Tag: zucchini

Food Misconceptions – Fruit or Vegetable?

Today I thought I would write about some of the more common food misconceptions. By this I mean incorrect references to some foods, particularly in regards to whether something is a fruit or vegetable. I was talking with some colleagues about this this week and I thought it would be interesting to research and share.

First – Peanuts

Many people regards peanuts as nuts, however they are not. As per Wikipedia – ‘The peanut, also known as the groundnut and the goober and taxonomically classified as Arachis hypogaea, is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds.’ ‘The botanical definition of a “nut” is a fruit whose ovary wall becomes very hard at maturity. Using this criterion, the peanut is not a true nut, but rather a legume. However, for culinary purposes and in common English language usage, peanuts are usually referred to as nuts.’ I’ve often wondered if that is the reason I don’t like them. I like all the other nuts!

Next – fruits and vegetables

Vegetable According to Dictionary.com a vegetable is any plant whose fruit, seeds, roots, tubers, bulbs, stems, leaves, or flower parts are used as food, Fruit Dictionary.com states that fruit is the developed ovary of a seed plant with its contents and accessory parts. Including the edible part of a plant developed from a flower, with any accessory tissues, Using this more specific definition all fruits are considered vegetables but not all vegetables are fruit. Olives, plums, tomatoes, artichokes and cucumbers are fruit. Lettuce, potatoes, celery and beets are not reproductive parts of the plant developed from flowers so are considered vegetables. So with that in mind, a tomato is not a vegetable. Neither is corn, zucchini, pumpkin, green beans and peas. Interestingly, berries are fruits that come from a single plant ovary with multiple seeds. With this in mind, scientifically bananas, grapes and capsicum are actually berries.
More berry facts
Raspberries, blackberries and mulberries are called ‘Aggregate fruits’ because they are actually a bunch of tiny little fruits grown together. Strawberries are also a different kind of fruit called a ‘fleshy receptacle’. This is because the actual fruits are the tiny little seeds stuck to the outside of the strawberry. Wow, who would have thought that there were so many fruits and vegetables that we refer to incorrectly. I will be looking at my fruit and veges in a whole new light now. Till the next post, Live Clean n Prosper.

Our Home Grown Vegetables

Today I decided to write about vegetables, to be specific, our home-grown vegetables.

A couple of years ago Scott created a vegetable garden in a neglected garden bed along our fence line. Once the plants got established, we have enjoyed lovely home-grown, chemical free, vegetables.

How successfully….

Scott has tried growing several different things, some with success, some not so successful.

We have had success with Heirloom Carrots. The first time we harvested some we were quite surprised at the variety or colours that we had. Apart from the common orange, we had yellow, red, white & purple carrots, they really add colour to the plate. We continue to plant these seeds so that we always have some carrots.

Sweet potatoes have been a challenge. We planted 2 varieties, the common ‘Gold’ and the less common ‘Hawaiian’ sweet potato. The plants were quite large and healthy, but the crop was small. Hopefully next time around the results will be better.

Scott has had some great success with growing zucchini. We have had some large enough to stuff and roast.

We have not had success with growing cauliflower. As we don’t use any chemicals on our garden, our cauliflower plants were attacked by bugs and died.

At the beginning of winter Scott planted Purple Sprouting Broccoli seedlings and this week we harvested the last head of broccoli. It was quite large and really purple. It is also quite good for us.

A bit about the Broccoli,

There are differences in the nutritional values of green and purple broccoli.

The purple broccoli has higher levels of vitamin C, folate, iron, calcium, isotonic, glucolin, and anthocyanins.

Purple sprouting broccoli also contains the phyto chemicals ulphoraphane (thought to help prevent cancer) and may provide resistance against heart disease, osteoporosis and diabetes. Overall, purple sprouting broccoli was found to contain higher contents of antioxidant compounds than green broccoli.

After cooking, the purple sprouting broccoli retains higher levels of antioxidant. (Sources; https://academic.oup.com/biohorizons/article/ ; https://drizzleazure.wordpress.com)

We have also had a pumpkin vine growing in our garden. It is growing quite well, taking up lots of space, and we have been looking forward to harvesting some pumpkins. However, we are not having much success.

The pumpkins are forming but don’t mature.

Scott was ready to pull up the plant. He spoke to one of his Uni lecturers who advised that the little immature pumpkins were quite good steamed.

We have since tried steaming them and they taste like button squash. So, I guess the pumpkin vine isn’t a complete failure. We are continuing to harvest the tiny pumpkins and are also going to try roasting them.

All in all, our garden is providing us with some lovely, chemical free, whole foods. By trying to grow different varieties, we eat a more varied diet.

Till the next post,

 

Live Clean n Prosper

My Zucchini Bake or Slice recipe

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Today I’m going to share another recipe. Last night Scott and I got together with a group of friends and I brought along a Zucchini Bake, sliced to share. I received a number of requests to post the recipe today, so here we go.

This Zucchini bake can be made gluten free, it is a healthy meal option and is great for lunch boxes.

The recipe is easy to make and is one way to get children (or fussy adults) to eat vegetables. You can substitute or add different vegetables depending on your preferences. However, I think Zucchini should always be included for the bake to work.

Nutritionally, the Zucchini is one of the very low-calorie vegetables and its peel is an excellent source of dietary fibre. Zucchinis are an excellent source of potassium, and also contain moderate levels of the B-complex group of vitamins.

Ingredients

3 x medium sized zucchinis

2 x medium carrots

1/2 onion or 2 spring onions finely chopped

2 x rashers of bacon finely chopped

(alternatively, I have made this using chicken and also tuna)

1/2 cup grated tasty cheese

1 x tbsp mixed herbs

a little bit of chilli or peppers gives a nice bite

1 x garlic clove – crushed

1 x tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup flour (I use coconut flour)

5 x large eggs

extra grated cheese to sprinkle on the top

 

Method

First preheat your oven to 180c

I use a grater attachment on my food processor to quickly grate the zucchini and carrots. If I don’t have grated cheese, I put  a small piece of cheese in as well.

Put the grated ingredients into a large mixing bowl and add the bacon, onion, garlic, cheese, herbs and mix together.

Add the eggs, oil and flour and mix to combine. Transfer the mix into a baking dish and bake for 40 minutes.

At the 30 or 35 minute mark, sprinkle the extra grated cheese on the top of the slice and return it to the oven.

This bake works really well as a main meal. We cut it into 6 large pieces and serve it with a salad. It also is great as a slice to share , as it tastes equally good cold. Just let it cool a bit before cutting it into squares.

It’s really easy to swap out the meat ingredients or add extra ingredients. Mushrooms and cauliflower also work well. If I add cauliflower, I only put in 1 carrot. The trick is to get the right balance of vegetables and eggs, otherwise it won’t hold together. I have found this out by experience.

I hope that you enjoy this recipe and have fun putting your own spin on it.

 

Until the next post,

 

Live Clean n Prosper

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