What We’re Reading: Inspiralized

 

Looking for a revolutionary new way to embrace healthy eating—without giving up the foods you love? Using a spiralizer, you can transform fresh vegetables and fruits into everything from “noodles” and “fried rice” to “grits” and “tortillas.” Think: zucchini spaghetti with pesto and shaved asparagus and apple salad with gorgonzola and toasted pecans.

 

Written by wildly popular food blogger Ali Maffucci, Inspiralized will show you how to get started spiralizing with more than 85 delicious and imaginative options for breakfast, snacks, appetizers, sandwiches, soups, salads, casseroles, pastas and desserts. Some of our favorite inspired recipes include blueberry sweet potato waffles, spicy butternut squash nachos, shrimp daikon noodle pho soup, vegan chipotle carrot “mac and cheese,” lobster corn and carrot risotto, and pear rhubarb crisp, as well as the following recipes below.

 

Ali also shares plenty of her creative tips and tricks plus gives detailed descriptions and nutritional benefits for fruits and vegetables. This is essential reading for anyone who wants to eat low-carb, gluten-free, and/or Paleo.

 

 

Chicken Banh Mi with Sriracha Greek Yogurt

One of my simplest tricks is to eat sandwiches open-faced—not only for health reasons but also for greater flavor! If you’ve ever had a banh mi sandwich, you know the bun can easily overpower the delicious pickled vegetable filling in this classic Vietnamese street food. Here, I’ve replaced the bun with a bell pepper, which not only offers a refreshing and hydrating crunch but also is a low-calorie, low-carbohydrate vehicle for showcasing what you came for: the pickled (spiralized) vegetables, Asian marinated chicken, and a high-protein Sriracha spread made with nonfat Greek yogurt.

 

Makes 4 sandwiches

 

For the pickled vegetables

¼ cup rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

½ teaspoon salt

1 small daikon radish, peeled, blade C

1 medium carrot, peeled, blade C

1 medium cucumber, blade C

 

For the chicken

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 teaspoon honey

3/4 to 1 pound boneless chicken breast, cut into strips

 

For the Sriracha yogurt

1/3 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon Sriracha or other hot sauce

 

For the sandwiches

2 large red bell peppers

1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves

 

1. Pickle the vegetables. Whisk together the vinegar, honey, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the daikon radish, carrot, and cucumber noodles; toss to coat well, then marinate in the refrigerator until ready to assemble the sandwiches, tossing every 5 minutes.
2. Prepare the chicken. Whisk together the olive oil, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, lime juice, and honey in a shallow dish. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Heat a large grill pan over medium heat. When a bit of water flicked onto the pan sizzles, add the chicken and grill for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through, until no longer pink. Cut into thin slices.
3. Make the yogurt. In a small bowl, whisk the ingredients.
4. Assemble the sandwiches. Slice the tops off both peppers, remove and discard the seeds and white flesh, and halve them to yield four sandwich “bottoms.” Lay out the bell pepper pieces with the insides facing up. Spread on the Sriracha mayo, then layer on the chicken and top with the pickled vegetables. Drizzle the tops with extra yogurt, if desired, and garnish with the cilantro.

 

 

“Everything Bagel” Breakfast Bun

If you ask most kids who grew up in Jersey what their favorite breakfast is, they’ll most likely come back with “Taylor ham, egg, and cheese on a bagel.” Sure, there’s a big battle between NY and NJ for the best bagel, but I’ll always be team Jersey. The mere scent of an Everything bagel brings me back to the mornings when my mother would bring home a fresh batch from the local shop. Of course, I had to Inspiralize the undeniably best type of bagel in the world: the Everything.

 

Makes 4 servings

 

For the buns

Cooking spray

1 large Idaho potato, peeled, Blade C

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 egg + 1 egg white, beaten together

2 tablespoons olive oil (for cooking the buns)

Special equipment: 4 6-ounce ramekins

 

For the everything bagel mix

1 teaspoon poppy seeds

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

1 ¼ teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon coarse sea salt

¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

 

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and coat with cooking spray. Once oil has heated (flick water on the skillet and if it sizzles, it’s ready), add in the potato noodles and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook, tossing occasionally, for 5-7 minutes or until potatoes are golden brown.
2. While the potato noodles are cooking, combine all the ingredients for the everything bagel mix in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Once the noodles are cooked, transfer to a large bowl and allow to cool for 2 minutes. Then, add in the egg and the everything bagel mix. Toss to combine thoroughly until the noodles are evenly coated.
4. Fill each ramekin halfway with the potato noodles. Cover each with a piece of foil and push it so that it’s directly touching the noodles. Place a can over the foil and press firmly to compress. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes so that noodles set.
5. When the noodles have set, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Once the oil heats (flick water on the skillet and if it sizzles, it’s ready), add the buns two at a time (using 1 tablespoon of olive oil per batch), flipping each ramekin over the skillet and patting the bottom until the bun falls out. Cook 3 minutes or until noodles set, being sure to push in any stray noodles. Then, carefully flip and cook another 2-3 minutes or until the bun is completely set and browned, flattening with the back of the spatula.
6. Serve with spreads and toppings of your choice.

Tip: If you don’t have ramekins, you can still make this recipe. Just heat a half tablespoon of olive oil in the skillet, and instead of packing the noodles into a ramekin and refrigerating, take about a half cup of mixture and place it in the middle of the skillet. Immediately form it into a patty and flatten with a spatula, taking care to keep the noodles packed together. Flip the patty after about 2 minutes, or after the bottom sets, then cook for another 2 minutes or until the other side sets again, flattening with the back of a spatula.

 

 

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