Vegetable pasta alternatives
I love how there are now so many alternatives to pasta. It took me a while to jump on board with this idea as I love my pasta! Don’t read too much into this, I still have traditional pasta every once in a while, and even make it myself, but I’ve really learned to love these other options as they are more nutritious and super easy to make. Here are some of my favorite plant-based pasta.
Zucchini Noodles
There are a couple of different tools you can use to make zucchini noodles, or what I like to call “zoodles”. I use a veggie spiralizer, but a julienne slicer or other type of veggie slicer will work too. You can find these in most retail stores or online. Just let the machine do the work. 
Place the zucchini in the tool and turn the knob to twist out the noodles, it’s that simple. After slicing the vegetables, take a paper towel and lightly squeeze them to get out any excess water. Now, they are ready to cook. Put 1 Tbls of oil in a pan and turn on medium heat. Toss in the zoodles and let them cook up for about 5 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, and that’s about it!
You can serve these as a side dish, or use this as a base for your main meal. Just add a lean protein like chicken or shrimp and some vegetables for a full meal. You can use the spiralizer with other vegetables, too like potatoes and carrots.
Spaghetti Squash
I use the roasting method for cooking spaghetti squash. Slice the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and place it on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. Scoop out the middle section of seeds, and brush the outer portion with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place the squash open side down, and put in the oven, 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Easy! Once they cool you can take a fork to scoop out the squash, which will look like spaghetti. Eat them as-is, or treat them as any other pasta dish you would normally make.
There are other options for pasta that are readily available at the grocer:
The thought of trying one of these kinds of pasta may seem scary, but experiment with one or two, and send me your comments.
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