Everything you wanted to know about squash caviar for weight loss, but were afraid to ask

Zucchini is a very easy food. 100 g of fresh fruit contains no more than 18 kcal. When these vegetables are turned into caviar, the energy value increases. Is it possible to eat squash caviar on a diet, is it beneficial, and what is the harm? Everyone who adheres to the rules of a healthy diet should know.

Zucchini is usually eaten raw, stewed, boiled, fried, as a separate dish. But more often people make caviar from them. This is also sold in industrially produced jars. However, home-cooked ones are lower in calories.

Composition and nutritional value of the product

Caviar from zucchini is desired by everyone. And the energy content per 100 g is only 103 kcal. The glycemic index of this dish is 70-75. This is a high figure. But due to the high moisture and fiber content, such caviar helps cleanse the intestines, which means losing weight.

Important! Each product has its own glycemic index. This is the effect of a product on blood sugar levels after consumption. GI shows the rate at which carbohydrates are absorbed in the body and increase sugar levels. The highest indicator is 100. Low GI foods have fiber and complex carbohydrates that are digested slowly. A high GI indicates simple carbohydrates that are quickly digested. And if there is no reason to consume glucose, it is sent to fat reserves.

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Asian-style marinated zucchini

This snack option is suitable even for a holiday table. Pickled spicy zucchini looks beautiful and at the same time has a minimum calorie content - about 17 kcal per 100 g. For piquancy, wine vinegar, soy sauce, and chili are used in the treat. The latter can be taken fresh, after removing the seeds and chopping into tiny cubes. If you can’t find a fresh pod, dry ground chili will do.

Composition of ingredients

For the dish you need to take:

• young zucchini – 2-3 pcs.;
• onion – ½ pcs.;
• wine vinegar – 55-60 ml;
• light sesame – 1 tbsp. l.;
• salt – 1-2 pinches;
• green cilantro and/or dill – 1 bunch;
• soy sauce – 2-3 tsp;
• vegetable fat – 35-40 ml;
• chili (pod) – ¼ piece;
• sugar – 1 tsp;
• garlic cloves – 3-4 cloves.

Step-by-step cooking process

The cooking process includes several stages:

1. Light sesame seeds are immediately poured into a dry frying pan without oil. They are fried for a couple of minutes until a bright aroma appears.
2. Zucchini is washed and dried. If these are young, tender vegetables, you don’t need to remove the thin outer skin from them. The remaining vegetables are cut into thin slices.
3. The prepared zucchini is transferred to a bowl. They are added with salt on top, mixed well and left to stand in this form for 17-20 minutes. If during this time the chopped vegetables produce a large amount of liquid, then it would be best to drain it.
4. The onion is peeled and washed. Its half is chopped into half rings. Garlic and herbs are finely chopped. The portion of this aromatic mass in the recipe can be increased to your liking.
5. For the marinade, combine soy sauce with oil and wine vinegar in a separate bowl. Sugar is also added here. The components are thoroughly mixed until all the sweet crystals are dissolved in the liquid.
6. The marinade is poured over all the vegetables in the bowl. The components are left in this form for at least a quarter of an hour. The zucchini is left to marinate only after the excess juice has drained from it.
7. The last thing to go into the marinade is the chili. First, the pod gets rid of the stalk and seeds inside. The remaining part is finely chopped. Sesame seeds are scattered on top.
8. After mixing, the treat is put in a cool place for 70-80 minutes. You can leave it to marinate longer. During the specified time, the tastes and aromas in the appetizer will “make friends,” so it will turn out to be as harmonious and appetizing as possible.

It is allowed to prepare the treat in advance. It can be stored in this form for up to 75 hours.

How to serve a dish

The resulting treat can be served after a couple of hours in the refrigerator. You can put it on any healthy low-calorie bread. It is also delicious to combine the snack with boiled whole grain pasta, potatoes, and cauliflower.

Benefits and harms

Zucchini caviar brings many benefits. The advantages are:

• fiber improves intestinal motility, prevents and treats constipation;
• the functioning of the heart muscle improves;
• cholesterol decreases;
• immunity is strengthened;
• joints become stronger;
• salts and toxins are removed;
• the blood is cleansed, blood circulation is activated;
• swelling and excess water go away;
• metabolism is activated.

