Recipe: Zucchini Sauté

This recipe is a modified form of a zucchini sauté from the 17 Day Diet cookbook -- I love how the lemon brightens up the dish. 

Ingredients:

• 2 medium zucchini
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• Zest from 1 lemon
• Cooking spray
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt substitute
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 3 TBS Parmesan cheese

To Make:

• Put pine nuts into a dry skillet and heat over a low flame, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes. Careful not to burn them! Once they are done, set aside.
• Grate the zucchini and use a strainer to squeeze out the excess water.
• Spray the skillet with nonstick spray and put over medium heat until the surface of the skillet is warm.
• Add the grated zucchini and cook, stirring often, for about 3 minutes. 
• Stir in salt substitute, pepper, and lemon zest, and garlic powder. Continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes. 
• Transfer zucchini to serving dish and stir in pine nuts and cheese. 

Serves: 4

Each Serving: 80 calories, 5g carbs, 6g fat, 4g protein, 614mg potassium, 67mg sodium

Variations:

• If you slice the zucchini into longer strips instead of grating it, the dish takes on more of a "spaghetti" texture.
• My friend suggested that this dish begs for a bit of a cream sauce. If you choose to do so, I would recommend no more than 1-2 TBS of light sour cream, just to mimic an Alfredo sauce.