Zoodles (aka zucchini noodles) were once a dinner table staple for only the most dedicated of dieters, but no more! These days it seems everyone from the professional food blogger, to celebrity Food Network chefs are jumping on the zoodle trend and singing the praises of the kitchen tool that magically transforms ordinary vegetables into fun, pasta-like squiggles: the spiralizer.

But the spiralizer isn't just beloved by professional chefs—more and more home cooks are raving about the tool too. Below, we outlined five reasons why you might to jump on this nutritious, instagram-worthy trend, and add a spiralizer to your kitchen.

They come in all shapes and sizes.

You might not be crazy about the idea of investing in a single-use machine that takes up space on your counter—but not all spiralizers are large. You can find handheld versions that are small enough to fit inside a kitchen drawer or inside a cupboard, saving you precious counter space—a huge plus if you live in an apartment or just have a small kitchen.

Of course, if you do have space to spare, there are some benefits to the larger spiralizer machines. They often have strong mechanisms to hold the vegetables in place for you, making the cutting process easier. Hand-held versions, while compact, require you to use quite a lot more manpower, and might only work well on softer vegetables (like zucchini). The bigger spiralizers, on the other hand, are much more versatile, which leads us to point two:

It's for more than just zucchini.

Yes, zoodles is a fun word to say, but if you (like me) aren't a huge fan of zucchini, you can still get into the vegetable noodles game. Most of the larger spiralizers are capable of making noodles out of sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, squash, potatoes, and even hard fruits like apples. They can even cut the veggies into different-size strips, producing angel hair-like strands, flat ribbons, or thicker curly fries.

Zoodles are diet-friendly. Like, ALL diets friendly.

There are lots of healthful reasons to like zoodles. Not only are they a great way to eat more veggies and reduce your carb intake, but they're also a friendly pasta-alternative for people with celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, or a wheat allergy. They're also paleo-friendly, Atkins-friendly, and pretty much compatible with any other popular diet we can think of.

Kids might eat more veggies.

Okay, we're not going to tell you that a spiralizer will suddenly make your little one eat all of their veggies. But cutting up those dreaded carrots or apples into fun-to-play with shapes certainly isn't going to hurt. Making healthy foods a little more fun is a great way to try and convince your kids to try something new while also making it okay for them to play with their food.

Salads are just the beginning.

We've talked a lot about diets and healthy recipes in this article, but nobody says you have to eat your zoodles raw (or even leave them as zoodles). Boil them, bake them, saute them, or even deep-fry them if that makes the idea of vegetable noodles more appealing to you. The spiralizer can be a great way to make your own homemade curly fries or add vegetables to your favorite macaroni and cheese recipe. At the end of the day, this handy kitchen tool just makes vegetables more fun and versatile, so let your imagination lead you where it will.