Saturday 17 January 2015

Zucchini for the rescue

Rule 70

Zucchini.

Wow!
Talking about nature at its best!
You can eat it raw, you can cook it, make soups, quiches and dessert! It’s filling and low in calories! Even more than you think….
It comes in light green, dark green, yellow, straight shapes or round shapes.
Now I’m going to tell you something about myself…for a long time I didn’t have any zucchinis because I thought it was super high in carbs because it’s a squash… well guess what? I was wrong and now I’m enjoying it almost daily J
And another story about zucchini…you buy it and it seems pretty small, but in school me and my friend managed to get it to grow to the size of 3 months old baby!!!

Benefits: Lowers cholesterol, helps to manage your weight, reduces risk of heart attack, helps to regulate blood sugar, reduces blood presser, protects the eyes, reduces inflammations in the joints, helps against acne, reduces puffy eyes, anti-ageing, promotes hair growth, and more.

Nutritional value (per 100 grams/ ¾ cup): only 17 calories, 3 grams carbs,1.5 grams protein, .5 gram fat, 1 grams fiber, high in vitamin b’s complex, high in vitamins A,C,E and the snaky K! Good amount of electrolytes, high in minerals like: calcium, phosphors and magnesium.
Oh and before I forget, you can also eat the blossom of it! Pretty!

And of course….recipes!

Zucchizza:
Ingredients:
·         1 round zucchini
·         2 tbsp Low fat shredded cheese
·         Your choice of topping
Direction:
1.       Cut the zucchini to half and empty his “meat”
2.       Fill it with your favourite topping
3.       Add the cheese on top
4.       Bake for 20 minutes on 375f/180C



Dana’s Mexican boat:
Ingredients:
·         5 long zucchini
·         Dana’s salsa (recipe here)
·         Low fat cream cheese
Direction:
1.       Cut the zucchini in half and empty the “meat”
2.       Bake it for 30 min on 375F/180c
3.       Take out on put salsa inside the zucchini
4.       Bake for 7 min.
5.       Take out on put ½ tbsp. cream cheese on each zucchini
6.       Bake for another 7 min.


Zucchini veggies burgers:
Ingredients
·         1 19 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
·         1 cup grated zucchini (about 1 large zucchini), squeezed of excess liquid
·         2 tbsp ground flax
·         1 garlic clove, minced
·         1 tbsp chilli powder
·         1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
·         1/4 tsp cumin
Direction:
1.       Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2.       Take 3/4 of black beans (about 1 1/2 cups) and add to a large bowl. Mash with a potato masher or back of a fork until it has formed a sticky paste.
3.       Add in remainder of black beans, grated zucchini, flax, garlic and spices and use hands to mix together.
4.       Form into 4 patties. Do not flatten too much. Should be thick.
5.       Place patties on a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet and bake for 10 mins.
6.       Remove and flip. If patty breaks slightly, push back together using hands.
7.       Bake for another 10 minutes

Zucchini Raw pasta:
Ingredients
·         3 zucchini
·         Your choice of topping/sauce
Direction:
1.       Cut the zucchini small as possible
2.       Make sauce like you usually do for pasta
3.       Eat

Dana’s zucchini quiche:
Ingredients
·         4 zucchini shredded
·         1 cottage cheese
·         1 onion cut small
Direction:
1.       Add everything in a bowl and mix
2.       Put an oiled pan and bake for 40 min on 180C/375F

Zucchini chocolate balls:
Ingredients
·         2-3 zucchini shredded
·         ¼ cup cacao powder
·         ¼ cup stevia/ 6 dates pitted
·         ¼ cup nuts – optional
·         ¼ cup water
·         Sprinkles
Direction:
1.       Put everything in food processors
2.       Make small balls and cover in sprinkles
3.       Put in a fridge for 2 hours.

And that’s it! 6 recipes is good enough J

LOVE




Research and writing by Dana Gat ©2014