Today we busted out our brand new spiralizer for the first time! I’d been wanting to buy a proper one for a while (we had that cheap little crappy handheld kind before this), so Whole30 presented the perfect opportunity to take the plunge and add another piece of my equipment to my way, WAY overstocked-and-completely-without-available-storage-space kitchen.

Meaning it shall live in my bedroom closet.

We got this one by Briefton on Amazon:

The little handheld one could only handle zucchini, so I’m looking forward to seeing what this one can do with carrots, butternut squash, various potatoes, etc. Seems really sturdy so far, and I love that the extra blade cartridges (for cutting various noodle widths) have storage within the unit and in another caddy alongside it. My only gripe is when you push the platform as you’re cranking, it pushes the bowl you’re cranking your zoodles INTO away as well. I think I’m probably supposed to put down a cutting board instead of a bowl to avid this? I’ll give that a shot next time.

As it was our first time using a proper spiralizer, we…were not expecting this…”stamen” situation to emerge from the prong that holds the vegetable in place. It is wiggly and it is comical.

LICK IT! LICK THE STAMEN!

Alright that’s enough of that. Until we make another one.

Look how looooong this zoodle is! I’m going to eat the whole thing.

In addition to some simple pan-sautéed zucchini and summer squash zoodles and…er, squoodles?…Trey prepared one of the guidebook’s baseline recipes, Perfect Pan-Seared Chicken Breast.

When I first bought the guide, I have to admit I scoffed at this section a bit, even telling Dana the recipes in the book looked okay, but there was too much wasted space talking about how to prepare basics, like veggies, various meat proteins, egg styles, etc. I don’t need all that, I’ve been cooking and studying cooking forever, dammit!!

Silly me. This chicken is *fantastic*. Look how…well, perfect it is.

Also if you EVER prepare meat in your home and you don’t have a meat thermometer, GET. A. DAMN. MEAT THERMOMETER. Don’t be an idiot like me who put this off for the past 5 years. There are perfectly serviceable ones on Amazon for $15, just buy one. You will never, ever, EVER have over-or-undercooked meat again. Ever. Before the thermometer, I was the kind of person who’d cut into the middle of my chicken breasts and try to peek in to see if they were done. So stupid. Just get this one cheap tool that does that work for you without you being required to massacre your meal before plating.

As is our custom, we sliced up the chicken breast so that we can store and scoop out whatever portion of protein we need for the next few days:

And boom. Add a little more herb mayo to the side for compliant fat, and dinner is served.

Succulent. I really, really don’t miss bread and dairy yet, guys. I really don’t.

That’s a wrap! See you on Day 5.