Vegetarian Snacks For The Sports Season

There are plenty of non-vegetarian snacks and halftime meals you can make for your friends during the busy sports season, but people often forget their vegetarian/vegan friends in all the excitement. If you are taking a break from one of your online culinary courses but want to keep honing your kitchen skills, prepare some tasty treats for your animal-friendly acquaintances by using two of the healthiest vegetables at the grocery store: kale and zucchini.

Kale
This leafy green plant is packed with essential nutrients and is quite versatile in the kitchen. One cup of kale is only 36 calories and offers a plethora of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer nutrients that keeps all sorts of ailments at bay. Daily consumption of kale also promotes brain health through the presence of phyto-nutrients like sulfurophane and kaempferol. Along with these phyto-nutrients, kale is an excellent source of the omega-3 fatty acid ALA, which is linked to lowering the risk of depression and diabetes.

Kale chips – This simple recipe uses  one bundle of kale, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of sea salt. After you preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, begin preparing your kale chips by washing them thoroughly and shearing the leaves into manageable bite-sized pieces. Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil over the pieces and cover them with enough salt to suit your taste. Place in the oven for 10 minutes or until crispy.

Zucchini
This member of the summer squash family is packed with powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients like Vitamin A and C, and provides 10 percent of the recommended daily allowance of fiber, which lowers the risk of colon cancer. The antioxidants in zucchini attach to the bile acid produced in your liver. As the antioxidants continue to attach to these acids, the liver needs to use up more of your body’s cholesterol stores to produce more bile, thus lowering your body’s overall cholesterol levels. It is also a great source of important minerals like magnesium, which assists in lowering blood pressure and the risk of heart attacks.​

Zucchini parmesan crisps – Wash your zucchini and then slice it into 1/4-inch thick pieces. Prepare a bowl with 1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs. Mix your zucchini in with enough olive oil to coat all the pieces evenly. Toss in your parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs and place on a cookie sheet. Bake the slices for 20 minutes at 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

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