I've found the one...and it's a spiralizer

I thought it was just a fling. I thought maybe my feelings would change. I though perhaps my trust was misplaced.

But NO, my spiralizer is definitely the one.

My new boo

So what is a spiralizer?

It's basically a nifty gadget for turning any fairly firm veg into long strips (they can either be thin like spaghetti or thicker like udon noodles) in a cool spiral shape.

I've heard tons of people talking on Twitter about making 'courgetti' or 'zoodles' - the world's best portmanteau describing spaghetti/noodles made out of courgette, so I decided to get on board.

DISCLAIMER: I really dislike courgette

But here's the thing: quickly fried and then smothered in pesto or simmered in a delicious tomato sauce, you'd have no idea that these courgetti contained any of the gross green stuff. I may even put some recipes up in future (you have been warned) because I feel like I need to spread the spiralizing love!

Go on, try and tell me this doesn't look delicious

I'm an absolute pasta fiend and while there's a time and a place for a big old bowl of the stuff, it got to a point last winter where I was eating it every single day. I also struggle to get enough veggies into my diet (I admit I can be a little picky) so any way of sneaking more greens into my meals is fine by me, Now instead of eating a serving of pasta, I eat a whole courgette!

When my spiralizer first arrived, I was a little confuse about how exactly to go about it all. But after some quick googling I discovered it's actually dead simple - check out Inspiralized for easy how-to videos on how to turn pretty much any veg into spirals (and also lots of delicious recipes).

Ta-dah!

So far courgetti is definitely my favourite spiralized food, although I have also made myself some 'noodle salads' spiralized cucumber and carrot. Cucumber works really well but I found that carrot is harder because it's thinner (the thicker your veg the better your noodles). However maybe if I used some beefier carrots it might be better.

My next spiralizer venture is hopefully going to be sweet potato curly fries. I think this may involve a bit of trial and error but fingers crossed!

My rather unphotogenic (but delicious) tuna 'noodle' salad

As a slight veggie-phobe I can honestly say that getting a spiralizer has really helped me to up my vegetable intake. I've had it for about three months now and it still makes regular appearances unlike some gadgets (liquidizer I'm looking at you). I've recommended buying one to everyone from friends to work colleagues to random people on Twitter - if only I was on commission! Yes it might still not be huuugely healthy to smother my courgetti in pesto but hey...I'm working on it!

Harris x

P.S. I got my spiralizer here

Have you ever tried a spiralizer? Do you struggle to get your portions of vegetables in?

Update: Getting my life back and my best run so far

FINALLY I have been able to reclaim my life from my MA! The final few weeks were pretty intense, as I was balancing finishing my dissertation with a job and moving flats, but I did it! Now I'm finally able to get back on track with my running and life in general.

Getting back into it: My first run along the Thames up to Putney Bridge

Firstly I've finally been able to actually eat properly: I was living off bowls of cereal and toast for about a fortnight as I never had a chance to make it to the supermarket to buy some real food. As a night shifter I've always had a bit of a problem with this but I really didn't feel like I had a moment to spare. Now the fridge and freezer are stocked up and I'm never taking real food for granted again!

My new flat also has a lovely kitchen so I'm really looking forward to actually trying out some new recipes. My old kitchen was pretty grimy and so I never really enjoyed spending time in there, but now I'm determined to expand my (admittedly pretty limited) repertoire.

I've also been able to get back on my running. My first 10k is less than a month away now and I'm definitely starting to feel a little bit scared. The most I've run so far is 7k, so I need to start getting used to upping my distance a little. I know that I can do it, but I'm just starting to get those little flutterings of panic that began to appear before the Race For Life.

I also treated myself to a few bits and pieces from Forever 21

Having said that, yesterday was probably my best run so far. I'm a very slow runner but I'm trying to work on my speed a bit and so I set out yesterday determined to run my fastest 5k yet. I've never managed it in under 35 minutes, but yesterday I got home in 33.08 minutes. It's still not fast compared to most people, but to cut nearly 2 minutes off my time felt like huge progress. Plus I am having to get used to a big hill at the end of every run which is a bit of a killer!

I'm really excited to see what sort of improvements I'll manage now that I'm getting back into a routine.

Is routine important to you? Does your running suffer when you're busy?

Harris x