Healthy Snacks

• If looking for a way to make the newest vegetable buzz, zucchini fries, the internet is flooded with numerous recipes
• Let us take the basic zucchini minus all preparation and cooking methods and think about the nutritious value of this wholesome vegetable. If you are counting food calories, one cup of zucchini has about 20 calories
• Zucchini happens to be available at your local market all year long. However, the peak season of buying zucchini is later spring
• This vegetable is great for dieters since it has a high water content of more than 95 percent

If looking for a way to make the newest vegetable buzz, zucchini fries, the internet is flooded with numerous recipes. Many of the recipes note to cut the zucchini into strips and dip them in egg and then in a mixture of breadcrumbs with various additions like salt and pepper or Romano cheese, for instance. Some of the recipes call for frying these zucchini fries which would most likely be in saturated and trans fat. Then again, there are recipes which tell you to bake the zucchini fries. It is not difficult to guess the healthiest way to make the zucchini fries. Placing this nourishing vegetable on a prepared cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray would obviously be the healthier choice. Cooking spray is generally trans fat free, unlike the saturated and trans fat used to fry French fries, or even the zucchini fries if frying is the cooking process of choice.

Let us take the basic zucchini minus all preparation and cooking methods and think about the nutritious value of this wholesome vegetable. If you are counting food calories, one cup of zucchini has about 20 calories. Aside from the vitamins zucchini includes, there is no cholesterol, it is low in saturated fat, and very high in fiber. So, we’re off to a very good healthy start when considering the nutrition behind this delicious vegetable. Zucchini includes vitamin A, B6, C, iron and potassium to name a few.

The health benefits to expect from eating zucchini are powerful antioxidants with anti-inflammatory properties. The vitamin C it contains could help to cure asthma. This vegetable can also play a role in preventing bruising and scurvy caused by Vitamin C deficiencies. Zucchini helps support capillary arrangements. It lowers homocystein levels. This vegetable is great for dieters since it has a high water content of more than 95 percent. The Vitamin C and lutein in zucchini are both good for healthy eyes. Zucchini happens to be available at your local market all year long. However, the peak season of buying zucchini is later spring. Zucchini could be eaten raw in a salad. It can also be cooked, fried, stewed, and made in the form of zucchini fries as well.

If counting food calories, preparing the zucchini into zucchini fries may raise the 20 calories to 75 or so. This would include the breadcrumb/grated cheese and egg coating. Also, to keep the calorie count under 100 calories per serving, the zucchini fries would have to be oven baked. If fried in saturated and trans fat, the calorie count would substantially increase, and so would the benefit of eating a healthy, wholesome vegetable. The nutrients of the zucchini would not change. However, the saturated and trans fat would not be as beneficial to your overall health if you are watching your fat intake and counting food calories.

Tags: counting food calories, zucchini fries

Posted on Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 at 11:07 am | Healthy Snacks