7 Easy Ways to Use Up That Zucchini!

Do you find your refrigerator overrun with zucchini each summer? I just can't bring myself to throw any away (I have serious feelings of guilt and remorse if any fresh veggies don't get used in a timely fashion)- so over the years my son John and I have come up with quite a range of zucchini recipes.

Zucchini is a great veggie. It's fairly neutral in flavor and can be crisp, tender or soft in preparation. It is low in calories (about 35 calories per cup) and is entirely fat-free. One cup contains 340 mg. of potassium, 530 IUs of vitamin A and 70 mg. of phosphorus. It's also a good source of fiber if consumed with the skin intact (4 grams per cup).

So how do we use up our overabundance of zucchini?

Here are some really simple recipes:

Broiled Zucchini Cut off ends and slice, end to end, in half. Lay halves on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil or dot with organic butter/coconut butter and sprinkle lightly with sea salt and oregano. Broil on the top rack until the tops are lightly browned. A great easy side dish.

Veggie Dippers Slice zucchini into sticks or rounds for serving with hummus or other veggie dips.

Fresh Veggie Dip Who said veggies can't be a main ingredient in the dip as well as serve as a "dipper"?! Puree the following ingredients together in a food processor: 2 zucchini, 1/8 cup red/sweet onion, 4 cloves garlic, 1/4 cup fresh parsley, juice of 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup), 1/4 cup tahini (sesame paste), 2 Tbsp. olive oil, 1 tsp. ground cumin, 1/2 tsp. sea salt, opt: 1 tsp. dill weed. Dip away!

Zucchini Fritters Combine 3/4 cup water with 1 cup bean flour (gram or besan flour, made from channa dal and available from Indian groceries, is an excellent choice), 1/2 tsp. ground cumin, 1/2 tsp. sea salt and a pinch of cayenne. Mix in 1 grated zucchini and cook for a couple of minutes on each side on a hot oiled skillet.

Sauteed Zucchini Saute 1 sliced onion in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil until tender. Thinly slice 2-3 zucchinis and add to saute pan with 1/4 tsp. sea salt and 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning. Another great side.

Zucchini on the Grill Slice large zucchini into long 1/2" diagonal slices. Toss in a ziploc bag with an oil-and-vinegar-based dressing plus a pinch of sea salt. Grill on each side for a couple of minutes. Tender and tasty!

Zucchini Pasta Many people are surprised by how easy and tasty this recipe is. The trickiest part is finding a spiral slicer (Joyce Chen has a Saladacdo Spiral Slicer that is excellent and inexpensive). It's really worth buying this tool. You could alternatively use a vegetable peeler and make fettucini-style noodles instead of spaghetti-style noodles. In any case, slice raw zucchini into pasta noodles and then top with raw or cooked pasta sauce. The "noodles" are nice and light and a little "al dente". My husband was really surprised by how good this is! You don't feel "weighed down" by it like with traditional pasta.

... oh, and of course there's zucchini bread, zucchini muffins, zucchini cookies and on and on. But this is a good simple sampling. I hope you enjoy trying a couple!

My son and I collaborated on a zucchini recipe booklet, John's Zucchini Book, a number of summers ago. You'll find about 30 other great zucchini recipes in its pages (28 of which happen to be gluten-free). Visit my website to learn more about it. You can also find more zucchini recipes at my blog (information below).

Kim Wilson has spent over 12 years working exclusively with whole foods to develop recipes that satisfy a variety of needs (for those just beginning to eat healthy to serious raw-fooders to those with extensive food allergies and health conditions like candida)- all in a tasty, enjoyable and affordable way. Her recipes are free of animal products, wheat, gluten, soy, dairy, eggs, yeast, sugar and other problematic foods. What's left, you might ask? Only the good stuff! For more information and recipes visit her website at http://www.simplynaturalhealth.com/ or her WHOLEmade recipe blog at http://www.simplynaturalhealth.com/recipeblog/.

