Many people are interested in low-calorie dishes that satisfy their hunger well. Zucchini is really good in this regard - 20 kcal/100 g, easily digestible, rich in vitamins and gives you a feeling of fullness for the next couple of hours.
The vegetable does not taste good enough in its raw form, so it is heat-treated. One option is zucchini pancakes. By default, they include chicken eggs, flour and zucchini themselves. Preparation does not take much time; this dish can be eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Zucchini pancakes: calorie content and nutritional value per 100 grams
There are several ways to prepare zucchini pancakes and their calorie content varies, depending on the method of preparation. If we proceed from the classic recipe, we get 125-130 kcal per 100 g. This is a little less than an hour of vacuuming carpets.
You will feel full and the calories will go away quickly, allowing you to burn more than you ate, which is the goal when losing weight.
- Calorie content: 125-130 kcal;
- Proteins: 3.7 g;
- Fat: 6.3 g;
- Carbohydrates: 14.2 g.
Fried in oil
Pancakes fried in oil will contain 84 kcal per 100g of finished product. If the first goal of eating pancakes is weight loss, and not directly consuming zucchini, then the first thing you should do is give up oil, it adds a lot of fat and an oily taste to the food.
If you use sunflower oil, you can replace it with olive oil or fry it in water.
- Calorie content: 128 kcal;
- Proteins: 3.2 g;
- Fat: 2.2 g;
- Carbohydrates: 13 g.
Fried without oil
Pancakes without oil will have a calorie content of 81 kcal/100g. Their advantage over previous pancakes is their low fat content.
This cooking method is suitable if you don’t want to bother with a lot of ingredients, since this recipe is a set of basic ingredients needed to prepare zucchini pancakes (zucchini, flour and eggs), other ingredients can be added as desired.
If a nutritionist recommends not eating oil, then you should switch to frying in water.
- Calorie content: 81 kcal;
- Proteins: 3.1 g;
- Fat: 1.3 g;
- Carbohydrates: 14.4g.
With flour
It is worth mentioning that pancakes without flour are no longer pancakes. Flour is always added to any zucchini pancakes. The calorie content of zucchini pancakes according to this recipe will be 128-130 kcal/100g.
The calorie content of pancakes can be reduced if you do not fry them in a frying pan, but bake them in the oven. The fat content in this case will increase due to the zucchini juice.
You can also reduce the calorie content by frying the pancakes in a non-stick frying pan without using oil.
- Calorie content: 128-130 kcal;
- Proteins: 4 g;
- Fats: 6-6.5 g;
- Carbohydrates: 14 g.
With oat flakes
This recipe has two cooking options: with oil and without oil. Both are good - up to your discretion. To prepare these pancakes you need the same as for the previous pancakes, plus a couple of tablespoons of oatmeal.
Zucchini pancakes with oatmeal are perfect for a hearty breakfast or dinner. It’s easy, quick to prepare, and oatmeal adds vitamins, which is very important when losing weight, because due to food restrictions, the body may lack nutrients.
With butter:
- Calorie content: 130-140 kcal;
- Proteins: 2.5 g;
- Fat: 3 g;
- Carbohydrates: 7.3 g.
Without oil:
- Calorie content: 65 kcal;
- Proteins: 4.2 g;
- Fat: 3.2 g;
- Carbohydrates: 9 g.
In the oven
To prepare pancakes in the oven, you need to take the same ingredients as in the previous paragraphs (zucchini, onion, egg, flour, salt) - knead the dough, spread it on a baking sheet and put it in the oven.
The calorie content of the pancakes will be 80 kcal. Pancakes usually turn out weighty and juicy - suitable for lunch as a light second course.
Pancakes are not suitable for a full lunch since zucchini is digested quite quickly, and after a couple of hours you will already feel slightly hungry.
- Calorie content: 80 kcal;
- Proteins: 4 g;
- Fat: 2.4 g;
- Carbohydrates: 11.1 g.
Calorie content of one zucchini pancake
One pancake weighs 30 grams if it is in a serving of eight pancakes that weighs 240 grams. If the calorie content of ordinary pancakes fried in oil is 125 kcal/100g, then one zucchini pancake will contain about 37.5 kcal.
These calories will be spent in half an hour of cooking. One zucchini pancake will be an ideal snack if it happens that you come home very hungry, and there are only a couple of pancakes left in the refrigerator.
How many calories are in zucchini
In the middle zone, two main types of zucchini are available: light, rather large, elongated fruits, weighing about half a kilogram, and those with a darker and richer color, smaller size and weight, called zucchini or Italian zucchini, since they came from Italy. Despite the fact that they are similar in appearance, apart from color and size, the chemical composition, distribution of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, and calorie content of zucchini differ. Although in many recipes they are often interchangeable.
