The BEST Zoodle Salad (that you can top with just about anything!)

This is another one of my go to make a whole big batch to eat all week recipes. Why? Because it is super easy, has very few ingredients and tastes awesome alone or with pretty much anything on top of it. Shrimp, chicken, quinoa, lamb meatballs and tzatziki sauce, fresh mozzarella, basil and balsamic drizzle. You name it and it will probably work. Sometimes I switch up the herbs based on what I have (hello fresh cilantro or basil) and it still works.

AND I get to bust out my favorite kitchen tool to make it.

I have not been shy about the fact that I am in LOVE with my spiralizer and use it for everything from zucchini and summer squash to sweet potatoes and parsnips but I will tell you that this recipe may be my absolute FAVORITE from now on.

I have been following Danielle Walker on social media and  reading her cookbooks, Against All Grain and  Meals Made Simple (both of which are awesome by the way) and have been really just trying to cut back on the amount of grain that is in our diets. It's one of those things (like dairy) that until you really start to think about it you don't notice how much of it is everywhere. And too much of anything is not a good thing, so if I can make a yummy sub for noodles in a recipe with a veggie that offers way more nutrition, it's a win for everyone. Even my four year old gobbles them up and loves to help me turn the crank. She thinks watching the zucchini go from a whole zucchini to noodles is the coolest. And she likes feeding my puppies the "core" that gets left behind.

Here's what I did:

Ingredients:

2 large zucchini
2 medium/large yellow summer squash
1 TBS cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp dried oregano (or 1 1/2 tsp fresh)*
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 red onion sliced **

Using a spiralizer or julienne peeler, make noodles from the zucchini and summer squash. Toss with lemon juice, olive oil, oregano and salt. Allow to marinade for 15-20 minutes.

If I have tomatoes on hand I toss those in sometimes too.

And that's it. Super easy.

*I have also subbed in fresh cilantro, fresh basil or any other herb I have on hand depending on what I am serving the salad with and the direction I want to go. The oregano works well with lamb meatballs and tzatziki sauce, the cilantro works well with shrimp and chicken. And I like to add basil, tomato and fresh mozzarella for a different spin on a caprese salad.

** I have used almost any kind of onion in this salad (sweet, red, green, basically whatever I have on hand) and it is always amazing.


21 Day Fix:

2 green
1 spoon

(plus measure containers for any extras like quinoa, shrimp, chicken, cheese, etc)

Zoodles (and why this zucchini noodle maker is for so much more than zucchini)

I have been obsessed with the idea of zucchini noodles for a long time. I just loved the idea of them. In salads, mixed with pasta to bulk up my veggie intake (and cut down on my pasta intake!) alone, mixed with other things, as a side dish. The idea of being able to twirl my zucchini instead of stab it made me very excited. Maybe because it is different or that because we are so conditioned to look at pasta as something indulgent....so twirling zucchini taps into that happy place for me?

Sometimes it's better to just go with it.

So I did.

I sucked it up and bought myself a vegetable spiralizer. I was so excited when that box showed up on my front porch that I squealed. Mama had a new toy to play with! Since it was one of those things I really, really, really, really wanted, I looked into a bunch of different kinds before I bought it and narrowed it down to two:

the kind that spiralizes the way you would sharpen a pencil (like the Kitchen Basics® Spiral Vegetable Slicer)

or

the kind that you turn a crank and out pop the noodle shaped veggies (like the Paderno Spiral Vegetable Slicer)

Since I am of the overdramatic, overcommitted, go big or go home mentality, I went with the Paderno. Plus I figured I would get really annoyed sharpening multiple zucchini at a time. I am not a patient person. (I pretty much trick my husband into cutting and dicing veggies whenever I can.) I figured that one would just end up in the back of a drawer after I my arm hurt from doing it the first time and I would never use it again. But if you are more patient than I, it may be a nice option. It would take up less space in an already crowded kitchen for sure.

I was a little disappointed in the plasticness of it. It wasn't very sturdy feeling. I wanted something that felt solid like if I was going to crank out veggie noodles for the next three hours it would stand up to the challenge. 

But overall, not bad. Once I got the push and crank at the same time thing down it went really smoothly. A little messy (ok a lot messy but that was probably 90%my fault as I am the messiest cook ever.) AND I found out this little baby is not just for zucchini. 

I spent the week spiralizing anything I could get my hands on. Apples (for a awesome zucchini apple salad I took to a cookout), sweet potatoes, turnips, rutabagas, yellow summer squash....and I have lots on my list to try. Like beets, carrots, cabbage, pears, cucumbers....basically if I can get it to stick onto the little grippers, I am going to try and spiralize it. (Which is another reason I am glad I chose the crank and turn version, I am not too sure how well a big old sweet potato would fit in the little one.)

I have also been making a big batch of a basic zoodle salad and keeping that in the fridge. I then dress it up with different things for lunches or dinners. Ground turkey, salsa and all my favorite taco toppings for a spin on a taco salad,  lamb meatballs and tzatziki sauce for a little greek flavor, chopped tomatoes, basil and fresh mozzarella for a summery caprese salad. 

The Paderno also came with a few extra blade sizes so you can do little c shaped cuts, thicker linguini style noodles or the ones that are more like spaghetti. Which I probably will never use. I was hoping one would cut potatoes like the ribbon fries you can buy at a fair in the summer. I mean how much would baked ribbon fries rock with some clean burgers for dinner? I was sadly mistaken and just ended up with linguini sized cuts instead.

But overall I am still super stoked about my newest kitchen tool. I mean they even twirl like spaghetti. And my kiddo thinks it is way more fun to eat worm veggies instead of cut up veggies. She devoured her zucchini and made birdie noises while she did it. A new toy for me and a win! I will chalk that up to an awesome day.