Spiralizers are great tools for any kitchen. They give you the option to experiment with produce in a whole new way. Any culinary enthusiast should consider picking up one of these nifty tools.
Using a spiralizer is a simple way to add more vegetables to your diet without any extra hassle. They can make vegetables less boring, which is always a plus when dealing with stubborn and fussy kids. They’re also great for making decorative and elegant additions at dinner parties.
Is your child a picky eater? See this article for tips on how to get your kids to eat healthier!
What can a spiralizer do?
The spiralizer is like a large pencil sharpener. A vegetable, like butternut squash, is secured to the clamp. The user turns the crank, which pushes it through the blades to produce long ribbons of spiralized butternut squash.
The best thing about a spiralizer is how they’ve recently created a new breed of spaghetti. Diet-conscious consumers often avoid pasta, owing to the carbs and calories. Some opt for quinoa or rice-based spaghetti. Others are replacing those wheat noodles with spiralized veggies! A spiralizer gives you the option of creating a fun, low-calorie substitute for grain-based pasta.
You can also use spiralized vegetables to add a twist to your salads! Try some spiralized butternut squash as the base for a salad, along with some lettuce, tomatoes, seeds, and a nice vinaigrette dressing.
Why use a spiralizer?
As we all know, vegetables can be a pain to prep. Washing, peeling, chopping, and cooking vegetables is a bit of a chore. Compare this with the ease of boiling rice or pasta. With a spiralizer, however, you’ll make a pile of fresh, nutritious ribbons in just a few moments.
When it comes time to peel your hard squash, check out my post on the best peelers for butternut squash.
This method of cutting vegetables is one of the best ways to add more nutrition to your diet. With minimal effort, you’ll get a mountain of fresh vegetables. Also, as a spiralizer works best with raw vegetables, there’s no tedious boiling, and none of the nutrition is lost in the cooking process.
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Your vegetables won’t feel like diet food
Thinking about going on a diet? With a spiralizer, consuming numerous portions of fresh, nutritious vegetables is as easy as sharpening a pencil.
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What I love most is that spiralized vegetables don’t feel like “diet food” at all. Because they’re vegetables, they contain high levels of roughage and fiber, which is good for the digestive system and helping you to create and maintain a “full” feeling.
Are you looking to promote your digestive health? Check out this post for some strategies on keeping your system in good shape!
Because you can use them instead of spaghetti or other gluten-filled grain-based foods, spiralized veggies offer the illusion of enjoying traditional pasta dishes. This makes the transition from grain to vegetable a lot easier. Starting a new diet shouldn’t mean limiting ourselves to boring salads. Try using those vegetable noodles with bolognese or other sauces! Sometimes the veggie version is even better than the real thing!
How can I substitute vegetables for noodles?
If you’re reading this article, you’re probably interested in replacing wheat noodles with veggies, but wondering how to go about it.
You can still eat your favorite dishes, such as spaghetti Bolognese while removing a huge portion of the gluten and fattening stuff. If you think about it, the taste of these dishes comes from the sauce, and not the pasta. A bowl of pasta alone doesn’t taste very good. By adding tomato sauce or Bolognese, it takes on a delicious flavor.
Check out Inspiralized: Turn Vegetables into Healthy, Creative, Satisfying Meals at Amazon
A bowl of spiralized vegetables tastes a lot better than a bowl of plain spaghetti, so you’re adding more flavors to the dish without even thinking about it. Texture-wise, grains, and vegetables are very different. You can’t “trick” yourself into thinking you’re eating a grain, but spiralized noodles have their own benefits. Vegetables have a nice al dente texture to them and are packed with more flavor.
What vegetables should I use?
Firm vegetables work best with a spiralizer, and one of the best vegetables to use is butternut squash. It’s a firm and sturdy vegetable, so it sits well on the clamp over the grinder. This is good because you don’t need to hold it in place and it won’t make a mess, unlike softer foods. Other good options are carrots and zucchini.
Butternut squash really compliments a tomato-based pasta sauce and also makes for a delicious salad base, especially if lightly roasted or fried after it is turned to ribbons. As a spaghetti substitute their sweet flavor goes very nicely with a sweet tomato sauce.
The best spiralizer for butternut squash.
As an inexpensive piece of equipment for the kitchen, a spiralizer is a great utensil to have around. The William-Sonoma Paderno World Cuisine Tri-Blade Vegetable Spiral Slicer is simple to use and produces beautifully elegant ribbons for pasta dishes, stir-frys or salads. It can be used with a variety of vegetables, firm (butternut squash) or softer ones, like cucumbers.
This model features three stainless steel blades, which are durable and dishwasher safe, making clean-ups very easy. It has a strong, BPA-free plastic body that will last, and a storage compartment for the blades. The suction-cupped feet ensure it’s stable on your kitchen countertop, so you won’t need to worry about it slipping and making a mess. It’s hand-operated, which is great because there’s no need to spend extra money on batteries or electricity.
Healthy veggies deserve a healthy pan. My top picks of the healthiest non-stick pans.
See the results!
If you want to add some fresh vegetables to your diet, consider adding a spiralizer to your kitchen tool set. You’ll love the fresh results.
Check out some of my other posts for more tips on getting started on a healthy diet. See this post to learn about how you can use mason jars for smoothies and juices.
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Why not bring those tasty veggie dishes to work? Check out my reviews of the best containers for your lunches at the office.
Bryce is not a real professor, but he's real nerdy in the kitchen. He's been barbecuing, chopping, and generally blazing food for many decades. He thinks there's definitely a better spatula or utensil out there that hasn't been invented yet.