Zucchini Spotlight: Simple, Seasonal & So Good for you!

• 

• 

If you have a garden—or know someone who does—you may suddenly have more zucchini than you know what to do with.

And that’s actually a pretty great problem to have.

Zucchini is one of those wonderfully simple foods. It’s affordable, versatile, full of water, and an easy way to increase the amount of vegetables and fiber in your meals.

What Does Zucchini Give Us?

One medium zucchini provides only around 30–35 calories while giving us fiber, vitamin C, potassium, folate, vitamin B6, and beneficial plant compounds.

Because zucchini has such a high water content, it also adds volume to meals without making them feel overly heavy.

And don't peel it! The skin adds additional fiber and nutrients.

Easy Ways to Eat More Zucchini

You really can put zucchini almost anywhere:

Roast it with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper

Grill thick slices alongside your protein

Shred it into eggs or an omelet

Add it to spaghetti sauce

Toss it into soups and stews

Make zucchini noodles

Shred it into muffins or breakfast breads

Add it to tacos or burrito bowls

Make zucchini fritters

Layer it into lasagna or casseroles

Make the Vegetable the Star

One thing I like to practice is changing the proportions of familiar meals.

Instead of a big bowl of pasta with a few vegetables, make a huge pan of zucchini, tomatoes and protein—and add a smaller amount of pasta.

You haven't eliminated anything. You've simply added more of the foods you want your body to have.

That's exactly what I'm doing this week.

I have zucchini growing in the garden along with beautiful little orange tomatoes. I'm making a huge zucchini bake with ground beef, tomatoes, zucchini, a little rigatoni and whatever else I already have in the house.

It's part of my low-cost pantry week—using what I already have, eating what is growing, and keeping food simple.

Healthy eating doesn't always require a new recipe, an expensive grocery trip, or a complicated plan.

Sometimes it starts in your own backyard.

What are you doing with all your zucchini this summer?

Share your favorite idea—I may need it!