Ditch the carbs with this complete guide to veggie noodles

No matter what diet you follow, we can all agree that the more veggies you eat, the better, right? Veggie noodles are a popular trend, especially for those eating Banting and Paleo diets. But since it’s a delicious way to prepare your veg, we should all take advantage of it. Rather than chopped, a spiraliser or julienne peeler will transform your veggies into a voluminous oodle of goodness. Here’s your complete guide to the best veggie noodle dishes out there.

What can you noodle with what?

Depending on the tool you’re using, you can pretty much spiralise anything. Here’s a list of which veggies work in which tool and best practices.

• Julienne peeler – Makes noodles from pretty much anything but length is dictated by length of the vegetable.
• Spirelli – Takes best to pencil-shaped veggies (zucchinis and carrots etc.), but you can chop bigger veg like sweet potato into smaller chunks and give those a try. Watch your fingers.
• Spiralfix – Rotating blade and a crank turning handle makes quick work of a wider variety of veg and also keeps hands from the blade. As long as your veg is chopped so that it fits inside the bowl of the Spiralfix, you’re good to spiral.
• Turning slicer – Long used in Japanese kitchens to make those nifty heaps of carrot served with sushi. A bit more of an investment, it comes with a variety of blades to adjust the width of your noodle. Crank handle turning mechanism means your hands never come near the blades. So safe for kids too.

All methods will involve a bit of wastage, where you or the machine is holding onto the veggies so the blades can cut it, but we usually just chop those pieces and cook them along with the rest of the dish, or save them for another dish later in the week.

Which sauces go well with veggie noodles?

Many pasta sauces rely on the inherent stickiness of pasta (the starches released) to help the sauce to coat it nicely, but obviously, veggies don’t have that characteristic. For best results, work with sauces that are naturally sticky. Just keep in mind that some of these sauces won’t be allowed if you’re Banting (so do some homework before you dive in).

• Asian peanut sauces
• Reduced creamy sauces like this low carb summer pasta
• Pestos

These are quick to whip up and will coat your noodles with deliciousness.

Other tips to make veggie noodles taste amazing

• Chunkier sauces like bolognese work too but make sure you cook them down so that they are quite thick before serving.
• Don’t forget to season your noodles – after they’ve been spiraled, gently toss salt and pepper through them.
• You can eat them raw (heated only by the sauce) or you can flash fry or steam them quickly, but because they are thin slices, a short cook is best.
• We tend to spiralise veggies that work well raw anyway, but if you are going for potatoes, you may have to experiment with cooking times.

Other ways to sub veg for carbs

Spiralising those veg isn’t the only way to glam them up and kick out the carbs. When you think outside of the veggie cart, you can be quite creative and keep your dinners inspired.

• Use a flat peeler or a mandoline to make thin, lasagne-like sheets and layer or roll and fill them just as you would their starchy cousins in lasagne or cannelloni. Used raw in the dish before baking, they cook to perfection without needing anything else.
• Got your heart set on macaroni cheese? You can’t tube veggies, but why process them at all, when cauliflower florets work beautifully in a cheese sauce and can substitute perfectly for its carby friend?

So, there you have it, folks. Everything you need to embrace veggie noodles. Let us know what you whip up with your spiralised goodies and what secret tips you have to making them taste sensational.