Doctors recommend eating caviar every week. It is especially useful for those who are losing weight, as well as for certain diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys and liver.

Harm also exists. Expired or low-quality products contribute to the occurrence of botulism.

Zucchini rings with liver

Zucchini rings with liver are a delicious, filling appetizer. It combines juicy vegetables and nutritious healthy offal. This recipe will immediately appeal to lovers of zucchini in any form and liver pancakes. The liver for this recipe should be chicken. With it, the dish will turn out to be low-calorie and light.

Composition of ingredients

For the dish you need to take:

• zucchini – 460-480 g;
• chicken liver – 180-200 g;
• flour - 4.5-5 tbsp. l.;
• egg – 1-2 pcs. (depending on size);
• salt, spices and oil.

Chicken liver is best suited for this recipe. But you can also use turkey, beef or pork.

Step-by-step cooking process

The cooking process includes several stages:

1. All liver specified in the recipe is washed. Afterwards it is trimmed off of everything unnecessary. You need to remove excess fat and any thin films that come across from the offal. The remaining parts of the liver are cut into miniature pieces.
2. The crushed offal is poured into the blender bowl. There it is interrupted to maximum homogeneity. You should get tender minced meat.
3. The contents of a raw egg are poured into the broken liver. The mass is salted to taste and flavored with spices. The ingredients are mixed well and whisked.
4. Flour is poured into the mixture in parts. After each new portion, the components are mixed well again.
5. If flour lumps end up in the mixture, it is best to use a blender. With this device, the components are beaten until smooth. At this stage, the liver filling will be completely ready. She steps aside.
6. The zucchini is washed and dried. The ends of the vegetables are cut off on both sides. The remaining parts are cut into circles approximately 1 cm thick.

7. The middle of the zucchini blanks is cut out for the filling. It is convenient to do this using special cookie cutters. Round shapes are best, but you can use any other shapes - hearts, stars. If the vegetables are young, then the cut out pulp can later be turned into delicious caviar. If the zucchini is already ripe, then it is better to throw away the centers.
8. The resulting zucchini rings are sprinkled on both sides with a mixture of salt and spices.
9. A sufficient amount of vegetable fat is heated in the frying pan. Zucchini rings are added to the already boiling oil. The product is fried over medium heat for approximately 3-4 minutes. Vegetable rings should be slightly browned.
10. Using a teaspoon, carefully pour the liver filling into the middle of each zucchini piece. After this, the treat continues to be prepared under the same conditions for 2-3 minutes. You need to wait for the filling of their offal to set.
11. Afterwards, the filled rings are carefully turned over to the other side and continue to fry for another 2-3 minutes.

The fully prepared treat is placed on paper napkins to remove excess oil.

How to serve a dish

The resulting filled rings can be served either warm or completely cooled.

A light garlicky spicy sauce goes well with them.

Who should exclude this dish from their diet?

Some people will have to give up zucchini. There are a number of reasons for this:

• some kidney pathologies;
• stomach and duodenal ulcers;
• gastritis with high acidity;
• acute form of gastrointestinal diseases;
• allergy to zucchini and caviar components.

It is also important to carefully study the composition of the product when purchasing. If it contains sugar, it is better not to use if you have diabetes.

Important! To reduce the calorie content of caviar, you can cook it in a slow cooker. You can also use a microwave.

Selection and storage

The greatest danger is from canned food contaminated with botulism.
Consuming them can land you in a hospital bed with severe poisoning. When choosing squash caviar, you need to check the following points:

• Date of issue;
• shelf life;
• compound;
• appearance;
• region of release;
• integrity of the bank.

All this is important when choosing a quality product.

When purchasing a product manufactured at an industrial enterprise, you must pay attention to the release date. The best caviar will be the one made in August or September. It is during this period that the mass harvest of zucchini takes place. This caviar is made from fresh harvest. Squash caviar should have a shelf life of no more than two years.

The composition of the product is very important if you want to purchase a quality product. Pay attention to the label. The main rule is that the more natural ingredients, the better. The presence of additives such as flour and starch is undesirable. They are not at all needed for the manufacture of the product; they are used here as thickeners. The appearance of caviar is most often orange-yellow in color. Other shades and small inclusions are acceptable. The color and consistency of the product depends on the composition of the products included in it.

