Spiralizers are Awesome (and Healthy) #TipsTuesdays 32

I have a new kitchen gadget and I have to share how wonderful it is. Welcome to Tips Tuesdays 32.

Spiralizers are Awesome (and Healthy)

So at the weekend I bought myself a spiralizer, thanks to a recommendation from a friend on Livejournal. For those in the UK - they have one in Range for £10 :). I have been coveting one for months, and when I found out how cheaply I could get one (they are in fashion so have come down in price greatly just recently), I had to have it :).

For those unfamiliar with what one is, it looks like this:

And it turns veggies and hard fruits into noodle shapes or long ribbons. This is far more useful than you might think.

I tested it out as soon as I got it home (two carrots were sacrificed :)), but didn't use it for actual food until Monday. I love mine already for many reasons, but here are some of them:

• it's so easy to use - takes moments
• it's easy to clean
• there are some truly awesome healthy recipes out there.

As I may have mentioned on occasion, I have been trying to be better at cooking healthy food for my husband and I. Since the new year I try to make all our meals from scratch and have probably developed an obsessional love of chicken. We've also made a conscious effort to cut down on starchy foods like normal potatoes and pasta unless Rob is getting ready for running when he actually needs the carbs.

Unfortunately, I've never had an alternative to pasta for dishes like spaghetti bolognese (which I make with turkey mince these days, in case you were wondering :)). Now I do:

courgetti (aka zucchini noodles)

Courgetti is simply a courgette (zucchini) spiralized into noodles. When cooked for two or three minutes it makes a fantastic alternative to spaghetti. In fact, I have to admit I prefer it to pasta. It has a crunch and a succulence to it that pasta does not have, yet it does the same as pasta by taking on the flavour of whatever you put with it. It's also fantastically good for you as this article from Healthy Food explains in detail.

This is the really simple recipe I made yesterday, but think of it as an example of what can be achieved. Just look on the courgetti as pasta and you're away - we all know how to throw things together with pasta :).

Chicken, Lime and Garlic Courgetti with Mushroom and Feta

For the vegetarians among us - my husband said he would have been perfectly happy with just the mushroom and feta, so it is very easy to make this a vegetarian dish.

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 2 courgettes (zucchini)
• 4 skinless and boneless chicken thighs (leave these out and add more mushrooms for veggie version)
• 1 tblspn garlic oil (or normal oil with a little bit of garlic paste)
• 1 large flat mushroom
• 1 tspn garlic powder
• juice of 1 lime
• pinch of  salt (or to taste)
• a few cubes of feta (optional)

Instructions

1. Chop the mushroom and the chicken into bite sized pieces.
2. Add the garlic oil to a wide bottomed pan with a lid and fry the chicken and mushroom until cooked through. A little colour on the chicken add flavour.
3. While the chicken is cooking, spiralize the courgette and drizzle with half the lime juice.
4. When the chicken is nearly done, drizzle in the other half of the lime juice to the pan.
5. Add the salt to taste. I use smoked salt because it give an extra depth.
6. Add in the courgetti and the garlic powder and stir, then cover and cook for 3-3.5 mins, stirring occasionally. The courgetti should be just tender, with a little bit of bite left.
7. Place in bowls and dot with a few cubes of feta. I actually preferred it without the feta, where as my husband thought the feta was really good, so try it to see which you think it tastiest.

This is a quick, simple, healthy recipe and so very, very tasty.

Do you have a spiralizer? Do you love it? Have any recipes to share? Or do you think you might get one?