Zucchini Take Over

If you have a garden, or friends that do, and zucchini was planted, you know how you can suddenly be overrun with ready to eat, garden-fresh veggies. So, if you feel like your life just got a zucchini take over – read on!

Of course, if you are eating a Whole-Food Plant-Based (WFPB) diet this isn’t so bad since plants are what you eat. However, if you are new to this type of eating its easy to feel overwhelmed. I remember having zucchini pretty much one way when I was growing up: sliced and boiled in a pan with some butter added – all the snap and taste cooked away (not to mention the added butter part) – but zucchini is much better than that and deserves to be the foundation of many a summer meal.
This summer we are fortunate to have son Jack home on college break and working for two local farmers. One of whom has a habit of paying him extra for his work—in bags, or bushels, of produce! So we have had several days when half a dozen zucchinis as big as his forearm have arrived at the house.

Right, So What Can Be Done? Make Zucchini Noodles!

Here is a quick and easy way to use a lot of zucchini to make tasty meals for you, or a whole group. This can be the base of a raw meal or can be a very lightly cooked option. It works best if you have one of the tools we recommend (this is an Amazon affiliate link): the Spiralizer. Now, this tool just makes it easier, neater, and a little more fun, but you can certainly manage to do this with a grater or julienne tool. The idea is to make noodles! Simply take the zucchini, pop it into the Spiralizer, and noodle away. A few medium sized zucchini will easily make a big bowl of zucchini noodles (or ” zoodles” as people like to call them). This makes a super nutritious, low calorie, low fat base for a bowl of zoodles with tomato sauce, or with pesto (pictured below and vegan pesto recipe right here). You can toss them with other types of sauces or veggies or tofu – it’s really versatile and they keep pretty well in the fridge, too.

Tips

• Prepare and eat immediately is best, but they keep well in a sealed Tupperware type container
• Eat them raw with some cold toppings or heat some vegan pasta sauce, toss, and enjoy
• If you want a hot dish, and have other ingredients you want to combine with the zoodles, you can heat the zoodles with a wee bit of oil in a wok and then toss with some stir fry sauce and add other items
• Don’t be afraid to use them leftover for lunch the next day
• If using them leftover and you want them warm, you can heat very briefly in a microwave (don’t cook them!)
• They are also really yummy and fun, just straight!
• Don’t be afraid of zucchini and don’t be afraid to experiment.

Do leave a comment below and let us know what you think. Enjoy abundance, enjoy cruelty free eating and health. Peace!