Tuesday, May 22, 2007

An old favorite, lightened up
--Oven-Fried Zucchini Sticks



Oven-Fried Zucchini Sticks
Fry Light, Fry Right! Copyright 2004

4 medium-sized zucchini
Canola cooking spray
1 tsp. minced or chopped garlic
1/3 c. egg substitute I used a real egg
1 tbsp. light mayonnaise
1 c. Italian-style breadcrumbs

1. Wash and dry the zucchini. Cut in half lengthwise and widthwise. Then cut each of these pieces into 4 sticks. You should have 32 sticks.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Generously coat cookie sheets or a large nonstick jelly roll pan with canola cooking spray.
3. Place the garlic, egg substitute, and mayonnaise in the food processor and blend well (or use an electric mixer); spoon into a shallow bowl. Place breadcrumbs in another shallow bowl.
4. Dip the zucchini, one by one, into the egg mixture first then into the breadcrumbs mixture to coat well. Place the coated sticks on the prepared cookie sheet or pan.
5. Spray the tops of the zucchini sticks with canola cooking spray. Bake in center of the oven for 12 minutes or until the outside coating is nice and golden.

Makes 8 servings (4 sticks per serving). Per serving: 56 cal, 3g pro, 9g carbs, 1.2g fat, 1mg chol, 1.5g fiber, 219mg sodium
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I can remember eating fried zucchini in Denny's with friends after spending the night out on the town. I think this is one dish that is just as good lightened up. Back in the day we ate this with ranch dressing but I dipped these in no-salt-added ketchup, something new for me. It's surprisingly good. It's still loaded with high fructose corn syrup but it uses potassium chloride instead of salt (sodium chloride). Is that better for you? I haven't figured that out yet. I'm still researching it. If you know anything about this, let me know.

I was pleased to finally find a good use for reduced-fat mayonnaise. I really can't stand the stuff straight but it works well in this recipe.

This is my contribution to Sweetnick's ARF/5-A-Day Tuesday. Zucchini packs a decent nutritional punch compared to it's calorie content.

Don't forget to sign up for the cookbook giveaway this month.

I wish I could think of something else to say but I'm cutting back on caffeine and I can barely keep my eyes open. Thinking is a real chore.

Blast From The Past:Ditalini With Zucchini from February 2006, a simple but tasty zucchini recipe.

Question of the Day: Have you ever used the 'oven-fry' method for anything?

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Yum...zucchini sticks sound so good! Yep, I've used it for okra, french fried, eggplant, chicken, and salmon patties.

Heather said...

Yes, I used it to make onion rings. They turned out great.

Kim said...

I oven-fry french fries, sweet potato fries, and chicken tenders most often. My family actually prefers them this way now. I've not tried zucchini, though. Sounds good!

Wanda said...

I used to oven-fry french 'fries' often. Now I use that method for fish all the time. Usually catfish coated with cornmeal. It is delicious!

Sara said...

Zucchini sticks are one of my most favorite foods. I've never had oven fried ones, just the naugty deep fried ones.

Anonymous said...

Yes, I really like some oven-fried recipes: Cook's Country's Oven-Fried Chicken Wings, Cook's Illustrated's Sweet Potato Oven Fries, and ATK Family Cookbook's Oven Fries. The veggies are basically just roasted veg with a catchy name, but I think they're great! I do the actual frying a lot too :)