Tag Archives: Zoodles

Sausage Zoodle Marinara on Roasted Eggplant

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We’re on a zoodle kick, can you tell? Several weeks ago a friend of mine (via snapchat) asked if I was cooking dinner one particular evening and I replied and said, probably? Nothing specific planned though. He replied and said, oh well you should cook dinner and snap it, I always like to see what you create. So, I did and here is what I ended up with that evening.

Sausage Zoodle Marinara on Roasted Eggplant

  • Zoodles (I used zuchinni)
  • Sausage sliced (of choice)
  • One white onion, loosely diced
  • 1 stick Kerrygold garlic herb butter
  • Dried basil
  • Sugar free marinara sauce
  • 1 eggplant
  • Avocado oil
  • Sea salt
  • Black pepper

Start by getting the eggplant roasting so it’s finished at the same time as the zoodle marinara. This is my favorite method for roasting eggplant as it gets a little more crisp, rather than being more spongey/mushy. Wash and thinly slice your eggplant. Place slices on a lightly greased and foiled cookie sheet (if you don’t grease the foil it will stick really bad). Generously drizzle avocado oil on the slices and sprinkle with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. Roast in the oven at 400 degrees while preparing the rest of the dish.

Start by melting the stick of butter in a saute pan, then add the diced white onion and cook for about 4 minutes. Add marinara sauce, cut sausage and dried basil. Saute for about 10 minutes until the sausage is heated through. Add the zoodles, and saute another 5 minutes or, until done to your preference (I prefer al dente). Sprinkle with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Place roasted eggplant slices on a plate and top with sausage zoodle marinara! Reheated really well.

*side notes: I use avocado oil because it has a higher smoke point and doesn’t create carcinogens when heated at high heat. I use Bilinski’s brand sausages (pre-cooked) and for this recipe I used their wild mushroom with Italian herbs – they’re my favorite chicken sausages, super clean ingredients from pastured chickens. Sugar free marinara-getting easier to find! Super Target is where I buy mine, and they now carry 3-4 different brands that have zero added sugar. Last, I don’t really measure things, I just kind of eyeball and taste-test, if I think there should be more of something I add it, but I start with less and then add more since I can’t take ingredients back out

Italian Zoodle Alfredo

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I’ve been buying zoodles of all types to use in cooking lately – a way to eat more vegetables without the blood sugar spike of pasta, and the heaviness that comes with eating grains. I have a spiralizer, but for some reason buying them pre-spiraled just works better for me right now, plus they literally pack them in so tight there are a ton in each container! Currently in the fridge I have butternut squash, zucchini and beet zoodles!

I was wanting something warm and comforting the other night so I decided to make zoodles with marinara – simple, and tasty. I opened up my organic sugar free jar of marinara (good until August 2017), and there was what looked like a giant slimy booger on the inside of it…which later I think I determined was a “mother” that had grown? Still, not 100% sure what it was I tossed it and had to improvise. I ended up with an almost alfredo creamy garlic sauce with Italian flavors, and it was so good. Rich, hearty, full of healthy fats and there was none leftover.

Italian Zoodle Alfredo

  • 1/2 stick grassfed butter
  • 1 medium white onion, mince
  • 2 TBSP minced garlic
  • 6 oz heavy whipping cream
  • 8oz chicken broth
  • Butternut squash zoodles (eyeball it – maybe 2 cups?)
  • Zucchini zoodles (same as above, use as many as you’d like!)
  • 1 TBSP dried basil
  • 1 pkg crespone (or any uncured salami), cut up
  • 1 TBSP tapioca starch
  • Salt/black pepper

Full disclosure, I had random things in my fridge I wanted to use up which is how this came about (the heavy whipping cream leftover from the holidays – still if I have any dairy in my fridge it’s usually the full fat stuff). Add the 1/2 stick of butter to a pan and melt, saute the diced onion and two TBSP of minced garlic for about five minutes, then add the heavy whipping cream and stir. This thickened pretty quick, which is why I ended up adding the 8oz of broth. Add the butternut squash zoodles and saute for a couple minutes, then add the zucchini zoodles and saute for another five minutes. Sprinkle with the dried basil, cut the crespone with kitchen shears directly into pan, add the TBSP of tapioca starch (it was a little too thin after the 8 oz broth, so I thickened it back up – if you don’t mind more of a soup texture feel free to leave this out or use less broth) and season with salt and black pepper. Continue stirring until everything is well heated, serve!

Hillcrest Farmers Market

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This past Sunday I finally made it to the Hillcrest Farmers Market here in San Diego. I’d been wanting to attend for some time, and finally made a point of going. I had a great time, and loved the offerings for quality food! One of the best things about living in San Diego, is the year-round offerings of amazing food and markets. I’m making more of a point to attend and check them out, there are so many to choose from, and on each day of the week.

These were my purchases last week:photo (6)

Having just received my Paderno Spiralizer and having loads of zucchini in the garden, I was really excited to get this pesto for a “pasta” sauce. The Happy Pantry, I loved! 5-6 kinds of homemade organic sauerkraut (I bought the spicy kimchee flavor after trying most of them), and can’t wait to have it with sausages, eggs, etc. On the bottom, some garlic and herb homemade goat cheese. It is pasteurized, but I’m okay with it now and then. It was so creamy and tasted amazing! This Saturday, I think we’ll try the Little Italy Mercato 🙂

Then, I ran into a booth that had a great selection of health foods, supplements, etc. and I was drawn in! Until…while talking to a couple of women at his booth he said, and I quote “30 days, and you can completely reverse type 1 diabetes.” Oh no. You cannot do that. I eat pretty raw already, and have been Paleo for 2 years, and while these things have drastically helped me manage my type 1 diabetes, at the end of each day, I still have it. Supplements don’t reverse the autoimmune reaction (nor do foods!). I took his card so I could reach out and share information, so that it will perhaps help him understand. This was one of those times where it really bothered me, but I didn’t have it in me to educate at the time.