Butternut Squash Zoodle Noodle and Quinoa Salad

Over the past few weeks, I have been fortunate enough to be able to watch my daughter at Tennis practice and competing in games. Before I head out each afternoon, I pack us a bag with food and water as I get hungry mid-afternoon, and she is always hungry after expending so much energy in athletics. Last week, I packed a Butternut Squash Zoodle Noodle and Quinoa Salad in a jar, along with a few ‘Perfect bars’, and just knew I had to share this recipe idea with you. But, let’s start here first:

What is a Zoodle?

I am sure you all have either seen, bought, or have been given one of those Zoodle machines, aka spiralizer, that takes a vegetable and basically, spiralizes it so that it resembles a long curly Q. The most common vegetable to turn into a Zoodle is a zucchini hence, the Z in zoodle however, these days, just about any spiralized vegetable is referred to as a Zoodle. The most common Zoodle noodles are zucchini, butternut squash, carrots and beets.

Can you eat Zoodles raw?

I can tell you that I have not even tried eating Zoodles raw! However, I did do some research for you and found out that, as you would suspect, it is perfectly acceptable to eat the Butternut Squash Zoodles raw. It would probably make them stand up even better in a premade salad such as the one I made today. For this recipe though, I went ahead and gave them a quick saute in some avocado oil. You could also steam them a few minutes as well.