Oodles of Zoodles

Healthy Pasta Alternatives

Many people know the children’s story Strega Nona by Tomie de Paola. Strega Nona, the grandma witch, leaves town. In her absence, the curious Big Anthony uses her magical pasta pot to create so much pasta that it nearly engulfs the entire town of Calabria. Poor Big Anthony has to eat all the pasta as punishment for foolishly messing with Strega Nona’s magic pot.

Perhaps Big Anthony would have fared better if he had gone from the high-carb, starchy pasta to a vegetable alternative?

Fortunately, for people who want to cook more at home, there are a lot of alternatives you can try in your favorite pasta dishes. And you don’t have to completely cut out the pasta. Some cooks will mix their usual noodles with some vegetable noodles—and their family never notices the vegetable additions.

Listed below are some pasta alternatives you can try out. See what works for you.

Spiralized Vegetables

Zoodles, or zucchini noodles, have become increasingly popular. Zucchini is a fantastic source of nutrients, such as manganese, vitamin C, potassium, b vitamins, and fiber. However, zucchini isn’t the only vegetable noodle.

From healthline.com: "Over the last few years, spiralized vegetables have taken the culinary world by storm — and rightfully so, since they provide an easy and attractive way to add more vegetables to your diet. Spiralized vegetables are those sliced by a spiralizer — a kitchen device used to cut vegetables into long strips which resemble noodles. Many vegetables can be spiralized, but the most popular are zucchini, carrots, turnips, beets and cucumbers. In addition to being 3–10 times lower in carbs than pasta, these vegetable noodles are also great sources of fiber, vitamins and minerals. Adding more vegetables to your diet can be immensely beneficial and may lower your risk of many diseases, including heart disease, diabetes and even certain types of cancer. Eating more vegetables may also aid weight loss."

Zucchini noodles can be cut fresh using the Saladmaster Food Processor with the no. 2 cone. If you want to learn more about using Saladmaster Food Processor, you may want to contact a Saladmaster Dealer who can show you how to use our signature kitchen product and might even help you earn one as a special hosting gift.