Looking for a healthy food swap for noodles?
One of my favorite pasta swaps is switching them out for some zoodles.
If you’ve ever perused my Instagram feed or stories, then you’ve definitely seen my love for Zoodles. From ones I make at home, to those I swap in at restaurants, to packaged ones at the grocery store. I love zucchini noodles because they’re such an easy, quick way to get your veggies in while also satisfying comfort food like pasta.
What’s a Zoodle?
A zoodle is a “zucchini noodle” which is simply a zucchini that is spiralized.
Zoodles at Home
You can do it yourself at home, like we do with this nifty handheld gadget. Simply cut-off the end of a zuchinni (organic preferred), insert it into one side, and twist. You’ll get long spaghetti-esque noodles like you see in my pic (thanks to my hubby for being my hand model).
To cook your zoodles, add them into a pan with just a little water to steam them a little. For how long is a personal preference, but I usually steam mine for about 5 minutes. I like to toss them in a pesto sauce (like my uber-healthy dandelion greens and pumpkin seed pesto) or a marinara sauce. My go-to store-bought sauce is this one from Primal Kitchen. You can also add in some other veggies for a Zoodles primavera. Use them just like you would any other pasta noodle.
Zoodles at Restaurants
There are also restaurants and fast-casual places that are getting hip to the zoodles and offering them up as healthy food swaps. This is the pesto cavatappi dish from Noodles & Co with the cavatappi noodle swapped out for zuchinni. It costs about 75 cents more to switch to the zoodle, but for 75 cents you’re getting nutritents that your body and cells need, and not any of the processed foods that we recommend you avoid.
“Pre-made” Zoodles
You can also buy already spiralized zuchinni in the grocery store – some will have them in the produce section like pictured here from Whole Foods or you can find them in your frozen food vegetable aisle. It will cost you a bit more to get them “pre-spiralized” but for the convenience, it’s well-worth it.
Have you tried Zoodles – why or why not? Tell me in the comments below.
Track this new habit:
Check off this habit in your Healthy Habits Tracker (download yours for free here).
