Zucchini Cakes

Paleo (Except the Beer) Party was a Success!! 

 Tomorrow starts the Lurong Living Paleo Challenge. It is a 9-week challenge in which Crossfit boxes across the nation are going to compete for various prizes. There are prizes for individuals and also prizes for the box. You receive points through following the Paleo diet and completing weekly WODs. It is definitely going to be a tough challenge.

 I would say I currently eat 80/20 according to general Paleo guidelines. However, my husband and I drink beer on a regular basis and I always make homemade granola bars as quick go-to snacks for the week. I think the hardest part of the challenge for me is going to be the weekends, as this is the time for drinking and socializing.

 At the beginning of the challenge, I have to submit measurements and photos. The measurements submitted are waist, hips, thigh, chest, and arm. You do not submit your weight, nor your body fat percentage for this challenge. I am going to weigh myself tomorrow morning, and also at the end of the challenge, because I will also be interested in if I lose any weight. For more information on the challenge, check out their web page: http://www.lurongliving.com/challenge/

 To kickoff this challenge, my husband and I decided to post a Paleo (except for the beer) Party. Hey, the challenge does not start until tomorrow, so beer was perfectly acceptable! Everyone made really great Paleo dishes and we drank quite a bit of beer. I made zucchini cakes, which everyone really seemed to enjoy.

We were able to get a few drinks in before the official start of the challenge!

I found the recipe on http://paleodietlifestyle.com/

 Zucchini Cakes 

Ingredients 

• 2 medium zucchini
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 green onions, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
 • 1 egg
• ½ cup almond flour (optional)
• ½ tsp baking powder (The Lurong challenge does not let you use baking powder, so I just omitted it) Coconut oil or clarified butter, for cooking – I just used EVOO Preparation

1. Begin by using a large-scale grater to grate your zucchini.
 2. Once grated, place in a bowl and toss in the salt. Allow the zucchini to sit in the salt for at least 10 minutes. Then, extract any excess water from the zucchini (I used a colander and pressed the zucchini against the sides with force, making the water drip out).
3. Return the zucchini to a large bowl and combine with the green onions, garlic, and egg. You could use almond flour, as it really helps in keeping the cakes from crumbling a apart, but you can also do without.
4. Once everything has been mixed, form cakes of about 2 to 2.5″ in diameter out of the mixture.
5. Place a large skillet over a medium-high heat. You want to allow the skillet to really warm up prior to adding any cooking fat to the pan.
6. Add some of your chosen cooking fat to the pan, just enough to coat the surface of the skillet and then place the zucchini cakes in the pan. Allow them to cook for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side, just enough so that they are crispy and golden brown.

Yummy Zucchini cakes as a side with Pork Tenderloin

Now it is time to start my weekly Sunday cooking WOD! 

~ Savannah FitNut aka Morgan McNeal