. There’s a delicious and easy recipe you can try out, just Google, “Healthy Shrimp Scampi with Zucchini Noodles”. You’ll find it on the website called ‘Well Plated’.
Apples are often sliced thinly or into small chunks for salads. How about spiralizing them? Or better yet, if you like oatmeal, make a baked oatmeal and spiralized apple dish for breakfast, spiralize chocolate apple strings — a great conscious-free treat. Yep, you’re getting your apple a day. It just so happens to have chocolate drizzled over the top. *Licks lips*
As you can imagine, there are a lot of choices, depending on what your taste buds prefer. There are a ton of recipes to choose from online. There are cookbooks specifically for spiralizer fans. Step outside the foodie box and give it a try.
I’m not trying to be a sales person here and tell you to go out and buy a spiralizer. If you don’t have a spiralizer at the ready and want to do a foodie taste test before your purchase to see if you’d like the idea of veggie pasta; an option is to use a vegetable and/or cheese grater and peel or grate strips. You can also get a small handheld spiralizer if you don’t see yourself getting a lot of use from the large version.
Don’t forget, presentation is important too and adds to the fun. Spiralized vegetable “pasta” makes for a really interesting looking dish. It adds texture and depending on the type of veg you decide to use, it can also add a lovely color to your dish. Either way, it’s fit to eat.
“Don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t mean I’ve cut out bread or carbs from my diet. But what it does mean is that I’m able to minimize the amount I eat and by substituting with more veg. It really is a win-win!”
“Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.” — Julia Child
“Me? Give up carbs? Over my bread body.” — Author Unknown