Zucchini for breakfast, zucchini for dinner

My latest eating healthy adventures have been all about the zucchini, and both have surprisingly turned out great. So pick up some fresh zucchini at your local Farmer’s Market and try these out.

Zucchini Rotini from Women’s Health

2 c whole wheat rotini

1 c fat free cottage cheese

2 tbsp salt-free Italian seasoning

1/2 c shredded zucchini

1 c canned, diced tomatoes, drained

1/2 c reduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

This recipe was very easy to make and very delicious, reminding me of spaghetti squash for some reason. I couldn’t find whole wheat rotini so I used linguine instead. Also, I HATE cottage cheese, but wanted to try this recipe anyway and loved it. I honestly couldn’t taste the cottage cheese at all. I baked mine in the microwave in a small bread pan and it worked perfectly. Though the recipe claims it’s only 2 servings, ours was easily 3.

Zucchini Zazzle from Hungry Girl

1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (about 1 large zucchini)
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
1/3 cup brown sugar (not packed)
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 tbsp. light whipped butter or light buttery spread (like Brummel & Brown)
3 tbsp. crushed walnuts, divided
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine both types of flour, Splenda, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

In a separate medium bowl, mix together the zucchini, egg substitute, applesauce, butter, and vanilla extract. Slowly add this mixture to the first bowl, and stir until thoroughly blended. Mix half the crushed walnuts (1 1/2 tbsp.) into the batter.

Line 9 cups of a 12-cup muffin pan with baking liners and/or spray with nonstick spray. Evenly distribute batter among the 9 cups. Top each cup with a sprinkling of the remaining 1 1/2 tbsp. crushed walnuts.

Bake in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes, until a toothpick poked into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool and then enjoy!

Review

These turned out GREAT! The zucchini taste was very subtle and really just tasted like a good, healthy muffin. Though the ingredient list may look daunting, you most likely already have a lot of it in your kitchen. I used a bit more walnuts in mine than called for, and the batter actually made 12 servings instead of 9. One thing I would be wary of is how long they are in the oven. After 20 minutes my toothpick came out clean, but there were still random gooey spots in a few of the muffins I’ve found as I’ve been eating them.

Well, my next foodie adventure is this 2-day cleanse, starting today with one of my roomies and my mom. I’ll give you the reviews Thursday!