A Fun Way To Get Your Child To Eat More Vegetables

I don’t know about you, but I’ll take any creative ideas I can get when it comes to preparing and serving vegetables, especially to my 4-year-old daughter. She loves pasta and the idea of pasta made from vegetables was pretty darn appealing.  I’m definitely not one that has fancy kitchen gadgets, so when I kept seeing people talking about “spiralizing” their vegetables, I was sure it had to be some clever “as seen on TV” nonsense or something.  A vegetable peeler was about as out there as my kitchen gadgets went.  An unsuccessful attempt at making sweet potato fries with just a knife was the extra push I needed to try this trendy new machine.

As always, before making any kind of impulse buy, I read lots of reviews about different spiralizers. The Paderno Tri-Blade Spiral Vegetable Slicer was highly rated on Amazon and seemed reasonably priced. (By the way, I’m not being paid or sponsored by anyone to write this, all opinions are strictly my own and based on my experience with the product).  I wasn’t convinced that the spiralizer was going to make me some kind of world class chef or anything, but if it made my daughter a little more excited about eating her vegetables, sign me up.

How The Spiralizer Works

I am not a directions oriented person.  My husband, however, will sit with a set of instructions and study every.single.word.  Mama don’t have patience for that so if I start seeing a million arrows or instructions that span longer than, well, my attention span, you’ve lost me.  Luckily, that wasn’t the case with the spiralizer. It had super simple directions that even I could follow.  It comes with three different blades.  The shredder blade is the one with the smallest holes and this works best for creating spaghetti like strands.  The blade with the larger holes is the chipper blade and this is similar to the shredder blade except that it makes thicker cuts.  The straight blade makes flat, ribbon like cuts.

Once you decide which blade you are going to use, the rest is very simple.

1. Cut the ends off of whatever vegetable or fruit you are using.
2. Press one end of the vegetable/fruit into the circular part of the blade plate and press the other end of the vegetable/fruit on to the prongs.
3. Push the fruit/vegetable forward while also turning the bottom lever handle and watch as your chunky vegetable becomes skinny spaghetti noodles.  (On a side note, my daughter loves to help turn the crank and watch the “magic” happen.  It gets her every time!)

My Favorite Recipes Using the Spiralizer:

• Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Zucchini Noodles This dish is soooo yummy that I have made it many times.  It is filling and the best part is that the sauce freezes well, so if you have leftovers, just stick it in a glass jar in the freezer until you are ready to use it again (and it probably won’t be in there very long!)
• Crispy Baked Shoestring Sweet Potato Fries When sweet potato fries are ever an option, my answer is always yes! Did I mention already that I tried making sweet potato fries with just a knife and it was a major fail? These…not a fail and gobbled up immediately.
• Kung Pao Chicken Zoodles A healthier version of a Chinese restaurant favorite.
• Sweet And Spicy Cucumber Noodles The combination of vinegar, honey, and red pepper flakes creates just the right balance of sweet and spicy.  I love to make this for lunch or a quick dinner side dish during the summer.
• Basil Zucchini Spaghetti With Cheesy Broiled Tomatoes Make this. You won’t regret it.
• Vegan Pesto Zoodles Such a great summer dish.
• Spiralized Apple And Cabbage Slaw I actually haven’t tried this one yet, but it’s on my lunch plan for the week.  I will report back!

But I Love Pasta!

That’s ok, I do too!  No one is saying to give up your beloved pasta.  I love the carb-y goodness just as much as the next person.  But the vegetable noodles are a good way to change things up and get some extra servings of veggies in.  There are so many ways to use the spiralizer that I haven’t even gotten to yet. Just knowing that it is easy to use, simple to clean, and will make our meals a little more interesting is enough for me to say that this gadget is a keeper!

 icon-thumb-tack Quick Tip: Check out this awesome chart on Inspiralized.com that has everything you need to know about spiralizing fruits and vegetables!  http://inspiralized.com/2014/01/22/the-complete-reference-guide-to-spiralizing-vegetables/

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