If you’ve read some of my past postings, you may have noticed that I kind of have a thing for veggies. And I don’t mean that in an “I-always-choose-carrot-sticks-over-potato chips kind of way.” Far from it. I still enjoy foods like chips and the occasional cheeseburger; I just love the versatility of vegetables. I love the endless list of nutritional benefits and I love how they make me feel after I eat them. I realize that not everyone shares this love, and that’s totally fine. But, by being open to trying to new things, we may just be able to turn a dislike of veggies into a tolerate, a tolerate into a like, and a like into a love. One new spin on vegetables you may want to try is using a spiralizer or vegetable peeler on zucchini. Zucchini noodles, or “zoodles,” are a healthy and fun way to get in your vegetable servings. Here are three ways to try zoodles no matter where you fall on the veggie-liking spectrum.
Beginner (dislike to tolerate): Sauté zucchini noodles and mix them in with regular pasta like fettuccine or spaghetti noodles. If you’re not quite ready to trade your pasta for veggie noodles, this is a great place to start.
Intermediate (tolerate to like): Make a “pasta” dish using only zucchini noodles. I like to sauté the zucchini noodles in olive oil and add fresh garlic, salt, freshly ground pepper and parmesan cheese. You can add a protein to make a complete (and delicious) meal. Plus, you still get to do the cool fork twisting thing that you do with regular pasta.
Zucchini master (like to love): Try a zucchini noodle casserole. Fall is in the air and that means comfort foods like soups and casseroles are sounding more appealing. Swapping pasta noodles (such as lasagna noodles) in your favorite casserole for slices of zucchini is a healthy spin on this classic comfort food.
Whether you’re grain-free, you’re tired of the same old same old or you have no idea what to do with the ten pounds of zucchini your neighbor just brought over from her garden, give these noodles a try. You just may develop a thing for veggies, too.
Thank you for the ideas. I am going to make a zoodle casserole this week with beef sausages and maybe a few green beans in the layers.