Oodles of Zoodles

This week we are gong to blow your mind with zucchini pasta aka zoodles (zucchini + noodles)! Now we definitely love a good traditional pasta meal too, but it just doesn't have the same glamour on a hot day during bathing suit season if you catch our drift. To keep things fresh and lighter for the summer this is our go to and know it will be yours too once you try it. So lets find out how a zucchini becomes pasta, and raw pasta at that!

There are two ways to make your zoodles with slightly different final products (both pictured above). Using raw zucchini, grating with a juilieene vegetable peeler will create a liguiine shape (pictured left) and a vegetable spiralizer will create a spiraled capellini shape (pictured right). Both work great but we highly recommend a vegeatble spiralizer because the small investment is well worth it (for purchase here). Many vegetables can be spiralized and eaten raw or cooked, the possibilities are really endless and this tool can help you get more creative in the kitchen. And not the mention how beautiful spiralized vegetables look! After creating your zoodle shapes the zucchini is eaten raw which is very palatable because of the small size - it has a nice texture similar to al dente pasta and perfect for holding onto your favorite sauce topping. The whole meal is raw actually because the pesto is made with sun dried tomatoes (dried and not cooked, hence the name). Raw foods and whole raw meals are fabulous because raw food is wholesome and has not been refined, chemically processed, denatured, or heated above 118°F which means the nutritional value of the food is preserved. When we eat food in its natural state (raw) our bodies receive all the vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and enzymes which are naturally found in the plant. For this reason alone, why not eat raw especially this time of the year when the harvest is bounty!!

Raw Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta
PREP TIME: 15 mins
TOTAL TIME: 20 mins
Servings: 2

Ingredients
Pasta
3 medium zucchini (~5 cups finished noodles)
1 Tbsp raw hemp hearts (optional)

Sauce
6 oz sun dried tomatoes
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp raw walnuts
1.5 Tbsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp salt
A sprinkle of cracked black pepper

Using a spiralizer, create your raw zucchini noodles (zoodles). If you do not have this handy kitchen tool you may also make your noodles with a handheld vegetable julienne tool, as shown above. Set noodles aside and begin making the raw tomato pesto. For the pesto, combine the sun dried tomatoes, olive oil, walnuts, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper in a food processor (may also use a blender). Pulse on high until all ingreident are fully combined and a semi smooth sauce is formed. Lightly toss pesto over raw noodles/zoodles. Mix until fully incorported. Top with a sprinkle of raw shelled hemp seeds.

So make sure you don't pass up the zucchini at markets and offered from friends' gardens this summer. The uniqueness of textures and flavores in this recipe will make it a weekly favorite and guest pleaser this summer. Also get creative with your spiralizing to really make your veggies shine. We want to see what you come up with!

Spiral away,
Jess and Cecelia