Cutting down on carbs can be a pretty challenging transition. However, that doesn’t mean that it has to be boring and tasteless. Whenever I mention low-carb or carb-free diet to a friend who wants to lose weight for eat a little better. Their respond would be more or less the same, along the lines of: “How to?! No carbs, I’ll die, and die hungry!” or “Then eat salad everyday?! I can’t survive on leaves!”
I admit, even I find it difficult to give up or cut down on carbs. Carbohydrate is very comforting to me, especially rice. I love my rice, my hot steaming white rice. However, I started limiting my consumption of refine carbs like white rice ever since I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes when I was pregnant with my 2nd. Diabetes runs in my family, and I got really concern about consuming too much refine carbs. That’s because refined carbohydrates are rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream, causing risky spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels. Fortunately, my blood sugar went back to normal after the birth of my little one.
So every now and then, I find ways to substitute the carbohydrate portion of our meals. The husband loves it when I do that, because that’d mean that we are eating a little better and not rapidly growing our love-handles! lol! My girls have no idea that they are missing out on their usual noodles or rice, and they consume a double portion of greens. So that’s definitely a win for mom!
Here, I substituted pasta noodles for zucchini noodles. I used a spiralizer to get my zoodles, as shown in the top picture which I got from Amazon. It works like a sharpener to shred the zucchini into long noodle like strands.
But a shredder, like the one in the picture above will work as well. That can be easily purchased from any household/kitchenware store. Here are some other zoodle recipes that I’ve shared in the past. Miso Cod with Asian Zoodles, Carrot Zucchini Noodles with Tangy Ricotta Sauce, and Avocado Cream Zoodles with Lime Parsley Shrimp.
Shrimp & Scallop Scrampi Zoodles
Ingredients
- 2 large zucchini spiralized or shredded into noodles
- 16 large shrimp shelled and cleaned
- 1 cup bay scallops about 24 pcs, thawed if frozen
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 shallot minced
- Red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
- 1/2 cup 120ml white wine / chicken stock / seafood stock
- Juice of 1 lemon about 2 tbsp
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- Additional chopped parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Season prawn and bay scallops with salt and pepper.
- Heat pan n medium high, add olive oil
- When oil is hot, add shrimp and scallops, and cook for 2-3 minutes or until cooked through.
- Remove and set aside.
- In the same pan, add melt butter.
- Saute shallot and garlic until fragrant and add chilli flakes.
- Saute for another 30 seconds, then deglaze pan with white wine/stock.
- Add lemon zest, bring to boil, lower heat to a simmer and allow to simmer for 2 minutes.
- Then add in parmesan cheese to thicken sauce, then add in shrimp and scallops.
- Toss to combine, season to taste, and remove from heat.
- Stir in lemon juice and 1 tbsp chopped parsley.
- Plate zoodles on serving plate and pour sauce, shrimp & scallops over zoodles.
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