Do you love pasta but don’t like the bloated, stodgy feeling you get after eating it?
I know exactly how you feel. If I eat pasta I generally need to lie down after, plus I crave sugar from ingesting all that addictive starch. Ugh.
Well I’m in love with a cool gadget that totally solves this problem. Check it out:
It’s a julienne peeler! I found it at Daiso, where everything is $2.80.
With this little gadget, you can easily make ‘spaghetti’ strands out of vegetables like carrot, celeriac and beetroot. My favourite, however is zucchini, as it makes nice long strands, it doesn’t make a mess and the long shape means there’s less chance of accidentally julienning your own finger.
If you’re thinking ‘Yeah Christina, but it’s just NOT spaghetti’, believe me, the texture is VERY CLOSE. Add your favourite sauce with some fresh herbs, and it’s almost like eating the real thing!
BONUS: Zucchini pasta doesn’t even need cooking! Just make your sauce, throw in a bunch of the vege strands, and the residual heat from the sauce will lightly ‘cook’ the pasta. Or you may prefer to just eat it raw (the strands are so thin it’s totally doable).
If you like your food really soft, just heat the pasta with the sauce for a few minutes, or lightly stir fry/steam/microwave before serving the sauce on top.
Here’s one version with meatballs from Paleo Nom Nom:
You could also make a Paleo carbonara sauce, using coconut cream and bacon. Yummmmm! I also love a simple summer version with tomatoes, basil, Meredith goat’s feta and olive oil.
You are limited only by your imagination and level of laziness! (Bulk-cooking bolognese sauce is great for lazy mid-week meals. It takes 60 seconds to julienne a zucchini, then I just dump it into a little saucepan with the pre-made sauce, heat and serve. Disappointingly easy.)
Don’t even stop at meals! I once used the peeler to make, um, a vegetable self portrait. (As you do.)
So get yourself a julienne peeler and experiment away! I found mine at Daiso for $2.80, but I’ve also seen them in various kitchenware stores, ranging in price from $6 to $15.
Here’s another one I have, which has 6 adjustable blades for different pasta thicknesses. It’s like the Optimus Prime of peelers. On steroids.
Happy julienning!
