Spiralizers are a fantastic tool in any cook’s arsenal. If you are looking to include more nutrient dense foods into your diet without giving up certain comfort dishes, a spiralizer will rock your culinary world. A spiralizer is a very basic tool with multiple blade options that will turn harder fruits and vegetables such as sweet potatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, melons, apples, or beets into oodles of noodles with the turn of a crank. These kitchen tools can run from about $20.00 to $80.00, and come in different shapes and sizes ranging from handheld to large counter top versions. The spiralizer I have is by World Cuisine; it is made of lightweight plastic and comes with three sets of blades resulting in various types of veggie ribbons. Not only is a spiralizer incredibly easy to use, but it is so much fun to watch the vegetables transform into beautiful spiral shapes!
One of the most popular dishes to make with a spiralizer is raw zucchini noodles, and once you take a bite, you’ll see why. They are simultaneously soft and crisp, juicy, and completely delicious! My dog, a veg-hater, will beg for spiralized zucchini or sweet potato…proof that a spiralizer can trick nearly anyone into eating and enjoying healthy treats. Kids are sure to be helpful in the kitchen with this tool around, and it’s an easy way to ensure they get a kick out of healthful eating as well! Pasta is not the only thing that the spiralizer does, some options are: curly fries, beautiful additions to any salad, or fruit or veggie rings to be dehydrated for snacks.The best thing is, you don’t have to wait for the water to boil or noodles to cook when making zucchini noodles, it takes all of two minutes to peel cut and spiralize a zucchini–plus you get to eat about five times the volume of food in comparison to actual pasta with no guilt because it’s good for you.
Raw Vegan Zucchini Alfredo for Two
For the noodles
3-5 Zucchini per person
1. Cut off ends of zucchini and peel.
2. Spiralize, and place into a large bowl.
For the sauce-
3 Zucchini
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 c Nutritional Yeast
1/2 Lemon, juiced
1/4 c Water
1 c Raw Cashews
2 Garlic cloves
Handful of fresh basil and Greek basil
Pepper to taste
1. Peel and slice zucchini.
2. Place into blender with remaining ingredients and blend.
2. Pour over zucchini noodles! Munch happily!
This recipe goes well with raw sweet potato noodles too–feel free to experiment with your favorite veggies and find out what noodles best! You can always make raw marinara, or even buy healthy prepared sauces and use them with your noodles for a quick, easy meal sure to convert anyone into a spiralizer… 😉
More Ravishing Raw Recipes: The Magical Power of Mushrooms (plus Raw Mushroom Paneer Recipe)
Also by Jessica: Taste the Rainbow! The benefits of a Colorful Diet
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Photo: World Cuisine; Jessica Ferguson
