ZUCCHINI WITH LIME AND CORIANDER

In small towns where everyone knows each other, people don’t lock their doors – except at zucchini harvest time!  If you don’t lock your doors people will leave tons of zucchini there.

Until about forty years ago, zucchini was almost unknown in North America, except in Italian-American neighbourhoods, where it was called Italian squash.  Zucchini dates back 7000 years to Mexico, where it was one of the “three sisters”, along with maize (corn), and beans.  That pre-Columbian trio (some would say “Trinity”) is today still the core of the Mexican diet.

When European explorers arrived in the Americas, they carried these unknown foods back home with them.  The new -world squash eventually reached Italy where it was dubbed Zucchini, from Zucca, denoting small squash.  The Italians are acknowledged with propagating our modern zucchini from the indigenous American squash.  Both the French and the English call this fruit Courgette, which is the tenth most favorite culinary vegetable in the UK.

Mild- flavoured, ranging from savory to sweet and with more potassium than a banana, zucchini is a very versatile foodstuff, serving as a vegetable, as well as in breads and desserts. You can even bake a chocolate zucchini fudge cake!

In zucchini’s birthplace, the flower is often employed in the soup, sopa de flor de calabaza and is very popular in a quesadilla variation.

Zucchini’s  versatility extends to salads and a popular one is topped with a bacon dressing  over shredded  zucchini.  Bacon makes nice vinaigrette but I want to tell you about a zucchini salad that is, in a word: simply superb. Let me show you a zucchini salad that doesn’t require any cooking. 

Zucchini with Lime and Coriander

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (1 pint,  450ml) of shredded zucchini
• ¼ cup (60ml) of chopped coriander (aka Chinese parsley and Cilantro)
• The juice of ½ lime ( 2 tablespoons, 30ml)
• 3 tablespoons (45ml) olive oil
• 1 teaspoon  (5ml) salt
• 1 teaspoon (5ml) of honey or sugar (some people like a little more)
• ¼ teaspoon  (1ml) black pepper (could substitute half a jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced)
• 1 teaspoon  (5ml) fresh gingerroot, minced
• ¼ teaspoon  (1ml) powdered cumin
• 1 teaspoon  5ml) ranch dressing (optional)

Method:

1. Combine everything except the shredded zucchini.
2. Now mix into the zucchini in a glass or ceramic bowl.
3. When mixed, cover and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Try this invigorating salad, goes great with outdoor bbq.

LUNCHES:LESS FAT PART ll

Today I will share with you some useful lunchtime suggestions to help slow down fat storage.

· One 12 ounce soda pop has 10 teaspoons of sugar in it. Nowadays it is not cane sugar, of which too much would be cloying, but corn sugar, which allows you to drink 32ounces as if it were water. I’m not sure about artificial sweeteners either; I think the jury is still out on their insulin- stimulating status. A better beverage would be a mineral water or skim milk.

· Put aside potato chips and other high fat salty chips, you don’t need the impending bloat in the middle of the day. If absolutely necessary, eat whole-grain crackers or baked tortilla chips.

· Soup can be a great weight-loss food to have, but not fat laden cream soups. Soups as a first course can be appetite suppressing, if they are broth and vegetable types, not cream-based.

· Salad bars can be great if you avoid the hazardous items many people put on them. Fresh greens are wonderful along with fresh vegetables, but go real easy on the dressings. A little lemon juice and a teaspoon of oil is enough for a salad. Even if you go back again for a second helping.

· Be dairy diligent because cheeses’ fat adds up. Watch out for sandwich fillings and spreads. Mayo has 11 grams of fat in a tablespoon. That combined with bread leads to fat storage.

· I like to make hamburgers, but am careful not to have one very often. I can eat one with a knife and fork, but most folks use a bun. To have a hamburger sandwich every day can be a problem.

. We love pizza, I make it frequently. But to me, the crust is important. I don’t go crazy with the cheese (usually Asiago and/or Provolone). The simple “Margherita” style is still the best. I portion Parmesan like I would a salt shaker, just a moderate sprinkle. Pepperoni particularly puts plenty of fat atop the crust, less would be more suitable.

· French-fried potatoes are like hamburger sandwiches, that combination of fat and carbohydrate. Best to enjoy them infrequently and if you do, you will really relish them.

· A great dessert would be something like fruit and cheese. Apples are easy to eat and the health benefits are enormous (the pectin alone for your skin is terrific). A small amount of cheese, if it is the only cheese eaten that day, won’t kill you or your diet. Yoghurt (unsweetened) and fruit is good too.

Eating should be an enjoyable, unrushed pleasure. If you can’t eliminate fat storing foods, please limit them. What’s that old saying? Everything in moderation. Yes, for a more abundant life.