Cooking with Karina: Oodles of Veggie Noodles

Thai Sweet Potato Noodles (Photo: Karina Arnold) 

Karina Arnold is a rising junior at the University of Oklahoma who’s passionate about healthy cooking. She provides creative, healthy recipes and tips on clean eating.

Crunchy, steamed, grilled or sautéed, vegetables are a delicious, versatile dietary staple. According to the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, we should consume about 6 cups of vegetables a day. The fantastic thing about vegetables is that you can load your plate once, twice or three times and not feel guilty.

Vegetables are low-energy dense, meaning they have fewer calories per gram of food compared to similar portion sizes like grain pasta. Foods like vegetables and fruits have high water contents and are packed with vitamins, thus you can enjoy bigger portions at lower caloric intake.

Consuming the recommended amount of vegetables does not mean sadly munching a stalk of celery or downing a bag of broccoli. Sneak vegetables in your diet by trying new, seasonal produce, utilizing different seasonings, or experimenting with different cooking methods. Using a spiralizer is a great way to add variation to your veggies. I talk more about the Spiralizer and its magical properties in my previous post “Kitchen Toolbox.”

Pesto Avocado Zoodles (Photo: Karina Arnold) 

In addition to changing their shape, coat vegetables with sweet or savory sauces or dips. Try this healthy Thai Sweet Potato Noodles recipe, which has become a family favorite dish. My mom and I love mixing different vegetables and toppings with the slightly spicy peanut sauce. I originally found this recipe on the back of a Sur La Table seasoning packet.

“Just a dot and not a lot” is my mom’s favorite catchphrase and perfect for this recipe. This Thai sauce is extremely rich in flavor. I recommend lightly coating your vegetables and adding more based on taste preference or how much you want to be able to taste the vegetables. I usually use 2-3 Tbsp. per cup of vegetables.

If you tried my Zoodles with Marinara Sauce recipe and loved it, then try these Pesto Avocado Zoodles. This homemade pesto is a creamy, savory alternative to the chunky, zesty marinara. If there is any sauce left over, refrigerate and use on top of the Sweet Zoodle Spud recipe from my last post for tomorrow’s lunch. I recommend slightly reheating the pesto to result in a creamier and more spreadable consistency.

Vegetables and fun are synonymous and the recipes above prove they are tasty too. What are your favorite veggies? How do you cook them? Comment below!