Zuccini Pasta:

Healthy Pasta Made from Zucchini

By Dr. Ben Kim
DrBenKim.com

If you love pasta but can do without regular intake of refined carbohydrates, give this recipe a try - it calls for noodles that are made by thinly slicing raw zucchini into long strips; many raw food enthusiasts have long enjoyed zucchini noodles in place of conventional flour-based varieties.

The easiest way to make raw zucchini noodles is to use a special spiral slicer. There are a few different brands of spiral slicers on the market - my favorite is the LURCH Spiralo, as it seems to have the sturdiest and most simple design, and I find that it's easier to make long zucchini noodles with the Spiralo than it is using other slicers.

If you don't have access to a spiral slicer, you can always quarter a zucchini length-wise, and then cut the thinnest, long strips possible with your knife - this takes more work than using a spiral slicer, but it can produce similar results.

Zucchini is naturally abundant in a number of nutrients that make it an excellent food choice for disease prevention. Zucchini is particularly rich in manganese, vitamin C, magnesium, and of course, fiber.

I hope you enjoy the following recipe!

Raw Zucchini Noodles with Marinara Sauce Recipe

Serves 3 to 4

Ingredients:

6 to 8 firm zucchini
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1 1/2 cups blended tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
Sea salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Use a vegetable slicer like the LURCH Spiralo to make thin, long noodles out of zucchini. If you don't have a spiral slicer, use a sharp knife to quarter zucchini length-wise, and cut the thinnest strips possible.

If possible, make zucchini noodles about six hours before serving, and let noodles sit in a bowl, uncovered, at room temperature - this improves the texture of the noodles.

2. Use a good blender to combine all of the other ingredients, and blend until desired consistency is reached.

3. When noodles are ready, combine pasta sauce with noodles, give the noodles and sauce a good toss, and serve. This zucchini noodle pasta dish goes really well with a side of avocado.

Beyond the health-related benefits, a big reason why I've become a fan of raw zucchini noodles is that zucchini is super simple to grow.

When we started a small vegetable garden a few summers ago, my grandmother had us plant nothing but sesame leaves and zucchini plants. As she put it in Korean, "you can't mess these up."

And she was absolutely right, of course. Once you plant a zucchini plant, it's near impossible not to enjoy a healthy crop of zucchini.

Since that first summer of becoming an *ah hem* EXPERT zucchini grower, I've been planting three or four zucchini plants in our garden each year, and each plant has usually yielded about 20-30 zucchinis.

There's definitely something special about growing some of your own food, so if you don't have a garden but are eager to give one a try, I encourage you to visit a local nursery and pick up a zucchini plant or two to get started.

As my grandmother told me, you just can't mess this up.

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