Meatless Monday and an Ode to Zucchini

In college, I lived with my two very best friends from growing up, Laura and Diana. We lived in a beautiful house off campus and created our own little family complete with family dinners in the dining room.  At that time, my roommates were two of the biggest carnivores I had ever met.

I’m talking...
No date for Valentine’s day? Homemade three meat lasagna in front of the tv to drown our sorrows.
No food in the fridge? Don’t worry - summer sausage straight from the wrapper lasts forever.



Christmas 2008 pre-vegetarianism, illustrating our love for the Christmas ham 



For the past few years they have both been vegetarians! (Although Diana now eats meat again for energy reasons, listen to your bodies people, it will tell you what it needs!) I continue to love my meat…but I have adopted Meatless Mondays! Well, at least one day a week where I don’t eat any meat, it’s very rarely Monday. Let’s be real.

Meatless Monday is a public health movement which encourages people of all ages to cut out meat one day a week to improve their health and the health of the world by reducing their carbon footprint.

This week my meatless dish was a green pepper stuffed with zucchini, carrots, breadcrumbs and sautéed onions. Sorry about the lack of picture, I was REALLY hungry after work and didn't think about it.

I bought two zucchinis thinking the filling would take much more than it did and I needed to figure out a way to use them. 

Enter, carb-less Tuesday! 

Zucchini Ribbon Pesto Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes and Grilled Chicken! Basically, I cut the zucchini into spears and then used my mandolin to turn it into thin strips (you could also use a vegetable peeler to get it thin enough if you don't have a mandolin) and sautéed it in just a little bit of olive oil until it was al dente and pasta-like. Then I dressed up with Giada’s canned pesto sauce and tossed in the tomatoes and chicken. YUM! And paleo too!

I used half a zucchini here and STILL had some left. Good thing I like it! I used the other half in this delicious healthy apple bread! 

Apple Zucchini Bread

Hands on time: 10-20 minutes depending on your available kitchen tools

Total Time: 1 hour 10 min

What you need:

This makes one loaf, but it is easily doubled

• 1 cup shredded zucchini (I used half a zucchini and shredded it by hand with a box grater...this is what took so long, I recommend a food processor)
• 1 diced apple
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup white flour
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg and one egg white (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)
• 2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice or nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Start by shredding and dicing the healthy stuff. Yum! I personally don't mind leaving the skins on, but feel free to peel your fruits and veggies. Next mix together your sugar, applesauce, and eggs. Once this is combined slowly add in your flour, baking soda, and spices. It will be a thick, delicious, spicey mess at this point. Now go ahead and fold in the good stuff. It may not look tastey yet, but just wait! Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and spread the batter into the pan. The parchment keeps the loaf from sticking and makes it super easy to lift out of the pan. Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick or fancy cake tester (that I stole from my boyfriend, along with my beloved stand mixer...and vegetable chopper...and measuring cups...) comes out clean. 

Let cool, slice and enjoy!

What you get:

A moist, almost-cakey, spiced apple bread with all the benefits of zucchini and none of the taste. Although, zucchini bread itself is pretty delicious, so it wouldn't be bad if you COULD taste it. Applesauce is a great substitute for oil in baking, just make sure you use unsweetened, or cut back on the sugar in your recipe. We all know "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" and that apples and zucchini are good sources of fiber. Fiber helps to stop bad cholesterol (LDL) from being absorbed in the gut. Both apples and zucchini also have lots of vitamin A and vitamin C which are antioxidants. Antioxidants help protect cells against inflammation and breakdown. For more information on the health benefits of zucchini and apples check out my earlier "De-Stress and Dehydrate" post.