Zoodles? Spiralizing? Inspiralized? Is this a new language or just the latest trend in healthy cooking? A little of both we guess. But not to worry, Ali Maffuci from the Inspiralized blog is going to share her expertise so we can be inspiralized too! Learn all about making “noodles” from vegetables in our three part blog series “Inspiralize the Spring”! Check out the five new recipes Ali developed for Tuttorosso Tomatoes using our delicious tomatoes and spiralized veggies! Get them here.
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Hi Ali! Tell us a little bit about yourself and your blog.
Ali: Hi! Well, let’s start with the basics: I’m 27 years old, I live in Jersey City with my fiancé Lu, and I love living healthy. I’m from New Jersey originally (my parents still live there), I have a 24 year old sister and a 30 year old brother. I went to college in North Carolina and sometimes think I was meant to be a Southern girl, but New York City always pulls me back in. Out of college, I worked for the Trump organization at a golf course in New Jersey, where I ran private member events and a small boutique hotel. After that, I worked for a bit in business development in the airline industry, where I never was truly happy and never felt fulfilled. On June 25, 2013, I walked into my boss’s office, quite my job and the next day, I went to a local coffee shop and started Inspiralized.com, without a plan, just a vision and a passion for teaching others how to cook healthfully. My food blog, Inspiralized, is dedicated to cooking with the spiralizer, the kitchen tool that turns vegetables into noodles!
How did you start developing recipes from vegetable “noodles”?
Ali: I started turning my favorite pasta and noodle dishes into Inspiralized versions, using vegetable noodles. Pasta, noodles and rice make up a giant portion of the world’s food, so there’s no lack of recipes to Inspiralize.
What are the benefits of using vegetables instead of typical pasta noodles?
Ali: I could write a book on JUST this topic. The obvious benefit is healthfulness. Consuming vegetables in place of processed, glutinous pasta is healthier. You’re eating cleaner, being nourished, and consuming dietary fiber that fills you up and helps you keep full, helping maintain or lose weight. Many vegetables used in spiralizing (such as zucchini) are primarily made of water, so they help detox your body as you eat them (in a delicious bowl of pasta!) Aside from the health benefits, spiralized vegetables are quicker and easier to make. No more waiting for water to boil, no more mushy pasta noodles – some spiralized veggies are ready-to-eat after spiralizing (carrots, beets, zucchini, cucumber, etc.)
For someone new to spiralizing, how would you explain it and what advice would you share for someone new to spiralized veggies?
Ali: Spiralizing is the “art” of turning vegetables into noodles, using a spiralizer. That’s the basic definition. With those noodles, you can cook deliciously, creatively and healthfully by using those spiralized vegetables in recipes for pastas, noodles, buns, rice dishes, casseroles, salads, wraps, breakfasts, sides, appetizers and even desserts!
My advice to a spiralizing “newbie” would be to Inspiralize your favorite pasta dish, using zucchini noodles. You’ll immediately be Inspiralized – err, hooked!
Next week Ali talks about picking vegetables for spiralizing and what recipes are best for inspiralized recipes! Be sure to check out all of our recipes on our website!