My New Favorite Kitchen Tool: The Spiralizer

It is not that often I get this excited over a kitchen tool.  Often, I buy something with high expectations that it will truly shake up my cooking routine but I am left disappointed.  Not the case with this hand-held spiralizer.  It actually works as well as, if not better than, I had hoped.

There are many different types of spiralizers from big contraptions to simple ones, like the one shown here.  They can have just one blade or many, to make spirals of different shapes and sizes.  All you have to do is take a wide enough vegetable, cut the end off, place it in the center of the spiralizer, turn it, and voilá, you have long skinny strands of your produce.

If you read my posts, you'll learn that I emphasize how important it is to minimize the amount of flour-based products in your diet if you want to optimize weight.  Flour spikes blood sugar levels, which spikes insulin levels, and insulin makes it difficult to burn fat efficiently.  This is why I love this product so much.  It helps create a great alternative to using pasta in many dishes. 

Here, I used summer squash and zucchini to make my spirals, sautéed them, and used them as spaghetti.  Spirals can be made from all sorts of produce and for many purposes. You can use sweet potatoes to make curly fries or add vegeatable spirals to salads for variety and texture.  

So, give it a try!  It is a handy little tool to have around when you are creating magic in the kitchen.