Broiled Zucchini Strips

I've been a lover of zucchini for a very long time.  I was one of those weird kids who actually loved zucchini (especially when it was roasted in a tomato-y sauce and the zucchini's skin squeaked on my teeth. Odd, I know.) Zucchini is one of those veggies (along with broccoli, potatoes and asparagus) that I could eat on a daily basis - yes, I do so luuurve it. I love that, while zucchini has a very mild taste, you can jazz it up with various marinades and cooking techniques to bring out its flavour.  Not to mention the fact that you can grate it and bake it in a bread or cake.  Yup, it's a really versatile veg.

Yesterday I was trying to eat right.  I've had my FitBit One on me again to track the number of steps I take, number of flights of stairs I walk up, how I sleep, how much water I drink etc etc.  I can also manually track what I eat.  Knowing how many calories are in each food I eat is ... eye opening.  Not that I'd want to track everything I eat on a daily basis but I was interested in seeing when I was eating and just to be accountable for what I ate.

See, I love to eat in the evenings or whenever my hands are free, when I'm bored, when I'm reading ....  You get the point.  I've always loved to eat and I grew up with a ridiculously high metabolism.  I could easily eat more than my dad by my early teens and still maintain a very slim figure.  

And then my metabolism halted to a screeching stop in my 30's.  I got whiplash it was so abrupt and that's when I started to gain a bit of weight.  And I was fine with the weight gain (honestly with three young kids I was too tired to care) but now I'm trying to get back on track and exercise more, eat better and try to lose the Grinch Belly that my kids gave me.  Tis the gift that truly keeps on giving.  While I'm watching what I eat I'm not cutting out dairy or gluten or anything like that.  I'm just eating better and trying to not eat when I'm bored or watching TV.

Anyhoo, yesterday I noticed that I had a small zucchini in the fridge.  Not wanting to make a huge meal I decided to slice the zucchini and broil it.  Simple yet delish.  And it was!  Along with some other healthy choices my lunch was more than satisfying.  This was a super easy side dish and I could see adding other veggies into the mix and other seasonings to jazz it up a bit.  Sometimes, though, the simpler dishes are the best.  

Here's hoping that I will surpass 10,000 steps, climb more than 10 flights of stairs and drink 8 glasses of water today!  I realize that all these plans will go by the wayside by next week with all the Christmas goodies but I'm going to give it the ol' college try until then.

2 medium zucchinis, sliced length-wise, 1/4" thickness
salt and pepper (or other seasonings - cajun, seasoning salt ....)
grapeseed oil (or oil of your choice)

Set your oven rack to approximately 6" from the top of your oven.  Preheat your broiler on high.

Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly grease.  Lay zucchini strips onto the prepared pan and lightly brush with oil on both sides.  Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. 

Place pan in the oven.  Watch carefully!  Broiling can go from great to burnt offerings if you step away at the wrong time.  After a few minutes (4 minutes for me) the zucchini should be getting nicely browned.  Remove pan from oven and flip the zucchini strips.  Liberally sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Return pan to the oven and broil for another few minutes, while you continue to watch it carefully.  When your zucchini strips are nicely browned they're done!

Serve immediately.

Source: The Baking Bookworm