For the month of February 2022, I decided to feature one of my favorite and most versatile vegetables, zucchini. You can eat it raw as a snack, appetizer, or part of a delicious salad. You can slice, dice, spiralize, or finely grate it. Zucchini can be a main dish, side dish, or dessert. It’s also delicious in a breakfast smoothie. I have a friend who finely grates zucchini to add to meatloaf, pasta sauces, gravy, and smoothies to serve her husband who at the tender age of 60+ was diagnosed with a heart condition, but still refuses to eat his vegetables.
Zucchini descends from squashes grown in Mesoamerica over 7,000 years ago, but the zucchini itself was bred in Milan in the late 19th century. Zucchini blossoms are edible and are often deep fried as fritters, or tempura, stuffed, sauteed, baked, or used in soups.
One medium zucchini has only 33 calories, rich source of Vitamin A (Vitamin A levels increase for cooked zucchini), 1 % saturated fat, 14 % of your RDA for potassium, 2% carbs, 8% fiber, only 4.9 grams of sugar, 2.4 g protein (4% RDA), Vitamin C – 58%, Iron – 3%. Vitamin B6 – 15%, Magnesium – 8%, and Calcium – 3%. That a lot of nutrition for 33 calories. It’s rich in water and contains both soluble and insoluble fiber that helps with digestion and a softer stool. The nutrients found in zucchini are high in antioxidants that may also help strengthen your vision, improve heart health, and reduce blood sugar levels.
After I switched to a plant-based diet, zucchini quickly became one of my go to vegetables because of its versatility. It’s great in soups, sauces, and salads. You can make nutritious zucchini boats, zoodles, zucchini chips, or grilled zucchini. It works well in the air fryer, and it’s delicious in desserts.
I decided to make chocolate zucchini bread this month. Here is the link for the recipe I used, https://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/chocolate-zucchini-bread/. This recipe was easy to follow and turned out beautifully. I didn’t have baking soda, so I substituted baking powder (you use 4x as much baking powder as baking soda), but this substitution shouldn’t be made for delicate recipes because there can be a slight taste difference – not a problem when chocolate and cocoa powder are involved. If you want this recipe to be vegan, you can use Vegan chocolate, egg substitute, and Vegan butter. I include Vegan and non-Vegan ingredients in my ingredients photo. Whichever you choose, the flavor and texture will not be affected.
Zucchini makes this recipe super moist and unlike traditional zucchini bread, you can’t see any traces of the zucchini because of the rich chocolate brown coloring. That’s a plus if you have fussy eaters at home. It can be kept covered on your kitchen counter for four days and freezes well, but don’t expect it to last long because your family will love it!
Next month we will be featuring Leeks in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.
The Twelve Months of Vegetables
January Cabbage Mahi Mahi Soft Tacos
February Zucchini Chocolate Zucchini Bread
March Leeks
April Carrots
May Beets
June Kale
July Broccoli
August Potatoes
September Green Beans
October Spinach
November Corn
December Asparagus