Everyone here knows about zucchini noodles, right? They're easy, cheap and delicious. I ate them a lot when I was trying a vegan diet - at least now I get to put meatballs on them! And I can't wait to try some of the great veggie puree recipes here as sauce. Other ideas for sauces welcome, especially since my go-to tomato sauce is restricted.

I use a Saladacco spiral slicer, which does an ok but not great job. Does anyone have a really great tool to recommend? Thanks!

I just bought an Oxo Good Grip julienne slicer at Bed Bath and Beyond $9.99. I used it this weekend to Julienne cucumber for an Asian cold salad. Worked like a charm!!! Super super easy!

In the recipe thread there is a recipe for a red pepper sauce that people RAVE about and use instead of tomato/spaghetti sauce. The search for this forum isn't the best but if you google 3 fat chicks ideal protein and the item you are searching for, you can almost always find anything in the forum.

Someone else may be able to post the link for you here.

I'm going to head out to BBB tomorrow and pick up an Oxo julienner! Thanks for the info

You don't want a julienne slicer if you are making a lot of zucchini noodles at once. I went to williams and sonoma and bought one there and only used it twice b/c it takes so long. I bought a spiral slicer off of Amazon....the same slicer goes by several different names b/c different companies sell it but if you search for spiral slicer you'll see them pull up. I'd buy the cheapest bc it's the same. It's the one that comes with 3 blades. Like this one "New and Essential Tri-Blade Spiral Vegetable Slicer"
It's so easy to use, fast and easy to clean. Those zucchini noodles cook down a lot, I think we end up doing something like 2 zucchini per person.

I've seen the roasted red pepper sauce, can't wait to try it! Hope, i've seen that product and wondered if it was worth the kitchen reveal estate, so thanks for the review. Have you tried using it on other vegetables? And how do you cook your noodles? I usually eat them raw or very lightly steamed.

If you really like zucchini noodles, I think it's worth it. For me it's the only way I can have spaghetti so I love it, plus I trick my kids into eating vegetables with it. I go through phases of making zucchini noodles (mainly b/c we are in transition right now with selling our house so keeping the house clean and cooking was hard to do) so I haven't used it for other vegetables yet, but I think it's work great. If you eat RAW then I think it would be an excellent addition b/c you can slice all those vegetables and fruits thin for dehydrating, etc
For me, I wouldn't ever make them if I had to use the julienne peeler b/c I don't want to be in the kitchen longer than I have too but you might be different and enjoy food prep.
I've regretted purchasing some kitchen gadgets (like a wok), but not that one
I plan to use it more in the future when life settles down and I can focus more on cooking.
I steam them in a frying pan with a little water until soft and then make spaghetti b/c the tomato sauce hides the color (for the kids)

This is a new idea to me. I have never eaten zucchini (courgettes as the British call them!) noodles.

Do you have to salt them first and let them sit to get the moisture out of them?

Nope. Just julienne slice them, the sautee lightly in a little olive oil until they are softened but not mushy (1-2 minutes). You can do the same thing with cucumbers (I use the long English cucumbers), those make great noodles for asian style dishes!

I salt them or not depending on the use. When I make angel hair to be eaten with a fresh uncooked tomato sauce, I'd just salt to taste before serving (this is best eaten immediately). Thicker raw noodles to be eaten with a hot sauce get salted and put in a colander while I make the sauce. I might microwave or saute them for a few minutes. The zucchini itself is another factor - if it's a big zucchini, salt will tenderize it. The little ones don't need it and are great for eating raw. But really, you can't go too wrong, and if something goes wrong there's always more zucchini.

I also slice zucchini on a mandolin and use them as lasagne noodles (NOT on IP - though you could maybe in another phase when you can have a bit of cheese). It does make an outstanding substitute for the noodle and can go in your favorite lasagne recipe. I make it w/meat but last month made it as a veggie lasagne for a friend.

This can be done completely IP friendly! You don't have to have the cheese, though it's a nice addition for later. Just use red pepper puree if you don't want to use a restricted veggie, and measure everything carefully. (a medium zucchini is about 2 cups of veggie so if you julienne the whole thing that's how you'd count it).

I use my OXO peeler at least 3 times a week.

Twice for "spaghetti and meatballs" (zucchini noodles and lean ground beef with WF tomato basil sauce) and once for cold cucumber salad (cucumber noodles, thinly sliced red onion, sea salt, black pepper, oil and apple cider vinegar).

Yummy!

Oooh I love the sound of that cucumber salad!!!

Very refreshing...let me know what you think if you try it!

I have to buy red onion for some of the freezer bulk cooking recipes I'm doing this week, so I will definitely give it a try! Cukes are my fave