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#1

As the weather gets warmer, I like to add more raw food to my daily fare. Last year, I was particularly intrigued with the idea of making raw “noodles” from zucchini and summer squash, as I’d seen demonstrated in a number of raw food videos and books such as Mimi Kirk’s Live Raw. ^[2]

To be honest, I doubt that zucchini—even raw—is as nutritious as pasta, which at least can boast protein and B vitamins; but in my case it has been more a matter of feeling lighter and digesting better. And anything noodle-y, whether made of squash or some sort of flour, can serve as the backdrop for nutritious sauces like Spinach-Miso Pesto. ^[3]

I decided to invest in one, and found that the World Cuisine Spiral Slicer, ^[4]at about $35, seems to be the most popular and well-rated on Amazon.com. The people have clearly spoken!

^[5]This spiral slicer comes with three changeable blades. It’s lightweight yet durable, and easy to clean. It takes mere minutes, if not seconds, to accomplish the task at hand, and all this is done with a hand-crank—no electric power needed. Here is the result of some of my experimenting, and what I did with them:

1. Basic zucchini noodles (Top, at the beginning of this post)—here’s how they look coming out of the machine, using the fine blade.
2. Zucchini noodles in a bowl. Aren’t they pretty?  Here’s a way to use them: Raw Squash “Noodles” with Fresh Tomato Sauce ^[6].
3. The slicer blade makes long, very thin spirals from cucumber. A very crisp cucumber is a must for this. I cut the long pieces (or was it all one piece?) into bite-sized segments and marinated them in rice vinegar and a little natural granulated sugar. After an hour or so, I poured most of the liquid off and sprinkled with sesame seeds.
4. The same slicer blade made these pretty potato spirals. They’re so even and thin, this would probably be an incredible way to make homemade potato chips in the oven.
5. Slicer blade, part three—I sliced an apple, and though it didn’t make spirals, it made super-thin slices that might appeal to toddlers and young children. These paper-thin slices would be perfect for using in raw apple desserts. A dehydrator would make quick work drying these, or you can bake them in the oven at a low temperature to make apple chips.
6. The larger spiral blade made quick work of an onion—and it was tear-free! These would be nice added to roasted vegetable medleys, or sautéed until golden as a start for a stir-fry or for topping pizza.

One major disappointment is that this tool comes with scant information, and no recipes. There’s a one-page flyer that comes with it, plus instructions printed on the box. Most enterprising cooks (or raw food enthusiasts, as the case may be) can figure it out, and find creative ways to use this machine, but more info would have been useful.

As I was experimenting, it occurred to me that making all these neat shapes and spirals from veggies (as well as fruits—see the apple slices, below) can make produce of all sorts more enticing to kids and other finicky eaters. Let your kids help make these fun vegetable cuts, and I doubt they’d be able to resist eating them. Please supervise kids, and tell them to keep their fingers away from the blades, which are super-sharp. And do the same when you rinse the blade plates—if you see something stuck in a blade, dig it out with a fork or knife, not your fingers!

Bottom line—can I live without this spiral slicer? Definitely. It’s not a must-have like my dearly loved and daily used Vitamix. ^[7] Do I recommend it? Most definitely! While it’s not something a healthy kitchen can’t do without, it’s great fun, and for anyone who enjoys “noodling around” in the kitchen (pun intended), and finding more ways to prepare produce, the small investment is worth making. See more about the World Cuisine Spiral Slicer on Amazon.com. ^[4] 

• Read more reviews of products for healthy living in VegKitchen’s Product Guide. ^[8]