I recently bought myself this mandoline, and I totally love it. I’ve only been using it for a couple of days, but, I find myself looking for stuff in the kitchen to slice and dice. I had a yellow and a green zucchini, so, they seemed like perfect candidates. I was very psyched to be able to make uniform zucchini slices. Just holding them in my hand like a neat little stack of poker chips was very gratifying, but, I realized if I cooked them, they would probably disintegrate because they were so thin. When I’m at a loss, I always do the same thing. Pickle it! Though, I know what I do to them is not traditionally a pickling method (which is why I am calling this a salad), the flavor is definitely reminiscent of a pickly dish.

Low calorie, tangy and delicious

Low calorie, tangy and delicious

So, I did the following:

  1. Thinly sliced about 1/2 a yellow zucchini and 1/2 of a green zucchini
  2. Added 1-2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar and a teaspoon of olive oil
  3. Added a dash of salt and a dash of crushed red pepper flakes for heat
  4. Tossed it all together and put it in the fridge to marinate for a few hours

We had these as part of a bunch of random leftovers from the kids dinner (brussel sprouts, israeli couscous) and they were very satisfying, especially once the heat of the red chili pepper flakes started to work.

So how does bunch of summer squash stack up nutritionally?

The entire amount of squash (~ 6 1/4 ounces) had about 28 calories. (the olive oil adds ~ 40 calories)

But, it also has a lot to offer in a couple of key areas:

  • About 1/3 of the days requirements for Vitamin C, and
  • A huge amount of the carotenoids (3719 micrograms), Lutein & Zeaxanthin, which I have mentioned previously (Eat your veggies, see things clearer).

There is no recommended amount of these specific carotenoids, but, I can tell you that in one of the studies, it showed that those who had higher consumption of these nutrients (about 6,716 micrograms per day) had an 18 % lower chance of developing cataracts. This small dish alone has over half that amount. So, you can feel good about eating the zucchini because it is low calorie, but, it can also benefit your health, and more importantly, it tastes good.