For zucchini, the “weight” is about 21 kcal, half of which belongs to proteins, and only a third to carbohydrates. But for an ordinary light - green, white or yellow - zucchini, the calorie content shows a value of 24 kcal, where 77% is given to carbohydrates. Of course, in any case, these are slow carbohydrates, allowed for daily consumption in quantities limited only by common sense, and not by clear numbers. Those that do not strike the pancreas, causing surges in blood sugar, and do not provoke a new surge in hunger a quarter of an hour after they were eaten. They may not satiate as globally as a good piece of meat, which then takes two to three hours to process, but the feeling of fullness that arises after them does not leave behind an unpleasant overload in the stomach and does not force the digestive tract to digest what has been eaten for a long time and persistently. It is for this reason that you should be interested in how many calories are in zucchini only for reasons of coordinating the daily menu with the individual calorie norm, if there is a need to adhere to it. But not for fear of gaining weight after eating this vegetable.
And without further ado, it is clear that fresh zucchini has a lower calorie content than that prepared in any way, from baking to frying. But, unfortunately, it is undesirable to eat zucchini raw, especially if there is inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Even with all its positive effects on digestion, this vegetable can irritate the already inflamed mucous membrane in an unheated form. However, unlike eggplants, which are strictly forbidden to eat raw, fresh zucchini is not forbidden in the absence of obvious contraindications. And yet, the most correct option not only for those on a diet, but also simply for those who are concerned about their own health, is to pass this vegetable through a double boiler or slow cooker. In terms of taste, it will not lose in any way to baked, stewed, or fried, and the calorie content of zucchini will be an order of magnitude lower than all those indicated, as well as the ease of absorption, stopping at the level of 21 kcal per hundred grams. Moreover, you can even cook zucchini pancakes in a slow cooker. In terms of calorie content, they will outperform those created using a frying pan, and the golden crust will be no worse.
Stewed zucchini, by and large, does not shine in calories either, unless you pour in liters of oil, or even simmer under a lid with vegetable or chicken broth. In general, such a dish can be called an almost ideal way to have a hearty lunch without eating too much, and at the same time without suffering too much due to the fact that fried food is now prohibited. After all, zucchini stewed with meat, carrots and onions has a calorie content of only 112 kcal per hundred grams, varying depending on the meat chosen, and with vegetables alone it is generally half as much - only 64 kcal. But, unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the calorie content of fried zucchini. Even if you don’t add anything other than onions to it, it will add up to a good 92 kcal, but you can’t get enough of just one zucchini. It is often paired with boiled sausage, minced meat, mushrooms or other vegetables. This jump in calorie content of fried zucchini, in contrast to fresh zucchini, is explained, of course, by the absorption of oil, the calorie content of which adds at least 25% to the “weight” of raw zucchini. The same, by the way, applies to zucchini pancakes, the calorie content of which can be either 180 kcal per hundred grams or 209 kcal if you add, for example, minced meat to the usual ingredients.
Composition and benefits of zucchini
Zucchini is considered a dietary product, as it is low in calories - 100 g of raw product contains 20-23 kcal. To expend that much energy, you need to dust your house for half an hour. Zucchini contains vitamins A and C, which have positive effects on hair, teeth, nails and skin.
Zucchini also contains useful microelements, calcium, potassium, magnesium and iron. Zucchini is very easy to prepare, they are recommended to be used for almost all known diseases, as they have a positive effect on all systems in the body: from the cardiovascular system and stomach to the skin.
Its main benefit is that it normalizes the water balance in the body, which helps with both cellulite and malaise.
Zucchini is contraindicated only for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and intestines due to the increased acidity of this product - it will only injure the damaged walls of the stomach and intestines.
Do you want to lose excess weight?
A slim figure is the dream of many women and men. I want to be at a comfortable weight without exhausting myself with strict diets and heavy exercises.
In addition, excess weight can lead to health problems! Heart disease, shortness of breath, diabetes, arthritis and significantly reduced life expectancy!
It has the following properties:
- Speeds up metabolism
- Burns fat deposits
- Reduces weight
- Lose weight even with minimal physical activity
- Helps reduce weight in cardiovascular diseases
- Correct selection. The fruit should be young, with a dark green skin.
- Except for peeling. It contains most of the useful substances.
- Minimal addition of water when stewing or steaming. This will help preserve nutrients.
- Combination with other products. Zucchini goes well with a menu of meat, fish, eggs and vegetables.
- Prevent over-frying. Then the dish will be tastier, more aromatic and healthier.
Stories from our readers!
