- December 24, 2024
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The day that my last column published, I found out that the weight-loss challenge I signed up for had be cancelled. But even though the contest is over, that doesn’t mean I am giving up on my goals for healthier eating.
I don’t like the word diet, because diet indicated a short-term change, I prefer to look at it as a lifestyle change. Eating better and exercising is the road to a healthier life, not just a way to meet a goal.
For me, the hardest about working out and eating healthier is that I always seem to be hungry. The more I exercise, the hungrier I am, and trying to balance an acceptable serving size and no snacking with the extra calories I’m burning at the gym can be difficult.
So this week, I searched the interwebs for some new recipes to incorporate into my repertoire. I came across an abundance — thanks to Pinterest — but the first one I decided to try is stuffed zucchini. I made some slight changes to the recipe, and the outcome really was delicious.
Stuffed zucchini
What you need:
3-4 medium zucchini
salt
pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup chicken, cooked and chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used panko)
1/2 cup shredded light cheese
What to do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut zucchini in half, length-wise.
Use a paring knife and score around the zucchini, leaving a 1/4-inch, and scoop out the meat of the zucchini. (If you have a melon baller, it would work perfectly.)
Place in a 9x13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and set aside.
Chop and place zucchini meat in a large skillet along with the mushrooms, onion, garlic, celery and carrots. Add oil and sauté until tender.
Add chicken, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and thyme. Cook on medium for 1-2 minutes stirring. Add bread crumbs. Stir to combine.
Fill prepared zucchini halves and cover casserole dish with foil. (You will likely have leftover stuffing. I packed mine up in a container and plan on finding another meal to use it with.)
Bake 45 minutes or until fork tender. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and bake an additional minute or until cheese is melted.
Serve with a side dish of brown rice.
— Recipe adapted from ladybehindthecurtain.com
— Send your healthy eating recipes to [email protected].
