From cucumbers and zucchini to peppers, tomatoes, and everything in between, there is no shortage of hot-weather vegetables to keep your meals light, healthy and colorful this summer. Keep reading for some fun, easy recipes that include some of the best tasting and most nutritious vegetables in season.
Caprese Zoodles
Switch out those carb-loaded pasta dishes for something a little lighter (but just as tasty) this summer: zoodles! Zoodles, aka zucchini noodles, are a fiber-rich and low-calorie alternative to regular wheat pastas. Zoodles are loaded with Vitamin B6 and have even been known to protect against diabetes. For this simple recipe, dress the zoodles in olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and add some halved cherry tomatoes, quartered mozzarella balls, fresh basil leaves and balsamic vinegar into the mix. If zucchini is not your vegetable of choice, replace it with fresh corn or just stick to the traditional version of the salad: tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, balsamic, and salt and pepper to taste. Whichever way you go, you cannot go wrong with this fan-favorite summertime dish.
Stuffed Peppers
As another summer vegetable classic, stuffed peppers are fun and versatile in that they can be customized however you want and can pass as both a main and side dish. Although red peppers pack the most nutrition, all varieties are great sources of vitamins A and C, potassium and fiber. Cut and stuff the peppers with cooked rice, tomato sauce, onion, garlic, and a meat of your liking, bake at the required temperature, and top with cheese, parsley, and Italian seasoning. Most people opt for a ground beef filling, but feel free to think outside the box. If you are really committed to getting your vegetable nutrients in, substitute the meat filling with some corn, black beans, and pepper jack cheese for a southwestern spin on this dish.
Sheet Pan Summer Vegetables and Chicken
This next recipe is chock-full of nutritious veggies and is easy to both cook and clean up. Plus, if you keep a garden in the summer months, most of these ingredients can be found right in your backyard. Keeping true to the recipe’s name, all you will need to do for this dish is cut up and season some zucchini, tomatoes, and yellow squash, and bake them on a pan with cubed pieces of a boneless, skinless chicken breast. Vegetable-heavy sheet dinners like this one are perfect for vegetable lovers who need a little extra protein to get through the day. They pack the nutrients and vitamins you would find in a meal that took twice as long to make.
Summer Vegetable Tart
Now for a slightly more complicated but equally healthy and delicious mention: a summer vegetable tart. Depending on how ambitious you are, you can either create your own dough-based crust for this dish by hand or get a premade dough from the store. Once baked to crispy perfection and filled with the creamy, cheesy filling, add bell peppers, zucchini, and eggplant, top with fresh basil, and enjoy the best version of a pizza you will have all summer.
Dr. Barbara Edwards, a Princeton MD is the Academic Director for the Ambulatory Residency Program at Penn Medicine Princeton Health, providing quality care to uninsured and under-insured New Jersey residents in Mercer and Middlesex counties.