Read: Benefits of brown rice for human health

It is recommended to pay attention to the region where the caviar was produced. Preference should be given to those canned goods that are produced in those places where zucchini grows, for example, Krasnodar, Stavropol, Volga region.

Any industrial or home canned food in which the can is deformed is prohibited for consumption. A change in shape indicates that the product is spoiled and dangerous.

If the package has been opened, the product can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 3 days. You need to pay attention to the jar. If caviar was produced in a tin container, then it cannot be stored open in this form. The contents of the package must be transferred to another container.

In order for the product to bring only benefits, you must be able to choose the right squash caviar. It must be remembered that any abuse of quantity can harm the body.

Options for fasting and dietary nutrition

Due to the lightness of the dish, caviar can be eaten as a dietary food when losing weight.

Option 1

I eat half a kilo of caviar for seven days in a row. It is not prohibited to consume an unlimited number of vegetables (just not potatoes, of course), as well as 200 g of white chicken meat, boiled with a little salt and pepper.

Chicken will provide proteins, vegetables will provide vitamins, and caviar will provide fiber and other useful components to cleanse the intestines and supply all cells of the body with useful substances. Up to 7 kilograms can be lost in 7 days.

Option 2

All week you should eat only buckwheat (150 g), boiled chicken (100 g of white meat) and zucchini caviar (100 g). Eat at a strictly defined time. You cannot follow this diet for more than a week.

It is possible to lose weight up to 8 kilograms. But these days you need to take a complex of vitamins.

Option 3

For three days in a row, you should eat 100 g of zucchini delicacy, 50 g of cheese and chamomile infusion in the morning. For lunch - vegetable soup, white meat chicken. For an afternoon snack - ginger tea, as well as a baked green apple. For the evening - boiled rice and 100 g of squash caviar. With such a diet you can say goodbye to 3.5 kg in three days.

Fasting day 1

In the morning - squash caviar and low-fat cottage cheese.

Lunch – zucchini caviar and chicken or fish.

Afternoon snack – fruit of your choice.

For the evening - zucchini caviar with potatoes or steamed buckwheat.

Fasting day 2

In the morning - 100 g zucchini caviar and green tea.

Second breakfast – 120 g of yogurt, pear, a mug of pumpkin juice.

Lunch – zucchini caviar, boiled with spices, meat, a cup of berries, a cup of tea.

Afternoon snack – cabbage salad with carrots, caviar, apple juice.

For the evening - a handful of dried fruits, caviar, unsweetened tea or fruit juice.

Interesting! Zucchini can be eaten raw. They are juicy and tasty. It is better to choose very young and medium-sized fruits for this. Raw zucchini acts as a mild diuretic.

Cutlets with zucchini and rice

Squash caviar is not the only option for preparing the discussed vegetables for weight loss. You can also make delicious cutlets from the main ingredients. You should definitely add fresh herbs to them. Then the treat will turn out more appetizing, beautiful, and healthy. Cutlets according to the recipe proposed below in the article are perfect even for a diet menu. They are low in calories and yet nutritious.

Composition of ingredients

For the dish you need to take:

• zucchini and egg - 1 pc.;
• rice – 65-70 g;
• fresh dill – 12-15 g;
• oil, salt and spices.

Step-by-step cooking process

The cooking process includes several stages:

1. Rice is cooked in plenty of salted water. But he doesn't have to be fully prepared. Enough for the cereal to soften slightly. Usually, for the specified amount of rice, ½ liter of water and 5-6 g of fine salt are sufficient. The cereal will cook for about 12-13 minutes.
2. The prepared rice is placed in a colander.
3. The zucchini is washed and dried. Afterwards he gets rid of the thin outer skin. You can choose from vegetables and extra seeds. The remaining part of the zucchini is processed on a grater with medium divisions. You need to carefully squeeze out the excess liquid from the vegetable caviar. Otherwise the dish may turn out too watery.
4. Both the prepared cereal and the chopped vegetable are placed in a large bowl. Dill also pours in there. The greens are pre-washed, dried and finely chopped with a sharp knife. The contents of a raw egg are also poured into this.
5. The mixture of vegetables and cereals is salted and flavored with spices to taste. All ingredients are thoroughly mixed. You should not use a blender for this. Simply combine everything with a spoon.
6. Small cutlets are formed from minced meat. They can be further prepared in different ways. Since the dish must be dietary, it is best to place the preparations on a silicone mat on a baking sheet or a steamer/multi-cooker rack. But it is also permissible to fry the cutlets in a frying pan with a small amount of oil.

