ZUCCHINI SPAGHETTI, YOU SAY?

A few months ago, I purchased a vegetable spiralizer.  The idea was to create long, thin, twirly pieces of vegetables that resembled pasta.  The idea worked, and my favourite "spaghetti" is now as simple as fresh, raw zucchini.  Crunchy, mild in flavour, and full of nutrition, zucchini spaghetti will have you wrapped around it's twirly little finger in no time.

At first, pushing veggies through the spiralizer gave me a bit of a hand cramp, but as soon as I got the hang of it, I was zucchini twisting pro!  I use the GEFU 13460 Spiral Cutter, but you could also use a mandolin for straighter pieces as well.

It takes about 5 minutes to do a couple of zucchini's, and then you can dress your noodles however you like.

My all time favourite way to use zucchini noodles is just like you would spaghetti, with your favourite tomato or meat sauce poured over it and a good sprinkling of parmesan cheese.  The crunch of the fresh zucchini, mixed with the warm, flavourful tomato sauce, makes for a very tasty twist on a well known dish.  Plus, if you make a big batch of your spaghetti sauce and keep portioned bags of it in the freezer ready to go, this can be an very quick meal for nights when you are short on time or have unexpected guests.

Another easy option is to just make a fresh garden salad with them.  Mix them up with whatever veggies you have on hand, like tomatoes and cucumbers, and toss with salad dressing.  It's a good change from the usual greens, and it looks pretty too.  This is dinner party material!

I also experimented with a new creamy avocado pasta sauce for my zucchini noodles this time.  A great vegetarian option, I mixed one avocado, a clove of garlic, the juice of one lemon, salt and pepper in my blender.  A quick toss with the noodles, and a sprinkle of lemon zest, et voila!  As an avocado lover, this is my heaven.  It's smooth and creamy, and delicious.  If you wanted to beef it up a bit, simply place some grilled and sliced chicken breast on top.  And if children are the intended target, just remove or reduce the garlic in the sauce.  For an extra creamy sauce, try adding a 1-2 tablespoons of greek yogurt to the sauce mixture.

That is the wonderful world of zucchini spaghetti!  Beyond just the nutritional benefits of replacing your wheat pasta with raw vegetable, it's a new way to get all those delicious sauces and toppings into your belly.  And it's just plain tasty too.