Raw zucchini is yummy in salads
The featured image shows the usual contents of my refrigerator vegetable drawer. Lately I’ve been eating peeled, raw zucchini in my salads instead of the cucumbers I had been eating for years. Why? Lately (after noticing the rise in cucumber prices) I realized they are more filling than cucumbers, just slightly more caloric, tastier, have a richer, chewable substance, and are more nutritious.
Key Differences
- Calories & carbs: Zucchini is slightly higher (17 kcal vs 12 kcal per 100 g).
- Protein: Zucchini has about twice as much protein.
- Vitamins: Zucchini has much more Vitamin C and more potassium.
- Water content: Cucumber is a bit more water-rich (96% vs 94%).
- Fiber: Zucchini has a little more fiber.
I typically have salads 3 times a day, to start off each meal. Here is what goes into them. The basic ingredients are (1) a mixed salad (usually from 7-Eleven) that contains a variety of healthy greens, including spinach, some sliced carrots, a bit of sliced onion, lettuce, and also a few soybeans; (2) a tomato, and (3) one zucchini.
After slicing things up into a salad bowl, I’ll add 1 teaspoon of ground flax seed – as recommended by Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen. See https://lerner.net/oh-boy-doug-food-again/ for more info on that, and what I eat every day (basically the same things every day).
I also add a teaspoon of nutritional yeast flakes. Not only is this high in protein, it contains vitamin B12, which is the one thing you need to make sure you are getting on a vegan diet. My friends’ reactions to nutritional yeast flakes varies. Some, like me, really love it. Some don’t just seem to care for it that much, or actually dislike like. I will sprinkle it on all sorts of things – my salad, potatoes (it has a cheesy sort of flavor), brown mushrooms I snack on, and more.
After that I’ll add some spices – maybe cinnamon, maybe black pepper with some ginger powder – drizzle on some soy milk for the creaminess, and stir in a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Looks pretty tasty I think!
As mentioned above, I start each meal with this kind of salad, so I have it three times a day. And each bowl only has about 125 calories!
If you read the https://lerner.net/oh-boy-doug-food-again/ article, you can see what more I eat, but it’s usually potatoes I make in the microwave. For dinner I might also heat up a 300 g bag of frozen Japanese mixed vegetables. And I usually have one or two fruits a day as well.
I’ve also continued going to the sports center and working out at the gym every even-numbered day since the beginning of April. I think I might be seeing what looks possibly like an ab. 🙂
I’d never thought to sub raw zucchini for cucumber. I’ll try adding ground flaxseed and/or nutritional yeast to my salad. Thanks for the tips!
I’ve been substituting zucchini’s as well. It’s a game changer! Would you say you eat 1 zucchini a day or 1 per meal (each salad?
Usually it’s one per meal (each salad). Unless the store didn’t have any nice zucchini, in which case I will use cucumber. But zucchini is much more satisfying.
That makes sense. Thanks for the insight. I’ve been following dougs-food and it has simplified my food choices. Do you happen to take any supplements? It would be helpful to see a post on supplements.
The only supplement I take is one multivitamin each morning. And really the only reason I take that is because you need to take a vitamin B12 supplement if you’re vegan, because the body needs that and it doesn’t come from vegan foods. You can do a search for vitamin B12 on Dr. Greger’s site at https://nutritionfacts.org/. Also, I use fortified nutritional yeast flakes every day. That also contains vitamin B12, so I probably don’t need the multivitamin. I guess I just take the multivitamin as backup to make sure I’m getting basic things I need.