Meatless Monday Zucchini Pasta. Meatless days are great since you can make a meal without having to cook meat and clean your skillet. Why not use a non-stick pan to make for easier clean up! Meatless days can be on any given day and I sure don’t mind skipping meat a few days a week!

With this pregnancy, I have really been into pasta. But now that I am in my third trimester the carb craving is going away. I will say, I have always loved eating fruit as a snack in the evening. Something about a juicy and sweet treat to end the night. Kiwi fruit is my go to lately.

Zucchini Pasta

Just one cup of zucchini is 33 calories. You can really enjoy a bowl of zucchini without the extra calories. Not that I am watching my diet while pregnant. I really eat everything in moderation, even pre-pregnancy. However, I really wanted something lighter and fresh. I guess that is my new craving lately! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had Fresh Oregano Caprese Salad this week!

What You Need

For this dish you need zucchini pasta, of course. You can also just buy fresh zucchini and make the spirals yourself. I personally buy them pre-cut. Because this dish is so light, you want to make sure to get enough pasta noodles. I made enough to serve my husband and I. Two packages of 14 oz each. Each package is a total of 75 calories or so. Wow, right!

Ingredients:

• zucchini pasta noodles
• pasta sauce
• parmesan cheese
• fresh garlic
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• red pepper flakes
• pepper
• salt
• dried oregano or Italian seasoning

Meatless Monday Zucchini Pasta

Recipe by Azilde ElizabethCourse: lunch/dinnerCuisine: VegetarianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

2

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Total time

25

minutes

Pasta with less than half the calories of regular pasta that tastes delicious!

Ingredients

• 2x 14 oz of zucchini noodles

• 1 cup of favorite pasta sauce

• 2 garlic cloves, diced small

• 2 tbsp of olive oil

• 1/2 tsp of garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp of onion powder

• 1/2 tsp of dried oregano or Italian seasoning

• 1/4 tsp of pepper

• sea salt, to taste

• 1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese, half for serving and half for the cooking process

• red pepper flakes, for serving

Directions

• Turn burner on MED, using a non-stick pan. Once heated add the 1 tbsp of the olive oil and add the garlic. Sautee for about 30 seconds or until fragrant.
• Add the zucchini noodles, garlic and onion powder, dried oregano or Italian seasoning, pepper and salt. Give it a nice toss to incorporate and then add the rest of the olive oil (1 tbsp).
• Keep tossing to cook all sides. After about 10 minutes, add the pasta sauce and sprinkle some parmesan cheese. Toss and let it simmer, until zucchini is not as watery. About 10 minutes.
• Serve with extra parmesan cheese.

Notes

• For a meatless meal, serve as is or with a side of bread
• Can also serve with meatballs or vegetarian meatballs!

Benefits

There are so many benefits to eating any vegetable but zucchini is one of those that are low in calories and have a mild flavor. Therefore you can pair it with any dish you’d like and just add your favorite seasoning. Another way I enjoy zucchini is slicing it and boiling it. I eat the whole thing smothered in butter! Something I really enjoyed during my 2nd pregnancy. That and olives right out of the jar!

What are some of your favorite meatless meals?