Zucchini love
Zucchini is a food that feeds us all year long. We have such a love for this summer gourd that we take pictures of out kids with zucchini bats each year. If anyone ever want to guess the secret ingredient, they always know it's ZUCCHINI!!! I shred it and use it to make zucchini pancakes, zucchini breads, breakfast bars, and cookies. It's awesome as a filling for banana peppers and cubed in lentils and other bean dishes.
To preserve the overabundance I usually have, I freeze it shredded to be added to soups, stews, and sauces throughout the winter. I do this in 2 cups increments to make it easy to add to recipes, as this is often the amount called for.
Why is zucchini sooooo awesome? It's a veggie that can be delicate enough in baked goods and also hardy enough to be turned savory. It has been shown to have great anti-inflammatory properties. Make sure you grow or buy organic, and leave the skin on! The skins contain additional antioxidants, but also easily absorb chemicals, since it's a soft skin. Zucchini is VERY low glycemic, and packed with water, making it a great hydrating food to both eat and it creates moisture in recipes! Its seeds also are great, and a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, so don't discard! For more on the health benefits of zucchini, click here.
My zucchini recipes were often laden with oils, sugars, and refined flours. I have adapted them to be both gluten free, vegan, and made without refined ingredients. It's easy to adapt recipes if you know what to swap out. Apple sauce and nut butters are great for replacing oils. To replace refined sugars, I use date paste primarily. Dates are lower glycemic, high in potassium, and fiber, making them more slowly digested without leading to blood sugar spikes. To make your own date paste, click here to learn how. To swap out traditional flours, I make my own oat flour by grinding up oats in my Vitamix. Oats are high in fiber, and help to lower cholesterol levels in the body.
Below you'll find some of my most recent recipes including zucchini. Check my blog for many more in the upcoming weeks. Happy zucchini days to you!
Read more about 10 Ways to Sneak In More Veggies!
Jessica of www.gardenfreshfoodie.com
