Zucchini Burgers, Potato Salad and all that Jazz

Okay, so jazz really has nothing to do with this post, but I thought it sounded better than just Zucchini burgers and potato salad.

If you want to see a fun head-to-head rendition of All that Jazz check out this clip from Glee that has Lea Michele going up against Kate Hudson.

But on to the food (though after watching the two of them, I feel like I shouldn't eat for a month - or maybe I should just take up dancing and burn it off!)

Last week, when Missy posted her delectable burgers, I promised Zucchini burgers.

My daughter (the vegan one) and I love to cook together, especially on the holidays, but she couldn't be home for the 4th so I suggested we both cook the same thing in our separate kitchens and just play pretend. She loved that idea and sent me a couple of recipes to choose from.

We settled on this.

Zucchini burgers

I'm not going to go into all the details on how to make it because she does all that for me but I will share some photos of my experiment.

This is what mine looked like before I cooked.

I will say my daughter was a bigger fan of the outcome than I was. I found if I flattened them and made them more like pancakes, and then poured more of my bruschetta tomato mix from last week on top, they were yummy. But comparing them to Missy's burgers would be a stretch. Both good, but in very different ways.

Along the way to making those burgers, I made my own tahini. Before you go getting impressed, all it requires is toasting the sesame seeds and grinding them into a paste in the food processor.

It's what came next that was the best part of the meal. Nora had mentioned she wanted to make potato salad. Sounded good to me, but she's vegan remember - no eggs, no mayo. What I came up with was fabulous if I do say so myself.

I cooked the red potatoes and let them chill. (More to come on how that makes them healthy for you.)
For a dressing, I was basically winging it. Nora had mentioned avocado so I smashed up a lovely avocado, mixed it with some vinegar (I have a lovely organic red wine vinegar) and oil and then mixed in some of the tahini. I added diced red onions and stirred the whole thing together.

I have to admit, I winced as I began my taste test. It was all very green and I didn't quite know what to expect. I certainly didn't expect the deliciousness that exploded on my tongue. Oh, it was THAT good!

Speaking of good, this would be the place to say how totally addicted I am to my tomato mix from last week. I've just made my 3rd batch, and since hubby doesn't eat tomatoes, that means I've eaten ALL of it.
  SO so so yummy.

I served it on top of sliced flank steak tonight.

Now, as to why cold potatoes are healthy and can actually help you lose weight  - 2 words - resistant starch.

If you want a really detailed explanation of all the science behind it and why it's helpful to your body, check out this article. Resistant Starch 101  or this one Resistant Starches Heal.

The short explanation is: when you cook certain starchy foods, like potatoes and rice, and then cool them down, the bad starches are converted into an insoluble fiber called resistant starch. That basically goes undigested to the large intestine where it provides nutrition to the good bacteria.

This site gives a really good explanation of how it helps you stay healthy and keep the weight off even when eating foods you think will make you gain.

How resistant starch will help to make you healthier and thinner.


Is this something you've heard of before?


And I'll leave you with another video. Have you seen this cool footage of fireworks shot from a drone flying through them. Very cool and you get Andrea Bocelli besides.

If you made it this far (and I hope you did), and you're not sick of me already (and I hope you're not), then please come on by the CraftieLadies of Love Inspired blog today. I'm there chatting about Christmas in July.  Christmas in July with Cate Nolan.