Quick & Easy Recipes for Healthy and Delicious Vegetable Spaghetti - Noodles

We all know that we should eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, but sometimes we lack the imagination to come up with interesting low-calorie dishes, and at the same time to be delicious. Some watch their diet for health, some because they are vegetarians, and some simply want to lose weight and reduce their intake of carbohydrates, fats and sugars.

Whichever group you belong to, the following 6 recipes offer you a variety of dishes that are prepared very easily and quickly.

The basis is to make spaghetti noodles from vegetables (zucchini, sweet potatoes, potatoes, cucumbers ...) to which you can add various sauces, vegetables, seafood, and even meat. To make veggie spaghetti, ie noodles or vegetable spirals, you will need a vegetable slicer (so-called spiralizer) which, if you do not already have it, you can buy online in our web shop (Super Julietti).

If you are a pasta fan and you think it will be difficult without it, cook spaghetti, put half on a plate and replace the other half of the portion with vegetable spaghetti. So you’re already halfway to healthy eating and weight loss - that’s exactly half the calories and carbs on your plate, but the taste and look of your favorite spaghetti stay the same!

LEMON-GARLIC SHRIMP SCAMPI WITH ZUCCHINI NOODLES

• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• 12 oz peeled and deveined shrimp
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ cup halved grape tomatoes
• 4 medium zucchini, spiralized
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lemon, halved

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a sauté over medium-high heat. Add the red pepper flakes and shrimp and a sprinkle of salt and pepper; cook for 2 or 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and half the garlic; cook for one more minute, or until the shrimp is just cooked through. Set aside. Add the remaining tablespoon oil and garlic to the pan, give it a shake so the garlic starts to cook. Then add the zucchini noodles and another sprinkle of salt and pepper; cook for 2 or 3 minutes. Return the shrimp and tomatoes to the pan; squeeze the lemon over the dish. Serve immediately.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH NOODLES IN SAGE BROWN BUTTER

• 4 cups Spiralized Butternut Squash ‘noodles’
• 2 teaspoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 4 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
• 10 medium fresh Sage Leaves
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Optional garnish: freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the spiralized squash noodles on the parchment and drizzle with the olive oil. Gently toss to coat with the oil. Bake for 7 minutes. Noodles with be softer but not completely soft, however they will continue to soften outside of the oven.While noodles are cooking, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly. Within 1-2 minutes the butter will begin to brown; add the sage leaves at this time, stirring to saute them until they are fragrant and darken. The entire process only takes 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat. Toss the squash noodles in the browned butter to fully coat and serve immediately.

COLD CUCUMBER NOODLE SALAD WITH WATERCRESS, MINT AND TOASTED SESAME-GINGER DRESSING

• 2 cups Spiralized Cucumber Noodles* (aproximately 1 large cucumber)
• 1/2 cup Watercress, chopped or torn into small pieces
• 1/4 cup fresh Mint leaves, chopped finely
• 1/4 cup Sliced Almond
• Sesame seeds for garnish
• Ingredients for the Toasted Sesame-Ginger Dressing:
• 1 teaspoon Toasted Sesame Oil
• 2 teaspoons Rice Vinegar
• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed juice of Mandarin Orange (also known as Clementines or Cuties)
• 2-3 thin slices of fresh Ginger Root (sliced across the knob, 1/8 inch thick)
• Small pinch of Kosher Salt

Place half of the spiralized cucumber noodles on a layer of paper towels to dab any excess moisture. Place a second paper towel on top, the remaining noodles and top with paper towels. Allow to sit while you make the dressing. Combine the toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, mandarin orange juice and ginger root in a small bowl. Allow to sit for 20 minutes. Press down on the ginger slices with a dining spoon a few times during the soaking to extract more flavor. To assemble the salad:

In a large mixing bowl combine the cucumber noodles, watercress, and mint. toss together. Note: due to the texture of the noodles it may work best to toss with your hands. Add the sliced almonds and mix into the noodles. Place noodles in desired serving vessels (bowls or plates) for one large main salad or two smaller salads. Remove the ginger slices from the dressing and drizzle some of the dressing evenly over the salad(s). Serve chilled and immediately.

GRANDMA’S SPAGHETTI SAUCE AND MEATBALLS

For the Sauce:

• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 4.5 cups tomato juice (I pureed about 5 of my garden tomatoes in a high-speed blender.)
• 2 cans tomato paste
• 4 cans water (use the tomato paste cans to measure out your water)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons dried basil
• 1.5 teaspoons oregano

For the Meatballs:

• 2 lbs. ground pork (I used 1 lb. lean ground turkey and 1 lb. bison.)
• 1.5 cups soft bread crumbs (4 slices of bread ground in food processor)
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup finely chopped onion
• 1.5 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 1-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil for pan frying meatballs

Heat olive oil in a very large pot or dutch oven. Saute onion for about 5 minutes and until soft. Add garlic and saute an additional 2-3 minutes. Add tomato juice, tomato paste, water, salt, pepper, sugar, basil and oregano. Simmer 3 hours with loose lid and stir occasionally. While sauce is simmering; combine all meatball ingredients in a large bowl. I used my hands to thoroughly combine ingredients together.Roll meat mixture into meatballs and pan fry in a large skillet with olive oil. You will most likely have to do this in several batches, depending on the size of your skillet. You will not want meatballs to be completely cooked, just browned around the outside. Add meatballs to simmering sauce for the last hour of sauce cooking time. Enjoy sauce and meatballs served over your favorite zucchini noodles.

SWEET POTATO NOODLES WITH ALMOND MISO SAUCE

• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and spiralized
• ¼ of a large cabbage, shredded
• 1 cup cooked edamame
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• ½ of a large avocado, diced
• ½ cup chopped cilantro
• Dressing:
• ¼ cup almond butter
• ¼ cup white miso
• ¼-1/2 cup water (or more to thin as needed)
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Toss the sweet potato noodles, cabbage, edamame, scallions, avocado and cilantro. Combine dressing ingredients (almond butter through cayenne pepper) with immersion blender or in blender until smooth. Add more water if necessary to get it smooth and creamy. Pour dressing over salad and mix.

ZUCCHINI CAPRESE SALAD

• 1 medium zucchini
• ½ red bell pepper
• 6-8 grapes tomatoes
• 2-3 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
• 1 clove of garlic minced
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• ⅛ teaspoon dried basil
• Salt and Pepper to taste.

Cut zucchini into strips resembling noodles. Slice the red pepper into thin strips. Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Cook minced garlic for 1-2 minutes. Add zucchini "noodle" and pepper slices, sauté for 3-5 minutes until slightly softened. Remove mixture from pan and let cool. When vegetables are cooled add in grape tomatoes and fresh mozzarella cheese. Drizzle with remaining olive oil and balsamic vinegar, gently toss to coat. Season with basil, salt, and pepper. Serve immediately.

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