The resulting treat is laid out on paper napkins to remove excess fat. If it turns out that after frying, the cutlets are not yet fully cooked inside, then you should additionally simmer them in a frying pan, adding a small amount of water.

How to serve a dish

The cutlets can be served either warm or hot. It is important to choose a low-calorie light side dish for them. For example, cucumber and cabbage salad. Another option is boiled broccoli and cauliflower, beans, stewed with garlic, carrot sticks.

Recipes

A great option is to cook caviar at home. This vegetable dish will be dietary, since it definitely does not contain vinegar, sugar, or artificial flavoring additives.

Important! If you use zucchini for weight loss, you should not get carried away with fried ones. It is better boiled, baked, cooked in foil or over a fire. Squash caviar can also be prepared for the winter. But we must not forget that this product requires careful preparation, long-term boiling and sterilization of jars. Canned vegetables also retain their beneficial properties. But you'll have to add a little vinegar, and it's not good for everyone.

Squash caviar

Squash caviar for weight loss is prepared without a large amount of fat. Vegetables become the basis of the treat. In addition to zucchini, onions, carrots, and garlic are also used for delicacies. The latter can be used more than recommended in the recipe. With garlic, the delicacy turns out to be piquant. The result is very similar to a store-bought treat. But at the same time, you can be confident in the composition and taste of the homemade snack. Such a delicacy will be more tender, more aromatic and healthier for the body.

Composition of ingredients

For the dish you need to take:

• zucchini, carrots, a clove of garlic and onions - 1 pc.;
• tomato paste - 1.5 tbsp. l.;
• salt, oil.

Step-by-step cooking process

The cooking process includes several stages:

1. The onion is peeled and washed well. Afterwards it is chopped in any convenient way. For example, you can make fairly large vegetable half rings.

2. The prepared onion is poured into a frying pan with heated vegetable oil. You should not take a lot of fat for a treat, otherwise it will no longer turn out to be dietary.
3. When the onion softens, you can add carrots to it. The vegetable is first peeled and processed with a grater. Carrot shavings are fried along with onions. All components should soften. You should be guided by carrots. But it is important not to overcook the vegetables, otherwise the caviar will eventually taste bitter.
4. The zucchini is washed and dried. Even if it is a young vegetable, the thick skin is still cut off from it in a thin layer. If necessary, you can also choose large seeds from zucchini.
5. The remainder of the main vegetable in the recipe is chopped with a grater. You can even cut it into small cubes. The pieces are poured into the rest of the vegetables in the pan.
6. The vegetable mass is seasoned with garlic. First, its cloves are cleaned of husks. Afterwards they are passed through a press. Garlic can be immediately mixed with salt and paprika. Tomato paste and a small amount of water are also added here.
7. All vegetable ingredients in the pan are thoroughly mixed. The food is left to simmer under the lid for 17-20 minutes.
8. The resulting mass in the bowl is processed with a blender (suitable attachment). The result should be the most homogeneous, tender vegetable caviar. She is cooling down.

Afterwards, you can immediately serve the treat to the table. It tastes best when tasted chilled.

What can I add?

If desired, you can add other vegetables to the caviar. For example, sweet peppers.

How to serve a dish

The delicacy is served immediately chilled. You can spread caviar on bread made from whole grain flour, dried in a frying pan, or on any bread.

Zucchini caviar is great for weight loss. It has few calories, but it is healthy.

Another option is to serve the zucchini delicacy with boiled potatoes. It’s delicious to combine a vegetable appetizer with any type of kebab instead of sauce.

Dietary properties:

How many calories are in squash caviar, what dietary properties it has, all this is of great interest to those who lead a healthy lifestyle and monitor their health. So we will try to answer these questions in the next article.

