I tried this zucchini and pasta dish last night using the zucchini as a pasta substitute to cut carbs in half and help with my weight loss.  Zucchini really is the perfect replacement for pasta noodles but you can also try this with yellow squash. I took the zucchini and just halved the pasta. I will try it with just all zucchini next time for the maximum benefit, but sometimes you just need a little pasta mixed in there. It’s great to get all those veggies in your dish but still have it “feel” like normal pasta. Here’s what I did…(recipe for two people)

• Two large zucchini
• Vegetable peeler
• Salt

Peel the zucchini so you have long strips of “noodles”. Do this with the skin and everything. Rotate the zucchini so you are getting a different surface every time you peel. When you get to the seeds, stop at that point. (The seeds tend to make the noodles mushy so, you can cook take the seed core, slice it up into small pieces, saute and throw in with your spaghetti sauce).

Lay out the long zucchini noodles and you can slice these lengthwise to make them even thinner, more like real pasta. You can also use a vegetable slicer or spiral slicer to make julienne or spiral noodles. With two zucchini, I had two piles of “noodles”, each about one and a half cups worth. I salted these, let them sit for a half hour, then rinsed and dried with a paper towel. (I have skipped this part before and the only thing it does is prevent excess water on your plate. The salt draws the water out of the zucchini)

I cooked my whole wheat pasta noodles and removed them from the boiling water with tongs. Then I put the zucchini noodles in the remaining boiling water for one minute. I poured them with the pasta noodles to rinse and drain. I mixed the zucchini and pasta together and topped with my crock pot sauce that had been cooking all day. To cut carbs a bit more, start adding more zucchini and less pasta.

Try this zucchini and pasta substitute dish and let us know here at Burn Fat Club how you liked it!

Cooking kale to add nutrition to your diet can sometimes be a little tricky for those who have never had to prepare it before. It’s dark crunchy leaves and somewhat bitter taste can sometimes turn people off before they have really experienced everything it has to offer. This article will give you some tips on how to prepare kale and add it to your meals to get all the benefits of one of the world’s most nutritious vegetables.

First of all, some background info on kale. It is one of the most nutritionally dense foods, meaning you get a ton of vitamins and minerals for very few calories. One cup of kale has 36 calories but is loaded with things like vitamin K, vitamin C, and vitamin A. Kale also includes manganese, copper, calcium, fiber, vitamin B6, potassium, iron and even Omega 3 Fatty Acids. So there is a lot of bang for your calorie buck! Studies of diets high in vegetables like kale continue to show associations with decreased occurrences of cancers such as colon, lung, breast and bladder.

Not to mention what it can do to help you lose belly fat! With a low caloric intake, you can get a good batch of fiber from kale which will help you feel fuller. This can keep you from overindulging and keep that tummy trim.

Now on to cooking kale. Here are some quick and easy recipes and tips to add more kale to your diet.

• Steam in the microwave (place clean kale leaves in a colander over a glass bowl with about 2 cups of water in it, cover top of colander with plastic wrap) or you can do this same method on the stove top with a metal colander. You may find you have to cook the kale leaves a little bit longer because the leaves are quite thick. It usually takes about 3-5 minutes. Sprinkle with anything from garlic, to reduced fat Parmesan cheese, to apple cider vinegar. Serve hot.
• Take several leaves equal to approximately one cup worth and chop very, very finely. Add to your favorite salad. You can add to a salad with deep flavors like mustard, pepper, etc and it compliments it nicely. Or you can add kale to a fruity type of salad with mandarin oranges, apples, or strawberries for a bitter/sweet grassy flavor. This is the best way to introduce kale into your diet because you will barely notice it’s there.
• Finely chop kale leaves and add to stews, soups and pasta. Again, if you chop finely, you will hardly know it’s there. One cup should do it!
• Bake kale leaves in a glass pan in the oven. Add 1/4 cup of organic chicken stock, chopped apples, balsamic vinegar and walnuts. Bake at 350 F for about 20 minutes.
• Saute’ in a pan with garlic, lemon juice (fresh) and a touch of olive oil. The leaves do wilt nicely and the color is amazing so it looks great on the plate when serving.
• Bake a 100% whole wheat Boboli pizza crust until almost done. Remove from oven and spread 4 Laughing Cow wedges all over pizza (this is your “sauce”). Then add onions, steamed kale, peppers, and any other vegetables you would like. Bake entire pizza at 450 F for 5 minutes. Yum!

Please let us know at BurnFatClub.com if you have any other great ideas on how to prepare kale and also let us know how your kale cooking experiences turn out!