Food of the week: Zucchini

I was speaking to my roomie about a food of the week and she suggested zucchini. I was like, I already had zucchini as food of the week. I mean, if you've read my blog you can plainly see my affection for the vegetable. But, upon further inspection, sure enough, I have never written about zucchini as food of the week. What?!?! How did this happen?

This must be remedied immediately.

Benefits:

• Excellent source of Vitamin C.
• Good source of Folate, Potassium, Vitamin A, and Beta Carotene.
• Low in calories.
• High in fiber.
• Source of antioxidants.
• Good for men's prostates.
• Grow and proliferate quickly.

Drawbacks:

• Zucchini contains substances called oxalates, which in high concentrations can exacerbate kidney and gallbladder problems.
• Grow and proliferate quickly.

Ways to eat zucchini:

• One of the most simple ways to cook zucchini is to saute it in either butter or olive oil and sprinkle some parmesan cheese. (This significantly ups the calorie content, obviously).
• Zucchini works great in stir fries, pastas and soups.
• Zucchini-crusted pizza.
• My sister makes a delicious zucchini bread.
• I like to saute zucchini and add it to a burrito. (See an upcoming Recipe of the Week)

Little known facts:

• Most of the nutrients in zucchini are in the skin.
• Zucchini is a summer squash that origins trace back to Mexico. It later made it's way to Italy and into some tasty dishes. This totally explains my tendency to put zucchini in burritos!
• The zucchini is related to the melon and cucumber.