So here it is:

The product contains a large amount of vitamins and coarse fiber. It stimulates gastrointestinal motility and may be beneficial for functional constipation. As you can see, nutritional value is another important property that squash caviar can boast of.

Onions contained in this product enhance peristalsis, improve appetite, and help eliminate swelling. It contains a lot of potassium, calcium, magnesium, vitamins A, B, C, PP. Carrots contain a large amount of carotene (provitamin A), which is necessary for successful visual perception. Tomatoes are a source of fiber, water-soluble vitamins and minerals. They contain some oxalic acid, so consuming them in excess can be harmful to the liver. Zucchini is a source of potassium, iron and fiber. They have a certain decongestant effect, help cleanse the body of toxins, increase the amount of hemoglobin, and normalize intestinal functions.

Calorie content of caviar from the store

Zucchini has won a place of honor among nutritionists due to its energy value, which does not exceed 25 kcal. If you use them to prepare caviar, their calorie content will increase slightly. The exact indicators depend on the preparation recipe; the number of calories can vary from 80 to 100 kcal per 100 grams. If, when losing weight, you use store-bought caviar as a basis, then you should familiarize yourself with the calorie content indicated on the can.

Due to its rich chemical composition, the product is in demand not only during weight loss. The contents of the container include the best substances of the food table, such as iron, calcium and zinc . In addition, doctors note a high concentration of vitamins A and C in the product. Thanks to caviar, the functioning of the digestive system is improved, hemoglobin increases, and the body gets rid of destructive toxins. Women should note that zucchini is effective in the fight against cellulite.

When purchasing store-bought squash caviar, you should pay attention to the material from which the container is made. It is recommended not to give preference to metal cans, since they make it impossible to visually evaluate the product and the contents oxidize in them. Squash caviar should have a light brown tint; there should be no orange or reddish tints. This indicates the presence of impurities that reduce the benefits of the product. If there is water on the surface of the contents, this indicates that the caviar was made from frozen ingredients.

In addition to calorie content, the presence or absence of preservatives in the product plays an important role - they must be absent. You can see the composition on the packaging. You should immediately set aside containers with swollen lids and those that have expired - there is a high probability of serious poisoning. The optimal time frame for purchasing squash caviar is in the fall, since the product is made from vegetables that were grown naturally.

How to choose vegetables for cooking caviar

To make caviar tasty, juicy, rich, you need to choose the right ingredients, first of all the main one - zucchini.

Vegetables should be:

• fresh;
• young;
• small (length - 20-25 cm, weight - about 300 g).

It is better to choose zucchini such that there are no seeds in the core (or the seeds should be very soft, small, so that they can easily be twisted through a meat grinder or ground in a blender), then the caviar will turn out tender, without lumps. The vegetable should have a soft skin (it can be easily “scratched” with your finger).

If you take overripe fruits with hard skin and seeds for cooking, then you just need to peel the vegetable and remove the core.

Not only the appearance of the fruit is important, but also the time of purchase. It is advisable to choose a vegetable in July-September, when the zucchini is ripe and contains a minimum of chemical additives.

Useful tips

The following tips will help you prepare any zucchini dishes deliciously:

• It is best to take vegetables young - with tender skin and small seeds inside;

• if zucchini is fried in a frying pan, you should use a minimum of oil for them (and use not butter, but, for example, avocado or coconut oil);
• If vegetables for a dish are chopped (in cubes or shavings), then you should first let them stand and then drain off the excess liquid.

Squash caviar fits perfectly into the weight loss menu. It is low-calorie, light, healthy. You can also make many other delicious dietary dishes from zucchini.

How to choose the “right” zucchini?

Caviar will be useful if you prepare it from high-quality and fresh ingredients. Particular attention should be paid to the choice of the main ingredient - zucchini.

Rules for choosing zucchini:

• The zucchini peel is smooth and shiny.
• No pits, darkened areas, etc. are visible on it.
• The size of the fruit is medium, since such zucchini contains few seeds.
• If the vegetable stalk is dry, discard such zucchini.

If you have thick-skinned “old” zucchini, peel off the skin and remove the seeds. In general, it is advisable to purchase zucchini for preserving caviar from the first days of August until about mid-September.

On a note! To prevent your caviar from burning, simmer it in a cast iron pan.