food of the week: zucchini

8.23.2013


have you gone to the farmers market lately? is yours bursting with zucchini like ours is?! i am in love! zucchini is of my favorite veggies. but i only like it in the summer so when it is in season i load up. i went to the farmers market the other day and bought 5 zucchinis for $2.50, only $2.50! so i have been trying to come up with all of the things i can make with zucchini. so far i have made 12 loaves of zucchini bread (stop on over if you want some ;) ), zucchini salad, zucchini noodles (great gf dish!), and zucchini chips. so i thought because of all of the zucchini-ness that has been going on at my house i have to share some of the great benefits of zucchini and some lovely recipes to go along with it!

health benefits of zucchini:

helps prevent heart attack/stroke prevention. if you aren't aware, heart disease and stroke are on the raise every year here in the US. something that i think as americans we are taking all too light heartedly, anyways the point is one cup of zucchini contains over 10% of RDA of magnesium, which is a mineral proven to reduce risk of heart attack.

lowers blood pressure

high in manganese which is a nutrient that helps build healthy skin and ensures wounds heal properly.

high levels of fiber which is simply good for you, and also helps lower cholesterol. fiber encourages health and regular bowel movements, which in return helps prevents colon cancer.

one cup = 36 calories you can eat a whole lot of zucchini, get the amazing heath benefits, and savor the delicious flavors.

favorite zucchini recipes:


zucchini bread

3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
3 tsp. cinnamon
3 eggs
1 c. vegetable oil
2 1/4 c. white sugar
3 tsp. vanilla
2 c. grated zucchini
1 c. chocolate chips

1. preheat oven to 325  grease two pans, i used 8x4.
2. sift flour, salt, powder, soda, and cinnamon together, set aside.
3. beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar until smooth. gradually start mixing in flour mixture. do not over mix. stir in zucchini and chips. divided into pans.
4. bake for 40-60 minutes

zucchini "pasta" salad

1 cup shredded zucchini, i used a vegetable peeler to get my slices
grape tomatos
sunflower seeds
diced peppers of any sort
a sprinkle of sunflower seeds
juice from 1/2 lemon
drizzle of olive oil
dash a salt

put it all together and eat the summery goodness!

how do you like your zucchini? do you have any recipes to share, i'd love to hear!

10 comments:

  1. i made a zucchini and ground turkey dish last night and then added sauteed onions, peanut butter, and Sriracha it was actually really good!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I made an experimental zucchini dish last night with chopped chicken, shredded zucchini, egg, and a few other things mixed in. They turned almost like little potato pancakes or crab cakes - I cooked them on a skillet and we ate them with a dab of sour cream :) Pretty tasty for an experiment!

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  3. We made Skinnytaste's taco stuff zucchini boats recently and they were bangin'. Here's the recipe: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2013/07/taco-stuffed-zucchini-boats.html

    Happy Zucchini-ing! :)

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  4. Ever made the zucchini chips? Very yummy!

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  5. I LOVE zucchini! I cut it with a 'spiralizer' and steam it and then eat that in place of spaghetti noodles! With my homemade sauce it's delicious! And no carbs! Zucchini is my favorite vegetable!

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  6. I love zucchini! I'm the same way though I only use it when it's in season from my Mom's garden!!! I just shredded 6 cups yesterday so I can make zucchini muffins and bars! I used to eat like half the pan of zucchini bars when my mom made them growing up! SO GOOD!!!!

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  7. I love zucchini! I'm the same way though I only use it when it's in season from my Mom's garden!!! I just shredded 6 cups yesterday so I can make zucchini muffins and bars! I used to eat like half the pan of zucchini bars when my mom made them growing up! SO GOOD!!!!

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  8. Another amazing recipe to try is Zucchini Pizza. The BF gave it a 10 out of 10! So heck yes one to try out and it's even better with fresh zucchini from the Farmers Market!

    -Caitlyn // ChemGradBoom

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  9. I would love to stop on over for zucchini bread! And, yes, our farmers markets are stocked with zucchini! I love using it for a healthy version of pasta! -Jess L

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  10. I never liked zucchini as a kid but now I'm warming up to it. I just have to ask, the photo looks a lot like cucumbers, no?

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