Anyone use a spiralizer?

CrabbyCancerMama
CrabbyCancerMama Posts: 95 Member
edited November 14 in Food and Nutrition
I've been wanting a spiralizer; in my head I think it will make eating vegetables more fun. If you have one do you like/use yours?
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Replies

  • Dnarules
    Dnarules Posts: 2,081 Member
    I just got one for Christmas, so I'm interested as well.
  • I thought I would use mine more but I don't. I am gluten free so I was thinking it would be good for making veggie pasta. But I opt for spaghetti squash for my "pasta" so no need to spiralize. I do though use my salad shooter like crazy LOL I am a sucker for kitchen gadgets!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Not anymore. Too much work and it tastes the same as cubes... so why bother?
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    I really like mine, especially during the summer. I eat a lot of cucumber noodles when it is hot.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    I use mine quite a bit. Especially in the summer when I had lots of zucchini from my garden!
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    edited December 2016
    It's fun once in a while but I don't use it regularly. I'm actually using it tonight though, got some ground turkey to use up so I'll make a bolognese sauce and spiralize some zucchini to go with.

    The other regular thing I'll do with it is veggie salads.
  • Sumiblue
    Sumiblue Posts: 1,597 Member
    I love my spiralizer! Def get the kind with the crank handle. I had a cheap one that you just twisted the vegetable into it. I broke it in about 3 minutes. I have a Vegetti now. I use it to make butternut squash ribbons and then roast them-so good! Beets, too, but messy and take a long time to cook. I even spiralizer turnips and roasted them. They were great. Zucchini are super easy to do.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    edited December 2016
    Bought a cheap handheld one (probably the same tpye that broke on @Sumiblue above) at Ross for just a few bucks but haven't tried to use it yet.

    Might give it a try soon but only plan to use it w/zuchinni to make pseudo "noodles" for soup and whatnot or for making grilled patties.

    If it breaks, I'd just toss it out and wouldn't buy another, since I just consider it a fad/gimmmick that I woild never normally need to use in my cooking.
  • iris2811
    iris2811 Posts: 124 Member
    I really thought i want one - bought one, hardly used it - find it awkward and difficult to clean. ... will pas it on as soon as someone mentions they want one :-)
  • Sumiblue
    Sumiblue Posts: 1,597 Member
    Add some Laughing Cow cheese to cooked (& still hot) Zoodles for a easy cream sauce.
  • sunburntgalaxy
    sunburntgalaxy Posts: 455 Member
    I got mine over a year ago and haven't used it - to be fair there was a period of time I didn't have access to it (fire so out of the house for 6 months) but still, I didn't use it before and haven't used it since. I want to but I am honestly lazy (like I think the plastic protection film is still on the blade lazy).
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    I used it more in the summer when zucchini was dirt cheap. It's definitely a pain to clean, but if you do a bunch at one time and don't use the really wet parts, they store in the fridge for a week in an airtight container. I eat them with poached eggs and srichacha, in lieu of noodles or mixed with noodles, with a lean cuisine to beef it up. Apples are fun too --- put in a little dish and sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar and bake. Tons of recipes on Pinterest.
  • Sumiblue
    Sumiblue Posts: 1,597 Member
    edited December 2016
    Sweet potatoes are good spiralized & roasted, too. I did plain old potatoes and they were like shoestring fries-but roasted not fried. Apples are a great idea!
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    Yep, for four years or so I've used it regularly.

    For free recipes and lots of ideas https://inspiralized.com/spiralizer-recipes/
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    I use it mostly with zucchini & yellow squash. I use the noodles in place of pasta or in a salad with chicken and various seasonings.
  • mlsh1969
    mlsh1969 Posts: 138 Member
    Definitely use mine, especially for zucchini
  • katthouse499
    katthouse499 Posts: 50 Member
  • b3achy
    b3achy Posts: 2,142 Member
    edited December 2016
    I have the cheap hand held one from Vegetti, and like it a lot. I really enjoy my spaghetti, so it has been great to use on Zucchini and Summer Squash to make Zoodles and Squoodles to go with my spaghetti sauce (much lower in calories than pasta and much better tasting than most rice pastas). I also found a recipe to make Parmesan Garlic Zoodles, which I do occasionally. I have a hard time getting enough vegetables (not a fan and get tired of salads), so this is a good way for me to get them. Might need to try some other veggies from the recipe site.

    With the hand held one, if you use the top of the stem of the vegetable rather than the silly little cap that comes with it, it is much easier to use, IMO. You have to be careful though because as you get near the top, you can scrape up your fingers (so that is the best time to use the cap), but I found the cap was sort of a pain to use on the vegetable before most of it is turned into noodles.

    The biggest negative to me is that sometimes the vegetables are too big to fit into the hand held one, so you may need to cut them down. Looks like that's not a problem with the hand crank one. I haven't found it really any harder to clean than a hand grater.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    Bought my wife a, what we thought was, decent one in Nov. But the suction cup doesn't work worth crap. Suggested she take it back and we try for a better one, but she didn't. I may make some kind of plate to mount it to, but as it is she can't really use it so I have to do all the work with it.

    I don't like veggies enough to have a use for it myself.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    I have a Vegeti but want to get a crank one instead of the hand held model. I do like the spirals, as a texture thing. I like stretching a serving of bean pasta with them. I'd also like to try some other vegetables, like turnips because I think they'd be amazing.
  • dutchandkiwi
    dutchandkiwi Posts: 1,389 Member
    We have one and we use it on a regular basis. We are finding it a fun way to deal with many vegetables. Though I admit it's novelty has worn off a bit and I think we end up using it more in summer (which says more about us that the spiralizer)
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    We bought the cheap one. We use it. Definitely more during summer, but we do use it.
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    I have a Vegeti but want to get a crank one instead of the hand held model. I do like the spirals, as a texture thing. I like stretching a serving of bean pasta with them. I'd also like to try some other vegetables, like turnips because I think they'd be amazing.

    The mushroom turnip risotto from inspiralized is so good! We're making a butternut squash gratin as a side for Christmas - spiralized, of course.
  • I don't use mine a ton, but I like it. I'm diabetic, so I try to avoid pasta, even tho I love it.
  • kasaz
    kasaz Posts: 274 Member
    I've only had mine for a couple of weeks, but have used it twice for zucchini/summer squash noodle.
    My husband likes them fine too, so I think we'll keep using it. After draining in a colander I pat them with paper
    towels to remove a little more of the liquid.
  • sarko15
    sarko15 Posts: 330 Member
    I like mine okay when I use it, but I don't have a dishwasher so it's a *kitten* to clean. It's definitely more fun to look at, but the effort isn't necessarily worth the return when I can just chop veggies with a knife. Also, I bought a spiralized veggie cookbook but it just hasn't really inspired me to cook from it because it's just veggie noodles substituted for wheat noodles which I could figure out myself.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    I have the one with the cups you attach to the counter and I just douse the whole thing under the kitchen tap spray. If there are any stubborn bits, a quick scrub with a brush gets them off.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    @Queenmunchy -- will you please post the recipe for The butternut squash gratin?
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    nowine4me wrote: »
    @Queenmunchy -- will you please post the recipe for The butternut squash gratin?

    @nowine4me http://www.skinnytaste.com/butternut-squash-gratin/
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