Please Help! I am spending way too much time dicing up vegetables in the kitchen lately!

I need to know if there is a good slicer-dicer out there on the market because I like my vegetables in tiny little diced up squares and it seems to take me forever standing there chop chop chop with my knife...

Does anybody use a slicer that actually WORKS?? I know there's alot of bulls##t products out there like the slap-chop. Tried once and it is ONLY good for cutting up onions. It wont get straight through the skins of anything like bell peppers etc.

Does anybody have a suggestion?

The only one I have ever found was a decent food processor, or a decent mandolin (not the plastic useless ones found on shopping networks a catering one) neither of which are cheap I'm afraid.

I bought a kitchenaid mandolin for about $30 - I've had it for about a month and I like it. It saves lots of time.

I have a Rosle chopper that works very well Rosle Vegetable Chopper, but normally i use my Zyliss mandoline to slice veggies up.

About $45.It has held up fine for nearly every day use for 7 years.I'm slicing squash, onion, potatoes every day with it. I'll just dice up the slices with a Chef's Knife for most jobs.

I've also been thinking about buying prechopped onion,pepper,celery from restaurant supply places. Though I'm concerned that I won't use them up fast enough. Also, I wonder about oxidation of the cut portions and impact on nutrition.

I'm willing to spend good money on something that will save me a couple of hours a week! Money is not an object with this purchase lol. I just find on shopping day, if I want to come home and get everything ready for the week, I usually end up spending an hour standing there washing and chopping. It's super annoying. I know that during the work-week I will not have the time or even the desire to stand there after a day of work. So I try to do most of it on the weekend. But even still I cannot avoid having to do it a couple of times throughout the week also just because not everything can be chopped up and sit for a few days. So if life is easier with a $130 mandolin then i'm in!

I did see one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnremTQSrG0&feature=related
It seems like an awesome tool but i'm not sure if they sell it anywhere in my town. I'll be out looking for it today. I love how it will actually DICE the veggies as well

Definitely a mandoline.

Definitely watch your fingers and always use the pusher. I consider it a triumph when I use the mandoline and don't draw blood.

if you don't get on with the pusher use a clean old tea towel folded 2 or three times.

I checked out that vid, and maybe it's just me, but the way you have to rotate the holder before each swipe looks like a pain, or rather it would become one pretty soon. When I start "mandol-ineing", I do it FAST. Turning at each run would slow me down a lot, or so I think.

But.. I think you should get one and let us know how it goes!

I also wonder how well the mandoline would sit on top of a bowl, and where you would hold it. That's one of the things I like about the smaller handle type mandolins, you can position it above a bowl and easily slice right into the bowl. Great for salads or right on to baking sheets.

But, I still think you should get one of those WS units, try it and report back. Inquiring minds want to know!

I also go for mandoline.

well... the pricetag of the one in the video is about 300 dollars LOL. So its going on my christmas wish list (crosses fingers)

I simply cannot get away with buying it just because I want it. But my husband already said you will have it one day!!! I love his expensive tastes He's totally the posh one out of the two of us! So for now I will look for an inexpensive alternative to this dream mandolin of my future!

I checked out the starfrit brand one because it was the only one on the shelves at wal-mart or any other store I tried. It looks like a totally cheap piece of crap. Not even worth opening the box. So i'll have to check a homewares store like homesense or somewhere. I'll keep you all posted

$300? Screw that. Go to Amazon, search for mandoline, and look at the ones that are highly rated. I use the Swissmar Borner V-1001 and I've been reasonably happy with it. Plus, it's about a tenth of the price.

If you spend $20-30 for a mandoline and decide it's not for you, then you've performed a reasonably inexpensive experiment. If you buy it and love it then you've saved $270. If you buy it and decide that you like it in general but you're not too wild about that specific model, then you've learned a lesson and you have a spare.

That price is mad. I know I said they were expensive but catering ones are only £50/£60.

Gino d'Campo brought out a small one a few years ago. It's brilliant and easy to clean. About £20

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Black-Decker-Handy-Chopper-Plus-1.5-Cup-White/11186318 I have a chopper similar to this one. I LOVE it. It's kind of like a food processor, but so much easier to clean because it is small. You can chop food up into little pieces, or puree it. I puree a lot of vegetables like onions, carrots, and celery and add them to recipes. I don't like onions unless they are cooked soft, don't like celery at all, and can't stand cooked carrots, but if I throw them in and puree them I can't taste them when I put them in soups or sauces. It's also a good way to sneak veggies into the kiddos.

For under $20 - Vidallia Onion Chopper. Has choice of two size square blades. I use it for everything - then throw it into the dishwasher.