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Put Your Crockpot or Slow Cooker to Work For You With This Marinated Pot Roast Dinner

If you have a slow cooker or crockpot sitting around seldom being used, you are failing to use a great kitchen resource. Whether you work outside the home, just have a busy schedule, or like to put a meal on to cook and forget about it for hours, the slow cooker is your best friend. Try this recipe for a great family meal without much effort on your part! Welcome your family home after a busy day with the tantalizing scent of this delicious meal coming from your kitchen. They are sure to appreciate this roast meal and shower you with praise. There is no need to let them know how easy it really was! This Marinated Pot Roast Dinner will no doubt become a family favorite with requests to have it again and again.

MARINATED POT ROAST DINNER
1 approximately 3 lb beef chuck roast
MARINADE:
1 1/2 cups tomato juice
1/4 cup wine vinegar
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp pepper

Trim excess fat from the roast. Cut roast if necessary to fit into the slow cooker or crockpot. Place the meat in a large zippered plastic bag sitting in a bowl.

For the marinade, stir together the tomato juice, vinegar, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, salt, sugar, basil, thyme, and pepper. Pour the marinade over the meat in the bag. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator, turning twice.

6 small onions, halved
1 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup cold water
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Place the onions and carrots in the bottom of the cooker. Place the meat over the vegetables and add the marinade. Add lid to the cooker and cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours.

Before serving, remove the roast and vegetables from the cooker. Skim excess fat from the liquid in the cooker. Measure 2 cups of the cooking liquid and pour into a saucepan. Return the meat and vegetables to cooker and cover to keep warm.

Blend the cold water slowly into the flour until smooth. Stir the flour mixture into the cooking liquid in the saucepan. Cook while stirring until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Place the meat on a warm serving platter and top with the vegetables. Pour some of the gravy over all. Set the remaining gravy on table and pass as needed.

Yield: 6 servings

Enjoy!

For more of Linda's slow cooker/crockpot recipes visit her blog at http://grandmasslowcookerrecipes.blogspot.com/
For her vast collection of old fashion recipes visit her blog at http://grandmasvintagerecipes.blogspot.com/

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Low Carb Diet Plan - Maple Walnut Cookie Crumble To Die For!

There are times when you just want a cookie. Right? The problem is you should never have white flour and sugar. Thankfully, there are ways to have something that has the texture and flavor of bakery items without actually having them. And these other things can be just as delicious if not more delicious and satisfying than what's being replaced!

Some folks need time to adjust to less sweetness. Others like it instantly. At this point, I can't stand anything that is very sweet. It just doesn't taste right.

Try this cookie crumble. It does have sweetness. Just not a ton. I think you could surprise yourself! This tastes really good to a lot of folks right away, especially those that have started to eat foods that are better for them.

This recipe is for one serving. You can easily adapt it to be for multiple servings if you wish. I like making one serving at a time. It has only 4 ingredients and takes 2 mins to make. And its very crunchy and fresh when its eaten.

Gather these ingredients.

¼ C Kellogg's All Bran

1 t chopped walnuts

1 t sugar-free maple syrup (I have used Vermont Sugar Free Butter Flavor Syrup)

6 Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Premium Baking Chips

Mix everything in a small serving dish (a monkey or crème brulee dish is ideal) for 1 or 2 seconds. Using a small spoon such as a demitasse spoon to eat this is suggested. You can savor every morsel!

It would be really good if you can drink a large glass of water (10 to 12 ounces) when you eat this. The fiber will swell and make you feel full and will be better utilized in general.

Nutritional Breakdown:

Item Cals Protein Carb Fat

¼ C All Bran 40 2g 12g(5g fiber).5g

1 t chopped walnuts 17.42g.33g 1.6g

1 t sugar-free maple syrup 3 0g 1g 0g

6 60% cacao baking chips 30.375g.5g 2.25g

Total 90 2.8g 13.8(5g fiber) 4.35g

When you have palatable choices like this, with time, you really can completely phase out all bakery items. For me at this point, I only have cake for significant birthday events and weddings. And I don't feel deprived at all. You can get there too. You just have to start working with different recipes and adjusting them.

Kathy is a healthy eating enthusiast and the founder of Scarfsense, an online boutique that features classic, timeless scarves as gifts. Consider the Scarfsense gift solution before you automatically send flowers or fruit as a gift for birthdays and holidays: http://scarfsense.com/send-fruit

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