Benefits of Zucchini and Incredible Recipes

Zucchini is an easily digestible vegetable that combines as a meat, chicken or fish accompaniment and adds nutritional value without adding calories to any diet. In addition, due to its delicate flavor it can be added in purees, soups or sauces.

Zucchini is very versatile and can be eaten with onions in a simple braised as the main ingredient of a vegetable cream or stuffed with meat or chicken and some of its main benefits are:

1. Help to lose weight by varying the diet without increasing calories making the diet more palatable;
2. Relieving constipation because despite not being too many fibers, it has a large amount of water that hydrates the stool facilitating intestinal transit;
3. Be easy to digest, which makes it an excellent food for anyone who has gastritis or dyspepsia, for example.

In addition, its flower is considered a gourmet delicacy that is often served stuffed with the own zucchini.

Healthy Recipes with Zucchini

1. Zucchini with sweet and sour vegetables

This recipe is a great nutritious option to prepare a different dinner, where the meat can be replaced with vegetables and mushrooms.

Ingredients:

• 2 zucchini with peel cut into thin slices;
• 1 red pepper cut into strips;
• 2 sliced ​​onions;
• 2 shelled carrots cut into thin slices;
• 115 g broccoli;
• 115 g sliced ​​fresh mushrooms;
• 115 g chard cut into pieces;
• 1 cup of toasted cashew nut
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil;
• 1 teaspoon pepper sauce;
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar;
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce light;
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar.

Method of preparation

Start by heating the vegetable oil in a large skillet. Then sauté the onions over medium heat until tender. Then add zucchini, broccoli, pepper and carrots and saute for 3 or 4 minutes.

Add the mushrooms, the chard, the sugar, the soy sauce, the vinegar and the pepper sauce and saute for another 3 or 4 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the roasted nuts and serve.

2. Zucchini noodles

The zucchini is excellent cut into strips to replace the conventional pasta in a vegetarian meal or when you can not eat the industrialized noodles.

Ingredients

• 500 g zucchini
• garlic
• onion
• tomato
• basil
• olive oil
• salt to taste
• parmesan cheese to taste

Method of preparation

Cut the zucchini so that it looks like pasta, with very thin slices, sauté the onion and the garlic with olive oil and before browning, add the zucchini and the seasonings, and the tomato. Add about 100 ml of water, cover the pan and leave to cook for a few minutes. After drying the water, one can add the parmesan cheese to the taste and serve still warm.

See the zucchini pasta step by step and more fat burning tips in the following video:

3. Courgette and watercress salad

This salad is a very fresh and tasty option, ideal for hot days or for those days where you fancy eating something lighter. In addition, it is also a great option to track other recipes.

Ingredients:

• 2 zucchini with peel cut into thin sticks;
• 1 fresh packet of watercress;
• 100 g of pods cut to pieces;
• 1 seedless green pepper cut into thin strips;
• 2 stalks of celery cut into strips;
• Salt and pepper to taste;
• ¾ cup of natural yoghurt;
• 1 clove garlic, crushed;
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint.

Method of preparation:

Begin by baking the zucchini and the pod in a pan with salt and water for 8 to 10 minutes. Once cooked drain the vegetables, pass through cold water and place on a platter. Prepare the sauce for the salad by mixing the yogurt, the crushed garlic and the mint and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Finally, add the watercress, green pepper and celery to the platter with the zucchini and pod and mix. Drizzle the salad with the sauce and serve.

4. Couscous with Zucchini

This is a quick-to-prepare, tasty and well-colored recipe ideal for a Sunday lunch.

Ingredients:

• 280 g sliced ​​zucchini;
• 1 diced onion;
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed;
• 250 g chopped tomatoes;
• 400 g of canned artichoke heart cut in half;
• half a cup of couscous;
• ¾ cup dry lentils;
• 4 tablespoons chopped basil leaves;
• 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• 1 tablespoon butter;
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Method of preparation:

Start by cooking the lentils over high heat for 10 minutes and then cover and cook over low heat for another 15 minutes or until tender. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and add the onion, garlic and zucchini and saute for 10 minutes. Then add the tomato and the artichoke and cook for another 5 minutes.

Boil two cups of water, remove from heat, add the spoonful of butter and place the couscous. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Drain the lentils and mix with the couscous and add 3 tablespoons of basil and season with pepper. Add the vegetables and sprinkle with the rest of the basil.

Therefore, the zucchini is the ideal vegetable to add in various recipes, since it has a light flavor that combines well with various foods. It is great to be added in the base of the soup to give consistency, in salads or in the sautéed to give color and flavor.

Nutrition Information of Zucchini

The best way to get all the benefits of zucchini in the diet is in a boiled and shelled way, and it is ideal for adding in soup or on saute.

These amounts are per 100 g of Zucchini cooked in bark and each zucchini weighs on average 400 g.