Grilled Vegetable Sandwiches

Remember the delicious 10-Grain milk bread that I shared with you last week? And remember how I told you that I made a yummy sandwich with that same bread and was gonna share it with you soon? Welp, here it is!

This is a riff on a sandwich I love eating from this particular restaurant. A bunch of grilled veggies, a slather of smoky hummus and tangy, creamy feta. You really should not skimp on grilling the veggies here because it really adds a distinct smoky flavor, but if you really do not want to grill, you could always roast them in the oven. On top of my hearty 10-grain bread, it makes for a wonderful lunch.

Grilled Vegetable Sandwiches

Yields: 4 sandwiches, 4 servings

8 slices of 10-grain milk bread, or any whole wheat bread
4 tbsn. roasted garlic hummus, or more to your taste
4 tbsn. crumbled French feta, or more to your taste
2 red peppers, roasted
2 medium zucchini, sliced
1 box mushrooms, sliced
1 large eggplant, sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste


To roast the eggplant, grill the peppers until their outer skin is charred and completely black. Place into a heatproof bowl and cover completely; allow them to steam for 4 - 5 minutes, then remove the charred skin (it should pinch off easily). Grill the zucchini and eggplant slices until cooked through and slightly charred (I grilled them dry, but if you prefer, you can use some olive oil on the veggies). In a medium saucepan, dry saute the mushrooms over high heat until browned and cooked through. Place all of the vegetables into a large bowl and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toast the bread slices, then spread a tbsn. of hummus on four slices of bread. Top with the crumbled feta, some roasted red pepper, grilled zucchini, mushroom and grilled eggplant. Finish it off with the other slice of bread and enjoy!

Baked Zucchini Fries with Marinara

The Mexican market around the corner from my house, which I previously mentioned in my last post, always has great prices on produce. Sometimes though, I get tricked by the great prices and overlook the not-so-awesome quality of the product. I bought a bunch of strawberries that weren't all that hot, so I made some delicious strawberry-lychee aguas frescas instead. Problem solved. 

Another great price flashed before me and then I found myself buying a huge bag full of zucchini. I love zucchini and I practically got a whole bag full for free - that's how awesomely cheap it was. This time though, the prices weren't a cover for the quality. Awesome, awesome zucchini - now what to do with it?


Zucchini fries! I had everything on hand and I felt like a snack. After trimming, slicing, dredging, and tossing into a hot oven to crisp up I was rewarded with a healthy, nom-worthy snack within all but 15 minutes. It was awesome. Normally, telling you that I ate the whole batch within one sitting would make me a bit shameful, but heck... I'll admit eating 3 zucchini within a sitting any day. I'm sure I made mothers and nutritionists proud everywhere around the world!

Baked Zucchini Fries with Marinara

Yields: 3 servings

Original recipe here.

For the zucchini:

3 medium zucchini, sliced into sticks

1 large egg white

1/3 cup seasoned whole wheat bread crumbs

2 tbsn. grated Pecorino Romano cheese

cooking spray

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

salt

fresh pepper

For the marinara sauce:

1 tsp. olive oil

2 garlic cloves, smashed

28 oz. cans crushed tomatoes

1 small bay leaf

1 tsp. oregano

2 tbsn. chopped fresh basil

salt and fresh pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 425 F. In a medium pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until golden, being careful not to burn it. Add the crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, oregano, basil and bay leaf. Stir and reduce the heat to low. Cover and let simmer about 20 minutes. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites and season with salt and pepper. In a ziplock bag, place the breadcrumbs, garlic powder and cheese; shake well. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and set aside. Dip the zucchini sticks into the egg and then place into the bread crumb and cheese mixture, a few at a time and shake to coat. Place the breaded zucchini in a single layer and spray more cooking spray on top. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with some marinara sauce for dipping. 

Zucchini Bread Oatmeal

I love oatmeal.

But of course, you already know that,

judging by the many oatmeal recipes, as seen here, here, and here.

So this is just another oatmeal recipe. One that is incredibly hearty and incredibly healthy. Oats that stick to your ribs and keep you fueled the whole morning. Mmmm nothing beats a warm bowl of oatmeal! This oatmeal takes a bit more time, since it's all steel cut oats but there's something about slow cooking a nice bowl of oatmeal that calms your nerves and starts your morning off to a good mood.

Zucchini Bread Oatmeal

Yields: 1 serving

Original recipe here.

2/3 cup water/ soy milk/ almond milk/ rice milk

pinch of salt

1/2 cup dry steel-cut oatmeal

1/4 medium zucchini, finely grated

handful of chopped pecans

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg, if desired

pinch of ground ginger, if desired

1 heaping tbsn. almond butter/ any nut or seed butter

2 tbsn. brown sugar

Maple syrup, to serve

In a heavy bottomed pot, bring the water and salt to a boil over high heat. Add the oats, lower the heat to simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring once or twice (if the bottom begins to scorch, add a bit more liquid). After 15 minutes, add the zucchini, nuts, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Stir well, then cover again and cook for another 5 minutes (if oats are dry, add a bit more liquid). Remove from heat, stir in the almond butter and the brown sugar. Serve with an extra dousing of maple syrup more milk, if desired.

Zucchini & Eggplant PIzza

My sister brought home a plethora of zucchini home the other day. We've been trying to use it up because one, they are beautiful zucchini that should not go to waste and two, because zucchini is awesome and unbelievably delicious and not to mention versatile. So far we've made whole wheat zucchini muffins, zucchini frittatas and now this: zucchini and eggplant pizza!

I think so far this has been my favorite of the recipes we've tried. Actually, my sister made this genius pizza. Super thin crust, just how I like it and bursting full of flavor. Such a great combination with the eggplant and uber melty mozzarella. Try this immediately, I love it.

Zucchini & Eggplant Pizza

Yields: 1 large pizza, about 10 slices

Printable Recipe

1 (16 oz.) package of pizza dough (I use Trader Joes' whole wheat version)

1/2 - 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 - 1/2 cup pizza sauce/ marinara sauce

1 zucchini, thinly sliced

1/2 purple eggplant, thinly sliced

10 - 15 basil leaves

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 tsp. dried oregano

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a large baking sheet with foil and lightly grease with non-stick spray or some olive oil. Take your pizza dough and press out onto the baking sheet till about 1/2 inch thick. Using your hands spread the minced garlic all over the top of the dough, then spread the pizza/ marinara sauce all over the dough, leaving a 1 cm thick border around the edges. Sprinkle with the cheese and oregano. Spread the basil leaves, zucchini and eggplant evenly over the surface of the pizza and cook in the oven until cheese is melty and crust is golden brown, about 10 - 15 minutes.