Coming from an Italian family you’re bound to be blessed with an undying need for carbs. Carbs in the form of pasta, specifically. Coming from an eating-disorder you’re confined and cursed with an undying need to limit the body’s carb intake. Something you’ve had the pleasure of ingraining into your system for as long as you can remember. This consuming thought that all carbs do is turn food into sugar and sugar into fat if not worked out of the body enough. A feeling so perpetual it feels as if everything else is a lie. A lie you tell yourself in the hopes of overcoming this horrific discomfort.
A discomfort so profound you can’t help but wince whenever someone mentions the inevitable “Sunday Dinner.” The Italian Sunday dinner in which the closest relatives gather around the table at the aunt or the grandma’s home after a typical 12o’clock Sunday mass. The Sunday Dinner which commences at three and doesn’t end until after the coffee has been served and all the sfogliatelle have been ultimately digested.
This kind of anxiety haunts me. A kind of anxiety not many people understand. Those few that do, are those unfortunate enough to have the same brain wiring as myself; a wiring that convinces the mind ‘you’re too fat.’
This wiring however, has given me a surprising ability. An ability to change the way I see food. I still view foods, such as pasta as an unnecessary carb-overload, a food I avoid because I see no nutritional substance, a food I want to avoid. However, with my want to avoid this food, an underlying need to have a significant alternative amplifies.
An urge in which transforms into an idea. An idea to cut a zucchini in a way that resembles spaghetti almost flawlessly; a spiralization if you will.
With that, comes the presentation of Zucchini Noodles, Zoodles. An almost perfect mimicry of spaghetti, these zoodles can replace any form of pasta in every Italian dish. Whether a marinara, vodka, Alfredo, or pesto sauce, these zoodles are the perfect companion.
To make these zoodles, a spiralizer is needed; a super affordable and easy to use product that is compatible with any and all aspiring zoodlers!
With it i’ve created an also super simple, affordable dish; check out the steps and ingredients if you’re still skeptical.
1 large green zucchini
1 beefsteak tomato
1 large cucumber
*1 avocado
*1 cup raw cashews (soaked in the refrigerator overnight or for 4 hours at minimum)
*1-2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
salt (to taste)
pepper (to taste)
Spiralize the zucchini with a spiralizer of choice (if a spiralizer is not available to you a vegetable peeler will work just fine-do so by making long strides with the peeler length-wise down the sides of the zucchini). Once the zucchini is spiralized, pat dry with a paper towel to rid of excess moisture and transfer zoodles into a bowl of choice (mine was a coconut bowl). Chop the tomato and cucumber into bite-sized pieces and add to bowl. In a blender (I have a Ninja) blend together the avocado, soaked cashews, salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast flakes until a smooth creamy consistency occurs. Once the sauce is complete pour the mixture over the contents of the bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste!
~enjoyy!!
*these ingredients are on the more expensive side, so some super easy affordable alternatives are as followed
Red Pepper Sauce:
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 medium red bell pepper
1/2 medium tomato
1 tsp salt (to taste)
1 small handful of cilantro
Green Goddess:
1 medium cucumber
1 large handful parsley
1 large handful basil
1 medium lime, juiced
1 tsp salt (taste)
1 handful nuts of choice (optional)
Lemon Garlic Ginger Sauce:
1 cup cherry tomatos
4 stalks celery
1 cup sesame seeds, unhulled
1 bunch cilantro
1 handful basil
3 cloves garlic
1 oz ginger (can be fresh or powdered)
1 tsp salt
4 small lemons, peeled