“I don’t have a lot of excess weight, only about 5 kilograms. But these kilograms are located in very unpleasant places that cannot be corrected with exercise. Conventional diets also did not produce results - completely different parts of the body lost weight!
A friend advised me to speed up my metabolism and ordered these sweets. I was very pleased with the natural composition, pleasant taste and ease of use! Combined with a light diet and plenty of fluids. I recommend!"
Zucchini pancakes for weight loss
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Publication from Tasty PP page (@nyam_pp) Aug 21, 2021 at 8:59 PDT
Any of the recipes with zucchini will be a good addition to a weight loss diet; pancakes will be an ideal solution, as they contain few calories and are easy to prepare.
These vegetables do not require long-term heat treatment, which is why zucchini does not lose vitamins and microelements. Each recipe will not take more than half an hour, and the finished dish can be eaten immediately.
For regular use, you can take absolutely any recipe for zucchini pancakes. It is better to consult a nutritionist before making this decision - he will advise what is suitable in a particular situation.
Beneficial features
Just as potatoes are sometimes called second bread, so is zucchini a substitute for potatoes. This vegetable, once brought to Europe from America and later reaching Russia, can indeed be considered a full-fledged dietary analogue of potatoes, although in terms of its chemical composition and effects on the body it is rather close to cucumbers. The scope of application of zucchini in the diet is quite wide: it is not only used as a side dish for meat and fish dishes, it is used to make caviar and pancakes, it is used as the basis for vegetable stews and various casseroles, but it is even used to make compotes, combining it with cherry plum. But unlike potatoes, zucchini is much lighter and therefore can be used much more often and in any combination. Precisely because this vegetable is so ubiquitous, it would be a good idea to find out how many calories are in zucchini, what is good about it besides the lightness inherent in most vegetables, and how best to use these calories from zucchini in food.
Energy value of zucchini pancakes
Nutritional energy value in 100 grams of zucchini pancakes:
- 55-56 calories.
- 8.5 grams of carbohydrates.
- 1.7 grams fat.
- 1.6 grams of protein.
Calorie content and energy value may vary depending on the components in the zucchini pancakes. It is important to consider what ingredients are used in preparation. When eating on a diet, you should use low-fat foods and do not overuse vegetable oil when frying. You can try steaming zucchini pancakes if your therapeutic diet involves excluding fried foods.
The product has virtually no contraindications. It can be served as a stand-alone dish or with some additional side dish. You can eat such pancakes as snacks provided for in your diet, so as not to grab some higher-calorie buns or chocolate bars. Common in children's, dietary and vegetarian foods.
Cooking methods
Methods for preparing zucchini pancakes can be different, and how many calories will be the final result must be calculated taking into account all the ingredients used.
A simple recipe for which you will also need to take a clove of garlic, an egg, half a glass of flour, and half a teaspoon of salt for 1 zucchini:
- Wash and cut the zucchini into large pieces.
- Grate the pieces on a coarse grater.
- Press the garlic through a garlic press.
- Mix the pureed zucchini with garlic, flour, egg and salt.
- You can add a small amount of baking soda or baking powder.
- Heat a frying pan, pour a small amount of vegetable oil.
- Spoon the zucchini mixture by the tablespoonful until you get round pancakes.
- Fry on both sides until fully cooked and obtain a nice golden crust.
When frying, you can use both sunflower and olive oil. But you shouldn’t add it to every batch. With a small amount of oil, this can be done in 1-2 batches. Zucchini pancakes absorb vegetable oil well, so for a healthy diet it is better to use olive oil.
You can add fresh herbs to the zucchini dough itself during the cooking stage. You can simply serve the dish with greens separately. The approximate cooking time for one batch of pancakes in a frying pan is about seven minutes, which is enough for them to fry on all sides and bake inside.
Zucchini pancakes will not spread all over the pan if you first squeeze out all the excess liquid from the grated zucchini. The finished pancakes will be dense, satisfying and at the same time diet-light.
Product of exceptional benefit
Why do we love zucchini - a product that is suitable for food both completely unripe and during the period of overripeness? Firstly, for its delicate taste. Secondly, for its amazing friendliness towards other products. In fact, zucchini coexists peacefully with spicy seasonings, vegetables, fruits, meat, sweets and even baked goods. It is impossible for them to spoil the dish, but you can always enrich the taste with its help. Thirdly, we love zucchini for its high fiber content and thin skin that does not need to be peeled off the fruit. Of course, a completely ripe vegetable has a thick peel and large seeds. You will have to remove them, but this is quite easy. Based on this amazing vegetable, you can prepare zucchini pancakes with cheese. The calorie content of the finished dish will depend mainly on the type of cheese used.