Healthy Pasta Alternative…Zucchini Noodles!

Healthy Pasta Alternative…Zucchini Noodles!

Being the cooking junkie that I am, I feel like a kid at Christmas when I get new kitchen gadgets.  I’ve been thinking about getting a mandolin or veggie spiralizer for awhile, and then…the other day I was walking through the Made for TV aisle at Rite Aid (I’m a sucker for this stuff) and saw a Veggetti; it was $15…worth a shot!

I’ve been making noodles out of zucchini for awhile…I just used my veggie peeler and kept peeling until I got down to the seeds and it seemed to work well.  This thing cuts my time in at least half though.  In 5 minutes, I can make enough pasta for 2, and cooking only takes about 10 minutes after that.  Maybe I’m a weird health nut, but I actually love zucchini pasta more than the real stuff…it’s a lot juicier and I feel a thousand times better after I eat it. I find that it’s about 1.5-2 zucchini (depending on size) per person, per serving.

vegetti-zucchini-noodles

For anyone looking for a healthy pasta alternative, to cut out gluten or just increase their vegetable intake, zucchini noodles rock!  I love using spaghetti squash as well in place of pasta, but it takes FOREVER to make those things, and the noodles are a bit crunchy.  With zucchini, the noodles are nice and soft, but still firm enough to feel “noodley”.

Once you use the Veggetti, just steam or sauté the “noodles” for about 10 minutes (or until fully cooked) and serve with your favorite sauce like marinara or this quick red pepper sauce I whipped up in my ninja…my other favorite kitchen accessory.

healthy-pasta-alternative

TIP: Keep the hard stem on the zucchini facing outward, so that when you get down to the end, you can stick a fork in it and turn it the last remaining bit, otherwise you will waste a good bit at the end of the zucchini.

Additional notes: I tried to make beet noodles and carrot noodles but my beets were too big for the veggetti and the carrots were too small 🙁 And both of them seemed a little too tough for it.  I guess I’ll stick to zucchini for now…still totally worth the $15 (or less if you use the Amazon link below)

Have you tried zucchini noodles yet?  If so, let me know what you think in the comments!

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