A quick and easy way to add vegetables to your diet
Keeping an afternoon snack on hand that isn’t loaded with high fructose corn syrup, modified food starches, or obscene amounts of salt isn’t easy. The alternatives lean toward flavorless organic crackers or other items the kids may ignore, including fruits and vegetables.
Meet in the middle with grilled veggies
While these grilled zucchini slices aren’t exactly potato or tortilla chips, they’re a helpful compromise that delivers fresh flavors, a chip-like experience, and plenty of health benefits.
It’s dippability that sells them
‘Zucchini chips’ are perfect for dipping in your kids’ favorite sauces, dips, or salsas. Or top them with cheese or even cold cut slices. They are incredibly low in calories with only 13 calories in a half-cup of raw zucchini. They’re also a good source of Vitamin C and beta-carotene.
How the kids can help
You’ll obviously want to handle the slicing duties. However, kids may enjoy shaking the sealed bag of zucchini slices and marinade … so long as you ensure the zips are locked tightly and the kids don’t get too zealous. And some kids love watching the panini press to tell you when the slices are perfectly grilled.
Grilled Zucchini
Ingredients
- 1 zucchini
- ½ cup of your favorite Italian salad dressing
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder or garlic purée
- 1-2 teaspoons dried oregano, basil, thyme, or other favorite herbs and spices
Instructions
- Preheat panini press or indoor grill to medium heat.
- Slice zucchini into discs about ½ inch thick, making sure the slices are a consistent thickness.
- Combine salad dressing with garlic powder and dried herbs of your choice.
- Put zucchini slices into a plastic bag, pour in the herb mixture and let zucchini marinate as long as desired.
- PANINI PRESS: Place slices on panini press, lower the top, and cook for about 8 minutes or until zucchini has softened.
or INDOOR GRILL: Place slices on grill and cook for about 4 minutes, rotate zucchini a quarter turn, and cook 3-4 more minutes on first side. Then turn zucchini to second side and cook about 4 minutes more, or until zucchini has softened. - Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper and serve hot.
For dipping…
Here are some really quick and easy recipes that we like to dip our zucchini slices into:
