Pasta is a difficult food to incorporate into your diet when you want to lose weight. It’s high in calories and carbohydrates. You don’t have to eliminate all pasta from your diet, but you should cut back to avoid consuming too many empty calories.
Spiralizing is a great alternative to cooking with pasta. In this article, we discuss 3 reasons why you should consider spiralizing and share 10 of our favorite recipes to jumpstart your healthy eating routine!
3 reasons you should spiralize
Spiralizing is a popular trend. Though not every dieting trend is a good idea, this one is beneficial for many reasons. Some of these reasons include:
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It makes it simple to increase your vegetable intake – most vegetables, especially those that are easy to spiralize, are rich in nutrients and relatively low in calories, fat, and sugar. More importantly, vegetables are rich in fiber, water, and other nutrients that detox the body and keep you feeling full.
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It’s a quick, simple substitute – cooking healthy foods can be time-consuming or tedious. Spiralizing only takes a couple of minutes and spiralized vegetables cook more quickly than traditional noodles. It’s easy to use them in the recipes you already love or to try new recipes including spiralized vegetables.
- It promotes healthy, sustainable weight loss – vegetables, unlike pasta, will leave you feeling energized and ready to take on your exercise regime and other activities. You can fill up without feeling stuffed and power through your daily routine without feeling sluggish.
10 easy spiralizer recipes you should try
If you’re ready to get spiralizing but aren’t sure where to begin, we’re here to help! The following are our 10 favorite spiralized vegetable recipes. However, you don’t have to follow any of them precisely. Feel free to get creative and add your own twist!
1. Summer squash pasta with lemon
This summer squash pasta is a raw version of spiralized pasta! Summer squash, or yellow squash, is best left raw because the water content is high. If you let it sit out for a few hours after spiralizing, the squash will be ready for use in the dish. The fresh lemon tang is perfect to brighten up the flavors, and the cheese is optional if you follow a vegan diet.
2. Chicken parmigiana with sweet potato spaghetti
Do you love a hearty chicken parmigiana but avoid it because you’re trying to lose weight? If so, there are simple substitutions you can make in this dish to make a lighter, more nutrient-dense version! Swap traditional beef meatballs for chicken, and noodles for spiralized sweet potatoes, and you’ll have a filling, healthy version of the same dish you know and love.
3. Zucchini noodle chicken caprese
Chicken caprese is another popular dish that some dieters consider off-limits. This version, complete with a base of zucchini noodles, is packed with protein from the chicken and fresh mozzarella, and is a tasty way to enjoy your veggies, too!
4. Spiralized beet and butternut squash noodles with parsley pesto
Traditional pesto can be high in fat and, when combined with pasta, is a less-than-healthy meal. Spiralized beet and butternut squash noodles give this dish an earthy flavor packed with fiber, and the parsley pesto adds a delightfully herby taste that you can enjoy guilt-free.
5. Chicken and leek soup with carrot noodles
Carrots aren’t always the simplest vegetable to use as the main food in a dish. However, they’re a great addition to soups, especially since many soups include carrots anyway. In this dish, spiralized carrots shine alongside chicken, celery, leeks, and a variety of fresh herbs for a delightfully tasty meal you’ll want to eat year-round!
6. Spiralized cucumber salad
Not all spiralized dishes are cooked! This herb-packed cucumber salad is a creamy, refreshing way to enjoy more vegetables in your diet. Spiralized cucumbers are topped with a lemon, dill, and yogurt combination that makes for the perfect complement.
7. Baked oatmeal with spiralized apples
Spiralizing isn’t just for lunch and dinner! You can also spiralize fruits to get even more nutrients into your diet, and this spin on traditional oatmeal will leave you excited for breakfast. Complete with walnuts, cinnamon, almond milk, and maple syrup, this recipe is a great way to start your day and will keep you full until lunch.
8. Chili-cheese spiralized fries
Yes, we said fries!
By spiralizing yukon potatoes and making a vegetarian chili to top it – complete with chickpeas, kidney beans, tomatoes, and your typical chili spices – you can make a comforting dish that doesn’t ruin your diet.
Top with a small handful of cheese for a more savory way to enjoy this classic combination!
9. Shredded cabbage and apple slaw
Apple is a sweet spiralized addition to most salads. The tartness of the Granny Smith apple, combined with the green and red cabbage, is a stellar flavor combination that is rounded out with a balsamic-based dressing and sweetened with just a bit of honey for the perfect balance.
10. Elote-style zucchini noodles
Zucchini noodles are popular because you can season them to use them in a wide range of cuisines.
In this dish lime, sour cream, and fresco cheese combine with zucchini and fresh corn for a delightful taste of summer that won’t ruin your waistline! Topped with cilantro, this Mexican-inspired dish is another simple way to get creative with your spiralizer.
Read: The Poop Diet: Revolting Or Revolutionary?
Make healthy cooking simple and fun with a spiralizer
You don’t have to eliminate any foods from your diet to lose weight. However, there are some foods that you may want to cut back on – like pasta. When you do, you can substitute vegetables for pasta. More importantly, you can take any spiralized recipes and customize them to include vegetables you like or want to have more of in your diet.
Use the 10 spiralizer recipes here as a launching point for your own recipes which you can, and should, create once you begin spiralizing. Doing so is a simple way to lose weight without getting bored with your meals, which is what leads many dieters to cheat.
Which recipe are you most excited to try? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
