Wednesday 'Round the Web

Hey Everyone!

It's Wednesday, and you know what that means: our weekly dose of link love to get us over the hump. Today we’ve got some great recipes for using more of summer’s produce bounty, a surprising take on fiber (and why more is not always better), and a couple of things to make us laugh. After all, laughter is a nutrient! I guarantee you’ll be healthier and happier if you get in a good guffaw now and then. Good ol’ vitamin L— it’s almost impossible to overdose on, no matter how much of it you get!

Feed Your Body: Zucchini 'Splosion!

As I mentioned in my post about summer farmers’ markets, I tend to overbuy produce because it all looks so good. With the days already getting shorter and summer slowly winding down, farmers have more zucchini than they know what to do with. Prices are already pretty good on summer squash, but they tend to get even lower as the farmers and supermarket produce managers just want to get rid of it all! So here are a few recipes to help you use the mounds of zucchini in your fridge, or maybe inspire you to try this great vegetable if you’ve been wanting to experiment with it but haven’t had the faintest idea what to try. (You can use yellow squash in these recipes, too, or a mix of both.)

Ina Garten’s Zucchini with Parmesan – This recipe makes a large quantity but it seems like the kind of thing you can eat hot or cold. So if you’re cooking for just one or two people, either cut the recipe in half, or go ahead and make the whole thing and be happy when you have leftovers for lunch the next day. (Contains dairy, as should be obvious from the "parmesan," but no grains.)

Ina Garten’s Zucchini Gratin – This recipe is not Paleo, but it can be adapted easily, especially if you include dairy as an occasional treat. (Use almond meal instead of breadcrumbs, and you can probably get away with almond milk instead of dairy milk. If you’re primal or low-carb, use heavy cream diluted with water instead of milk.)

Ina Garten’s Vegetable Tian – A way to use zucchini and tomatoes! (Plus potatoes and onions…seriously a good catch-all dish to use stuff from the farmer’s market. Or your supermarket…wherever you get your fresh produce.) Also: can you tell I love Ina? She makes a lot of things I don’t eat anymore but still plenty that I do. And regardless, I love watching her show. She gets so much joy out of cooking and sharing meals with others; I’ve always found it very inspiring to watch her. (Doesn’t hurt that she’s a gazillionaire in her own right and her husband is a former dean of the Yale School of Management. Must be nice living in that huge house in the Hamptons!) 

Crispy Zucchini Coins with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce, by Livin' the Crunchy Life – Grain & dairy-free, but flavor-LOADED. Seriously, zucchini does not have to be boring! This ain’t yo’ momma’s boiled-to-kingdom-come-and-back zucchini dish. (You can buy an insanely delicious roasted red pepper spread from Trader Joe's and save yourself the trouble of making one from scratch.)

“Spaghetti” and Meatballs, by Nom Nom Paleo – If you follow a low-carb, Paleo, Primal, or gluten-free diet and have been missing pasta, you’ve got to check out these noodles…I mean zoodles, by Michelle Tam of Nom Nom Paleo. (Note: No need to go to an über-fancy kitchen shop like Sur la Table to find the julienne peeler she’s talking about. You can get one at your local Bed Bath & Beyond.) I go to Sur la Table to fantasize, and BB&B for my real life. I’ve always said if I ever win the lottery, my first stop is going to be Williams Sonoma or Sur la Table. (If you win the lottery, let me know. I'll send you my address offline, hehheh.)

Zucchini Hummus, by Rising Moon Food – Grain, dairy, & legume free! Have you been missing the taste and texture of hummus since you’ve been avoiding legumes? No more! You can have delicious Paleo/Primal and low-carb hummus without the digestive distress chickpeas can cause. Check out this zucchini hummus – and no need for pita chips. Raw vegetables make great dippers. (Yet another way to use up that great produce: cucumber slices, julienned bell peppers, sliced radishes, jicama, fennel, carrot sticks, celery.)

Feed Your Mind:

The truth about fiber, from Dr. Georgia Ede. Think you have to eat fiber to have healthy digestion? Think more fiber is the answer to colon cancer, constipation, and overall bowel health? Think again. More truth bomb dropping, this time from a medical doctor who’s come to learn that almost everything she was taught about nutrition was wrong. Sneak peek: you can be a healthy human being and have regular bowel movements without choking down a glass of fiber supplement every night or starting every morning with a bowl of cereal that looks and tastes like cardboard.

Mmmm…breakfast!

Feed Your Funny Bone:

Selected comics from The Oatmeal. I just discovered this guy last week. Pity, because I could have been having regular infusions of vitamin L for years! Better late than never, though, and I now pay it forward to you. Happy smiling!

At the Gym – I think anyone who’s ever set foot in a gym and felt like everyone else was silently judging them will have a few nods of recognition here. (Plus a good laugh.)

6 Reasons Bacon is Better Than True Love – I’m not sure I agree 100%, but if bacon and true love were ever in a race, it would come down to a photo finish!

The Difference Between Mayonnaise and Miracle Whip – So true! These days I don’t eat much mayo because it’s mostly soybean oil. (Even the ones that have olive oil in them are still predominantly soybean oil, and we know how I feel about soybean oil.) But when I do throw caution to the wind and slather mayo on something once in a while (because it's delicious and the food police can come get me!), you can bet your sweet bippy it’s real mayonnaise and not Miracle Whip. (Which is not miraculous at all.) **NOTE: This comic contains one bit of “adult content” and might not be suitable for work…depending on who could walk up behind you.

Congratulations! You have met the RDA for laughter for the day!