Six Recipes to Make from this Spiralized Veggie Salad

Spiralize It!

Spiralized Veggies are all the craze these days! Visually, the color, beauty and creativity was the first thing to catch my eye, but the health benefits of finding an alternative to noodles was enticing as well.

I don’t suffer from celiac disease, I’m not diabetic, and I do not have a gluten intolerance. But I have noticed that when I seriously limit pastas and breads from my diet, I feel so much better! I have more energy and less bloating. The inflammation in my joints goes away to the point that I don’t feel pain in my previously sore and arthritic areas. My ‘gut’ issues disappear and I do not experience indigestion any more.

Maybe that means I do have a bit of a “gluten sensitivity” after all. At any rate, I guess that at my age, (50+) my body just doesn’t process some foods like it used to. I can eat a little bit, occasionally, and not have any problems. But if they become a regular staple in my diet, my body is going to let me know it’s not happy with me.

I’m also looking to lose a few pounds, and 2 cups of spiralized veggies has far fewer calories than 2 cups of pasta! It’s also easier on the digestive system and will aid me in my quest for weight loss instead of sabotage me. You see, I also have a serious addiction to breads and pastas. I will almost always eat more than I should at any one sitting, and I will want more and more of it the more often I eat it. In short, if I don’t control it, it will begin to control me.

Maybe this sounds a little bit familiar to you, and you can relate. Or maybe you are one of those fortunate people who just love veggies more than pasta. Either way, hopefully you will find something new in this post to please your palate.

It takes only 15 minutes or so to clean and spiralize these veggies, depending on what spiralizer you happen to own. I started with a simple, no nonsense spiralizer like this one to start, just to see if I’d like it. Once I realized I would be using it more often, I moved on to this one, which cost slightly more, but was still relatively inexpensive. Then for Christmas, my husband bought me the spiralizer attachment for my kitchenaide, and now it takes very little energy and almost no time at all to get a big salad bowl filled with this colorful mass of tangled strands of veggies.

I first clean all my veggies well in a big bowl of water with a cup of distilled white vinegar in it. Then I rinse them in clean water before I spiralize them. I leave the peels on veggies like the cucumber and zucchini, but peel the carrots, beets, butternut squash and jicama. I have to be quite honest here…the jicama is a harder veggie to get through the spiralizer, but when it’s done, it adds a really nice crispy texture.

Once I spiralize enough to last me about 4 days, I mix them in a big bowl together, and taking my kitchen shears, I cut here and there as I pick up handfuls of the salad. This just cuts them into shorter lengths that are easier to eat, but still “spirally.” I can then store them in a container meant to keep salads crisp with a dry paper towel under them, and over the top of them as well. This helps absorb some of the moisture so they maintain their freshness.

Now you have a “Spiralized Veggie Salad” base for several different meals or side dishes. Below are a few recipes I use to make them a little different each day. Hope you enjoy them!

1. Simply put a cup or two of the spiralized veggies in your bowl and top with your favorite healthy salad dressing. Remember to read the ingredient label; low-fat rarely equals healthy. I like the taste of “Drew’s” dressings; in particular, the Roasted Garlic & Peppercorn flavor. You don’t need much, and it’s full of flavor!
2. If you like a lighter dressing, my favorite combination is a pomegranate balsamic vinegar/avocado oil vinaigrette. I like to add fresh blueberries and small florets of cauliflower to this one!
3. You can sauté the spiralized veggies with a little minced garlic, and diced onion & bell pepper until barely softened, and then add a healthy, light marinara sauce. Add some good homemade meatballs and top with a little freshly grated parmesan cheese. Just be careful not to overcook the veggies, as they will get mushy.
4. Go Mediterranean! Add some cherry tomatoes, artichoke hearts, olives and crumbled feta cheese. Then top with a good sundried tomato dressing, containing equal parts of sundried tomatoes and olive oil (about 1/4-1/2 cup each), 2-3 tablespoons each of red wine vinegar and water, and a couple cloves of minced garlic. You can add some spices to taste, such as basil, oregano, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, sea salt and pepper.
5. Make or buy a good pesto sauce to toss in with the spiralized veggies. Then add some grilled or rotisserie chicken, cherry tomatoes, and toasted pine nuts.
6. For an Asian flair: Add some thinly sliced purple and/or green cabbage and some bean sprouts to the salad base. Make a marinade with juice from a couple limes, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp rice vinegar, 2 Tblsp coconut aminos, a clove of garlic and as much cilantro as you like. You can add Thai chili’s if you like a little spice. Marinade a butterflied chicken breast in the refrigerator with 1/2 the marinade for at last 30 minutes. Use the other half of the marinade to massage the veggies with. Grill or pan sear the chicken until cooked through completely. Cut the chicken up and add to the salad. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

BONUS: My most favorite recipe for these spiralized vegetables requires a little more time and a few more ingredients, but it is so worth it! The recipe was created by Danielle Walker from Against All Grain, and is called Tangled Thai Salad. You can find it here.

Hope you enjoy a good spiralized veggie salad meal, and make enough to have a few quick and easy, but healthy, meals for the upcoming week.