Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

  • Home
    • About
    • FAQs
  • Recipes
    • Bread and Breakfast
    • Condiments
    • Dairy
    • Main Dishes
    • Side Dishes and Snacks
    • Desserts
    • Gluten Free
    • Instant Pot
    • Crock Pot
    • Heavenly Homemaker’s Weekly Menus
  • Homemaking
    • Real Food Sources
  • Store
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Disclosure
    • Privacy Policy
  • Simple Meals
  • Club Members!

Easy, Healthy, Delicious ~ Zucchini Recipes

July 31, 2014 by Laura 20 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Zucchini Recipes - Easy, Healthy, Delicious

We never plant zucchini in our garden any more. Why? Because about this time of year, friends, family, and people we’ve never met are begging us to please take 3 or 4 or 19 extra zucchini off their hands. Everyone who has zucchini growing in their garden seems to have more than they need. We save our garden space for other great produce, and are happy to “help” others by taking some of their excess fresh zucchini. Servant-hearted, that’s what we are. ;)

If you are someone who has lots of zucchini in your garden, or someone who lovingly takes zucchini from other people’s gardens – here are some of our favorite zucchini recipes:

1. Easy Fried Zucchini

Simply slice zucchini, and lightly stir-fry it in a little olive oil, coconut oil, or palm shortening. Cook until lightly brown, salt, and serve. Unbelievably delicious!

2. Zucchini Brownies

Yes, brownies with zucchini. Does life get any better?

3. Cheeseburger Zucchini Boats

These are easy to make and fun to eat. Perfection.

4. Zucchini Cake

With cream cheese frosting. You’re welcome.

5. Whole Wheat and Honey Zucchini Bread and Muffins

This is what we always think of when we have extra zucchini, right? Made with whole wheat and honey, this is super moist and wholesome at the same time.

6. Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cookies and Bars

No one even knows these have zucchini in them. :)

7. Easy Noodle Stir-Fry

This is one of our favorite “throw-together” meals. You can add any veggie you want, so why not zucchini? You won’t believe how delicious this is.

8. Teriyaki Chicken and Veggies

This is tangy and full of flavor, perfect for fresh zucchini.

9. Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

It doesn’t get any better than chocolate muffins that have a hidden vegetable inside! :)

zucchini muffins

What are your favorite ways to eat zucchini? Do you grow zucchini in your garden, or cheerfully take extra zucchini from friends?

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

The Most Nutritious Sweeteners

April 12, 2010 by Laura 201 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

honey

Raise your hand if you ever feel overwhelmed and confused about which sweeteners/sugars are the best to use in your treats?

Uh-huh…me too. There are dozens of different sweeteners out there and all kinds of  arguments trying to convince you to eat one over the other.

While I’m certainly no sweetener expert (although I do consider myself an expert taste tester of all things sweet and sweeter), I will share with you what I’ve learned through the past few years of researching.

Better Sweeteners (in no particular order)

Sucanat/Rapadura – “Dehydrated Cane Sugar Juice”

This is by far my favorite sugar to bake with. It is processed in the traditional way that people of India have used for thousands of years and leaves most of the minerals intact. It substitutes one for one in recipes that call for sugar and has a delicious, rich flavor.

Rapadura is a brand name for Sucanat, so in general I find that Sucanat costs a bit less. Be very careful to buy Organic Sucanat however, as some ‘regular sucanat’ brands I’ve seen are NOT dehydrated cane sugar juice…but some form of processed sugar with molasses added back in making it MUCH less nutritious.

Raw Honey

If you can find raw honey from a local bee keeper, go for it! Raw honey (honey that has not been heated over 117° to kill healthy bacteria) contains many nutrients and digestive enzymes.

Raw honey is a wonderful addition to buttered toast or granola. Honey is also wonderful to bake with (although then of course, it won’t be raw anymore). If a recipe calls for one cup of sugar, I usually substitute 1/2-2/3 cup of honey.

Real Maple Syrup, Grade B

Mmm…I love maple syrup! I never bake with it, but find it works wonderfully in liquid recipes like Strawberry Milkshakes, Smoothies, Warm Vanilla Soother, Creamy Orange Cooler, etc. Oh, and it’s great on Pancakes and Waffles too!

Because real maple syrup is kinda pricey, I am the designated syrup pourer on pancakes…otherwise we’d have a lot of this “Liquid Gold” wasted all over our pancake plates.

Organic Grade B Maple Syrup is better than Grade A as more nutrients are present. Plus, non-organic maple syrups may contain formaldehyde or other synthetic defoamers.

“Mom, can I please have some more formaldehyde on my pancake?” I don’t think so.

Molasses

Molasses is the “waste product” that comes from the production of refined sugar. It is rich in many minerals. I don’t use molasses much for baking, except in recipes such as Molasses Cookies. Mmm!

————————————————
This is by no means an exhaustive list of “healthy sugars”…these are simply my favorites and the sugars I’m most familiar with. Feel free to add your suggestions in the comments section if you have researched and know of a great sugar to try!
————————————————

Sweeteners to Avoid

Refined Sugars

Unfortunately even many organic sugars (turbinado, raw, natural) are quite refined and contain very few nutrients. I use these occasionally because AT LEAST they are (unbleached, organic, a little less refined) and better than…

White Sugar

This sugar is so refined that there are no nutrients left in it whatsoever. It is also usually bleached to make it prettier. Because it is not sugar in its whole form…it has a dramatic effect on blood sugar levels in the body. I can actually feel the effect white sugar has on my body (can you?!).

But, if you have a choice between the two, choose regular sugar over…

High Fructose Corn Syrup

Dr. Mercola can explain why High Fructose Corn Syrup should be avoided way better than I can! Read his professional information on the subject…

Agave Nectar

While I used to believe that Agave Nectar was a healthy substitute for sugar, it seems I should have done my homework more thoroughly. Agave Nectar should usually be avoided as apparently, it is almost worse than High Fructose Corn Syrup.

By the way, I think I’ve changed any recipes I have here on my site that included agave nectar as an ingredient…but in case you find it anywhere, please let me know so I can edit it!

Artificial Sweeteners

Ooh, I can’t say enough about fake sugar!!! Please don’t make the mistake of believing that you are eating/drinking healthier if you avoid sugar but use aspertame, splenda, or whatever the latest “fake sugar” is out there. They are worse than good ol’ refined sugar and can cause so many long term health problems. I have reasons to be passionate about this subject…so if you want to picture me down on the floor grabbing your feet begging you to avoid these…that truly is what I’m doing right now. You can read more information about aspertame here. I believe these testimonials may say more than I ever could.

I’d love for you to share your experiences, thoughts on this subject, and favorite sugar choices with us!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Join Our Community!

 Facebook Twitter RSS E-mail Instagram Pinterest

Popular Posts

~ Will All of the Real Moms Please Stand Up?
~ Easy! Stir-and-Pour Whole Wheat Bread
~ How to Make Gatorade
~ 31 Real Food Breakfast Ideas
~ Dear Teenage Girls...
~ When Mom Takes a Step Back
~ The Inexpensive Health Insurance We Love!
~ Let's Talk Real Food Grocery Budgets

Check out our latest posts!

  • Simple Bran Muffin Recipe
  • Easy Meatballs with Sweet Sauce (Freezer Friendly)
  • How to Make Uncrustables
  • The Easiest No-Bake Cheescake
  • Do I Still Buy Organic Food?
Home  ~  Simple Meals  ~  Club Membership  ~  Shop  ~  Privacy Policy  ~  Disclosure  ~ Contact

Copyright © 2023 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in