Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Lunch in a Box: Costco Zucchini Cakes

I love an excuse to make a trip to Costco. Shopping for two people doesn't always warrant one, but the need for an inexpensive birthday cake for a co-worker certainly does! (Their cakes are fabulous!) So I happily dropped in yesterday after work to grab a cake and see if anything jumped out at me. I saw a box of Handmade Zucchini Cakes for $8.99 (with only 60 calories and 1.5g fat per cake) and knew they would make a great lunch meal. I also grabbed a large container of 0% fat Fage greek yogurt for $4.99 ($2 less than HEB). I figured I could get at least 6 lunches out of this if I threw in a few things I usually have at home, making this about $2.33 per lunch.




We have a ton of spinach right now, so I put a few cakes on top of a bed of spinach, cut up half a tomato, and then made a quick and easy yogurt dressing to serve on top. I would have made tzatziki (which you can also buy pre-made at Costco), but I didn't have any dill. So I just used what was in the fridge (lemon, garlic and some fresh mint).

I also served this with an Israeli Couscous Salad that I made on Sunday, and added fresh strawberries for dessert. I have to say, I'm in love with this lunch! It didn't take a ton of time to put together, and it's still fresh and really healthy!



Yogurt Dressing

1 cup 0% fat greek yogurt (I always prefer Fage for it's tart flavor and thick, creamy texture)
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 T. chopped fresh herbs (dill, mint or tarragon work nicely)

Mix in a bowl. Done. If you want to thin out the texture, just use a little more lemon juice.


Israeli Couscous Salad (makes 4 side servings)

1 cup Israeli couscous (uncooked)
2 cups water
1 cup chopped vegetables of choice (I used asparagus spears, jarred roasted red peppers and jarred pepperoncini rings)

dressing:
4 T red wine vinegar
3 T olive oil
1 T pepperoncini juice (lemon juice would make a good substitute)
1 T chopped fresh herbs (I used thyme because it's what I had)
1 tsp mayonnaise (optional- leave it out if you want a vegan dish)

Bring the couscous and water to a boil, then reduce to simmer, cover, and cook until water is absorbed. Meanwhile, roast any vegetables if necessary ( I chopped the asparagus and roasted for about 15 minutes), and make the dressing. Just whisk the ingredients together and let sit until couscous is ready.

Combine everything in a bowl and toss with dressing.

3 comments:

  1. do you eat the zucchini cakes cold? i have only tried baking them until they're crispy on the outside.

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  2. Hi Julia! The first go around I just microwaved them, but wasn't happy with the texture. So them I put them on low broil in the oven to crisp up the outsides, and then reheated (in the microwave at work) again before eating my lunch the next day. Much better that way!

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