As summer approaches and my winter clothes go into storage, my summer clothes feel a little bit tighter…I like to think of myself as still growing! So, it’s convenient I just learned about…

🍽️ Apple Cider Vinegar & Weight Loss

🍽️ Zucchini Mad Recipes

🍽️ The Rise of Homemade Yogurt!

Healthy News Dose

A Spoonful a Day Keeps the Weight at Bay?

A new study found a tangy elixir may help teens and young adults shed pounds. Researchers discovered that drinking just 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar daily helped participants lose an average of 15 pounds over 12 weeks. Pretty impressive!

Apple cider vinegar is made from crushed apples and has long been believed to offer health perks. Some small studies have hinted it may encourage modest weight loss in adults, but this is the first to test its effects in younger folks.

Besides the pounds peeling off, people's cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar also improved. Research is still early, but vinegar may work its magic by making you feel full faster and by changing how your body uses insulin and burns fat.

Now, before you run out and buy gallons of the sour stuff, keep in mind the study was small and short! This vinegar can also be problematic for anyone with stomach ulcers.

It's also wise to avoid gulping spoonfuls straight - but adding a tablespoon to water or your morning smoothie instead is a great way to sneak it in.

The Cooking Corner

Zucchini Noodles with Tomato Sauce

To encourage healthy eating habits throughout the week, I’ll make sure to have a selection of fresh or preserved vegetables in the fridge and pantry that can serve as the foundation for a recipe or quick meal.

This week, I found myself with an abundance of fresh zucchini, and decided to honor this humble vegetable with a few zucchini-centric recipes.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tablespoons olive oil

• ½ onion, small dice

• ½ teaspoon Kosher salt

• ½ teaspoon dried oregano

• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 1 garlic clove, finely minced

• 1 28-oz can of San Marzano tomatoes

• 2 zucchini, cut into long, thin noodles 

• 1 Tablespoon fresh chives, finely-sliced, for serving

Instructions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan until it is hot, but before it is smoking.

2. When the oil is hot, add the diced onion, along with a pinch of Kosher salt.

3. Continue to cook for about ten minutes, or until the onion is translucent in color.

4. Add the dried oregano, red pepper flakes, and minced garlic, and continue to cook for an additional one minute.

5. Add the canned tomatoes, breaking up the flesh of the tomatoes into small bite-sized pieces.

6. Continue to cook the sauce on medium-low heat for roughly forty-five minutes, stirring to avoid anything from sticking to the pan.

7. Add the strips of zucchini, and gently cook the zucchini in the tomato sauce until they are almost fully-cooked.

8. *The zucchini will release some water into the sauce as they cook—this is normal!

9. Serve the zucchini on plates or bowls, with some extra sauce on top, along with some finely-sliced chives.

10. You could always add something like freshly-grated parmesan cheese on top here, or a vegan cheese substitute. I haven’t found a perfect vegan cheese substitute for parmesan yet, but if you know of one, please reach out and share with me!

Goodbye Expensive Store Food…

Everyone’s Making Yogurt at Home!

The popularity of homemade yogurt products is on the rise!

A recent research article found the following: 

“While some packaged yogurt varieties are gaining popularity, overall, price sensitivity caused by economic uncertainties is contributing to the increasing preference for homemade varieties.”

Making your own yogurt is SOOO cost-effective!

Even the a small container or two of specialty Greek yogurt at the grocery store can cost as much as a gallon of milk.

If you love yogurt and want to save some money, it’s time to start making your own yogurt at home today!

Chef’s Word of the Week:

Have you ever seen a description of a dish at a restaurant that says, “a la grecque”? Generally, this refers to a dish or item (e.g. vegetables) that are prepared in “the Greek style” of cooking, served with fresh lemon juice, olive oil, and perhaps some herbs.

The origins of the expression used in cooking are controversial. I read a recipe for vegetables a la grecque in the New York Times from Martha Rose Shulman, who mentioned that the dish is originally French.

Upgrade your plate…

Shaved Zucchini Salad!

Try using a vegetable peeler to shave long slices of fresh zucchini, and add them to a bowl. Feel free to discard the innermost section with the seeds, as the slices from that seedy section don’t hold together quite as nicely.

The trick to this super simple zucchini salad lies in gently salting the shaved zucchini, and letting the contents sit for ten minutes before draining the excess water out.

After you have drained out the excess water, add whatever spices you like, in addition to a drizzle of olive oil and squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

For the spices used in this simple example, I used a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, some dried oregano, and freshly-ground black pepper, but it’s really up to you.

Fresh herbs like mint or chives would work wonderfully here. And maybe add some toasted pine nuts, capers, and quartered cherry tomatoes if you are feeling fancy!

Try to drain the water and add the olive oil and lemon juice right before serving, as the zucchini has a tendency to continue to release excess water over time.

This is all I have for you this week!

Let me know what you’ve been cooking or baking lately?

And don’t forget to come say hi in our lovely Facebook group!

Andy G

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