I love to cook, and one of my favorite things to do is to come up with healthy alternative recipes for my favorite foods. One of my all time favorite versatile foods are zucchinis. They can be made into both savory and sweet dishes. They’re actually a fruit, not a vegetable, and have only 25 calories for a whole zucchini. I grew up with an abundance of zucchinis from my grandparent’s vegetable garden. We would make Giambotta (we called it JA-BUTT) with zucchini, onions, potatoes and stewed tomatoes. We would dip fresh Italian rolls with butter in it. I of course came up with my own healthier version of Giambotta as well as other recipes made with this fabulous food. Here are some of my recipes from my Fitness Answer Meal Plan:
ZUCCHINI STEW (Giambotta)
3 Zucchinis Diced
1 Onion Diced
1 Jar of Crushed Tomatoes
Garlic Powder
Oregano
Salt and Pepper
In large pot add in chopped zucchini, onions, 1 jar of crushed tomatoes
Season with Garlic Powder, Oregano, Salt and Pepper.
Simmer on stovetop for about an hour
Serving Size – 1 ½ cups
ZUCCHINI PROTEINI
• 1 cup of flaxseed
• ½ cup of vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 2 c. sugar substitute
• 2 c. grated zucchini
• 1 scoop of chocolate whey
• 3 tsp. vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups of oat flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 3 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tsp. salt
• Nonstick cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix oil, flaxseed meal, eggs and sugar. Then stir in the rest of the ingredients one at a time. Spray muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray and add batter to pans. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Serving Size 1 muffin
CHICKEN KABOBS
• 8 ounces of Chicken Medallions
• 1 Small Zucchini
• 5 Cherry Tomatoes Sliced in half
• 1 Small Onion
FOR MARINADE
• 1 tbsp. vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. rosemary
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 clove garlic, minced
Mix all marinade ingredients together. Pour over shish kebob ingredients and marinate at least 2 hours before skewering. Alternate placing veggies and veggies on skewers. Use marinade for basting while grilling or broiling. Serve with small side salad with balsamic vinegar.
Zucchini, Fig, Coconut Balls
• 1 cup raw almonds
• 9 figs
• 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• pinch of sea salt
• 1/2 cup finely shredded zucchini squash (use the fine side of a box grater)
• 1 cup shredded flaked coconut, divided
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or waxed paper.
Place the almonds in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process into fine crumbs. Add figs, a few at a time, processing well after each addition. Add vanilla extract, nutmeg, cinnamon and sea salt. At first the mixture will just look like crumbs, then it will adhere into a ball. If it doesn't come together, add a few extra figs.
Joanne Sgro is a Television Fitness Expert, Certified Personal Trainer and Sport Nutritionist. She is Certified in Pilates, Pre-natal/Post-Partum, Yoga and Senior Fitness. She specializes in Weight Loss, Post-Rehab and Post Cancer Training. Joanne's fitness plans and recipes are available globally on her website www.fitnessanswer.com. She resides in the Phoenix, AZ area with her fiancé, where she runs her personal training business, Fitness Answer, LLC.