Green Machine Zucchini Noodle "Pasta"

Overview:

So, I've always wanted to try to make "noodles" out of vegetables like zucchini or sumer squash. That being said, my favorite genre of food is Italian and would never want to give up deliciously carby and real pasta ever in my life but I thought this was a nice alternative to try out sometime.

Now, this process was sort of difficult given the fact that I didn't have a veggie spiralizer (*hint hint* Christmas present?) so I had to make do with a veggie peeler I had on hand. This produced thick-cut noodles sort of like fettuccine so I just went with it.

Why "green machine" you may ask? Well, as you can see, I ended up using mostly green vegetables in this dish so I thought this was appropriate. Hopefully, Naked Juice is okay with this.

When I finished making my meal, I realized that the my pasta bore a closer resemblance to a salad. This makes sense I suppose since I used basically only vegetables. So whatever you decide to call it--pasta or salad--I hope you enjoy!

This recipe is gluten-free and vegetarian but can easily made vegan if you skip the cheese and use a vegan pesto sauce. This recipe also serves one comfortable as a main entree, but may be shared by two as a side dish.

Ingredients:

1 - 1 1/2 zucchini*

1 veggie patty**

1 c broccoli (I used frozen)

1-2 oz feta cheese

2-3 tbs pesto sauce

1tsp dried oregano

1/2 avocado

1/2 lemon

1/2 lime

salt and pepper to taste (not pictured)

How my "pasta" noodles turned out!

Directions:

1. Take your zucchini and run it through your spiralizer to make the pasta noodles. You may also opt to use a veggie peeler for wider noodles. If you don't have either instrument, you want have to carefully use a knife (I don't recommend this and will not be subject to blame if you lose a finger).

2. Defrost/reheat your broccoli. If you are using fresh broccoli, ignore this step.

3. Peel apart your veggie patty into small chunks and heat them up on the stovetop.

4. Squeeze your lime and lemon into the veggie patty to infuse some bright and refreshing flavors.

5. Put your cooked broccoli and veggie patty pieces on top of your raw zucchini noodles. 

6. Add in your cheese, oregano, and pesto sauce and mix.

7. Top off with sliced avocado.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste.

9. Enjoy!

Look! It twirls like real pasta!

Notes:

*You may substitute for squash noodles, real noodles, or a fix. Experiment and see what you like best.

**If you prefer non-vegetarian, feel free to use a lean meat patty.