First off, a little info about...Zucchinis! I actually didn't really start eating this veggie until this summer. Because I've been doing my produce shopping locally this summer, I obviously have been seeing a lot of items in the summer squash family lately...zucchini being one of those items. And after making a few delicious dishes with the stuff, I can't get enough! And how awesome for us that it's LOADED with health benefits. To name a few:
- One cup only has 36 calories and about 10% of your daily fiber
- This high fiber content not only aids in digestion, but also can help lower cholesterol
- Contains vitamins A & C as well as folate, which act as antioxidants in the body
- Contains potassium and over 10% of the daily dose of magnesium, both of which help to lower blood pressure
There are many more benefits...these are just some that I found particularly interesting. Even though I work in a pharmacy, I really hate seeing people taking 10 medications a day to solve problems that I feel can be solved by just putting the right kind of food in the body. And because I don't want to end up taking multiple medications for blood pressure, cholesterol, stomach, etc. I spend a ridiculous amount of time learning about how I can prevent it with diet. Thus....zucchini research ;)
And without further ado, I give you....
Fresh Summer Spaghetti
Ingredients
- whole wheat spaghetti noodles (I used about 2/3 of a box)
- 1 c. chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- 1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 1/4 cup basil leaves, chopped (I had some purple basil on hand, so I ended up using a combination of this and sweet basil)
- 2 chopped garlic cloves (about 1 tbsp)
- Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
- 1/4 c. toasted pine nuts, for serving
- grated Parmesan, for serving
Cook the noodles in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain.
While noodles are cooking, heat 2 tbps of oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the zucchini, garlic, salt and pepper and saute for about 5 minutes until zucchini is softened. Add chopped tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes.
Combine pasta and zucchini and tomato mixture in a large bowl. Add sun-dried tomatoes, basil, and the rest of the olive oil (you can add more here if desired). I like to top mine with some toasted pine nuts and Parmesan. To toast the nuts, just add to a small skillet and cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until pine nuts start to turn a golden brown.
And a delicious, fresh and healthy dinner is served!
