I love kitchen tips that save me time in the kitchen and help me eat healthier. Just recently, I've learned how to store spiralized veggies for the week. I’m using spiralized zucchini for today’s example but the method is the same for nearly all spiralized veggies.
Zucchini Spaghetti
Spiralizing ahead of time and storing it properly so it's conveniently ready for me in the refrigerator when I need it has been a game changer for me.
In the last couple of months, I've partnered with Wolf to bring you delicious recipes and kitchen tips that hopefully inspire you to make more homemade meals your family will love.
Today, I thought I would share this kitchen tip with you, since one of the things I've learned through the hundreds of comments you've left in the Reclaim the Kitchen campaign posts is that you, too, want to make healthier changes in your eating habits but don't have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen.
Furthermore, not only do you want to eat healthier, but you also want to know how exactly one pulls it off when you are tied up at work or after school activities until shortly before dinner.
Finally, you also wanted tips on how to make veggies more appealing to kids. So overall, I believe you are going to love this post because it encompasses all the above.
I've you've missed the other delicious recipes, check out How to Roast a Chicken, Skillet Lasagna Recipe, Pizza Mini Quiches and Spiralized Zucchini and Tomato Recipe.
The recipes I've shared with you in the Reclaim the Kitchen series are easy to make, healthy, and quick to prepare. If you are not familiar with spiralizing, that's ok! I've recently discovered how easy it can be to turn veggies into noodles! I also feel spiralizing is a great way to introduce more vegetables and make food more fun! Check out this quick video to see how the process is done.
Our favorite veggie to spiralize is zucchini; mostly because it's available year round and when peeled, it yields a coil that looks like white "spaghetti". You can also spiralize sweet potatoes, rhubarb, large carrots, parsnip, turnip, rutabaga, beets, broccoli stems, jicama… and much more.
This is the spiralizer I own. It’s inexpensive and it works great!
My three year-old loves to spiralize. I'm not sure if it's the fun of turning the veggie into spaghetti noodles but he never walks away from the spiralizer until everything has been made into thin spaghetti-like noodles.
As you can see, spiralizing can be a great way to get our kids to be more involved with the foods they are going to eat!
How to store zucchini noodles
So, how does one save time with these veggie noodles? For starters, you can spiralize once and store the veggie noodles in a paper towel lined glass container or sealable plastic bag for 4-5 days! The paper towel absorbs excess moisture and the airtight container holds your veggie noodles for the next meal!
Can You Freeze Zoodles?
One question I get all the time is can you freeze zucchini noodles (aka zoodles)? The answer is, yes and no. Since zucchini is naturally high in water Zoodles tend to be a bit watery when you thaw them out.
You can definitely freeze sweet potato zoodles, squash zoodles, onion zoodles…. and more, but we prefer to stick with the fridge method listed above when it comes to zucchini noodles.
How to cook spiralized zucchini noodles
Cooking them is easy. Spiralized noodles can be sautéed lightly with a little oil and be on a plate in a snap! This means, that from fridge to plate a meal can be done in five minutes or less. I think this is the ultimate healthy fast food!
After you make your spiralized noodles, make sure you try one of my Spiralized Zucchini recipes. Or check out my kids' favorite way to eat spiralized zucchini – topped with my homemade Spaghetti Bolognese Sauce. However, you can use spiralized veggies in any recipe in which you'd normally use pasta.
Have you tried spiralizing? If you have, share your favorite veggie to spiralize or your favorite way to eat spiralized veggies.
Polly says
My sis bought me a japanese knock off, but it only makes paper thin strips, so I miss that ‘bite’ of pasta, but I like it for angel hair. Still, would love one that makes the bigger noodle! Kind of not helpful to me know since my son only likes regular pasta size. I was wondering how much you cook the pasta to get it warm enough and not musshy before you eat it!?? Also with my family, by the time they come to eat it’d be cold again!!!LOL!
Ruthanne Szenasi says
Your spiralizer looks much more time and energy efficient than the tool I use! I’d love to have one of those! I try to eat low carb and love to make “zoodles” to put spaghetti sauces over when my kids are having pasta. It means I am enjoying a healthy meal that doesn’t require me to make a separate meal for different family members. Thanks for the great idea about how to make once and store for later! Your tips have helped me so much!
Tammy Harris says
I would love to try this. What a great way to be able to include noodles into our grain-free lifestyle!
Kari says
Never tried it, but really want to. Pretty sure the kids will love it, but I’ll have to win over my hubby!
Felicia says
I just found your website and love it! I’ve never tried spiralized veggies but would love to try it. Thanks for the great ideas! It’s really helping out with my 10 year old son. Thanks!