These beautiful zucchini boats are kind of my life right now. And i’m not even complaining. Summer is all about those zukes. And they are everywhere you look. Every summer, I take full advantage of these lovely little squashes. I mean, this, this, and this are just some of my favorite zucchini loaded treats. Zoodles. Zucchini boats. Zucchini pancakes. Zucchinis have been on my mind so much that the other night I had a dream, a giant zucchini squash was chasing me around town and I was trying to get away. Though in reality, it’s really quite the other way around, isn’t it? These lentil stuffed zucchini boats have been on my list of vegetarian meals to make for a.long.time. I love the idea of using the zucchini as a vehicle for all of our face stuffing needs. Zoodles were a gluten-free, carb-free gift to mankind. And just when you thought zucchinis couldn’t get any cooler, we’ve hollowed out a zucchini squash and stuffed it full of goodness, topped it with – yes, you guessed it – CHEESE! I love that you save on the carbs when you use zucchini instead of calorie rich pasta AND you don’t end up sacrificing any of the flavor. It’s a simple swap that makes an otherwise calorie rich meal, perfect for light week night dinners and filling lunches. Today’s recipe is Italian flavored lentils with sautéed baby spinach flavored with onions and garlic then loaded inside these zucchini squashes. These really just taste like a lasagna, minus the pasta and the meat sauce. The key to making stuffed zucchini boats is finding the best wide bottom zucchini. I’m sure I looked a little crazy when I was digging through pounds and pounds of zucchini at the store to find the best plump ones that I could stuff full of these flavorful lentils. To hollow out the zucchini, I used a 1 teaspoon sized measuring spoon to dig out the seeds and the softer centers. Make sure you leave a 1/4 inch wall so that all that lentil stuffing stays inside. But finding the perfect zucchini is probably the hardest part about making these zucchini boats. They are simple to pull together and most of the ingredients are pantry staples. It’s a meal that’s ready in a flash, tastes good, and is healthy. Don’t you love when that works out so well? We’ll need: zucchinis, cut lengthwise brown or green lentils baby spinach onions garlic red pepper flakes pasta sauce mozzarella cheese Each zucchini boat contains 113 calories with 12 grams of carbs (of which 3.7 gram are fiber) and 8 grams of protein. Talk about a nicely balanced meal!
