Just because you are following a grain free, paleo or even keto lifestyle, doesn’t mean you have to kiss pasta goodbye! Steaming long, curly strands of spiralized zucchini produces a lovely alternative to pasta and allows you to transform a healthy, low-calorie, low-carb vegetable into a giant bowl of yum!
Zucchini and other summer squash are high in carotenoids, which are antioxidants that fight disease in the body. Since zucchinis are full of water, they are beneficial for digestion and maintaining a healthy inflammatory response.
It’s kind of amazing, but when you use a vegetable spiralizer tool, you can turn one large zucchini into a whole plate of strands that bear a striking resemblance to pasta!
If you don’t have a spiralizer, you can prepare the zucchini using a julienne peeler. The julienne peeler is half the price and doesn’t take up any room in your kitchen. Both the spiralizer and julienne peeler really make it very easy and both are inexpensive, so I highly recommend you purchase one!
HOW TO MAKE ZUCCHINI NOODLES
There are two different ways to make zucchini noodles. The first way requires very little effort. Just cut the stem off the zucchini then use spiralizer or julienne peeler to turn the zucchini into noodles. Nothing more. No prepping or cooking of any kind. The second way requires a little more effort. Again, I remove the tips from the zucchini and use the spiralizer or julienne peeler to make the noodles. Next, I saute the zucchini noodles in a pan with olive oil and seasoning as described in the recipe below.
For this recipe we are going with the easy way!
INGREDIENTS
- 2 ripe avocados
- 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
- Juice of half a lemon
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or olive oil
- 2 scoops Collagen Peptides
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅓ cup pine nuts
- 2 large zucchinis
- In a food processor, add in avocados, basil, lemon juice, avocado oil, Collagen Peptides, salt, and pine nuts, and pulse until well-combined.
- Using a vegetable spiralizer, cut zucchinis into desired noodle shape and size.
- Mix zucchini noodles and avocado pesto together and serve immediately.
