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You are here: Home / Archives for zucchini

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

November 4, 2019 By Becky 1 Comment

This post has been sponsored by Lily’s Sweets. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

Now that it’s truly fall, it’s time to get baking! On a crisp November evening, I love to have something fragrant and delicious in the oven—and this gluten-free chocolate chip zucchini bread is one of my very favorites.

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Filed Under: breakfast, dessert, gluten free, paleo, recipe Tagged With: chocolate, chocolate chips, dairy free, grain free, sponsored, zucchini

Grilled Vegetables with Jalapeño Aioli

September 16, 2019 By Becky 2 Comments

Grilled Vegetables with Jalapeño Aioli (Whole30, Vegetarian, Paleo)

These grilled vegetables with jalapeño aioli are a great way to make the most of the last few weeks of grilling season! Zucchini, okra, mini peppers, and red onion wedges grill up quickly and are irresistible dipped in the creamy and spicy aioli. 

Here in the South, the highs continue to sneak into the nineties most days and the markets are still packed with tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, and okra. So while fall may technically be looming on the horizon, I am not ready to give up grilling anytime soon.

All summer long I’ve been firing up my grill and filling it with local veggies, sometimes adding some sausage or chicken as well, and calling it dinner. Nobody has complained, but I recently decided the one thing a platter of grilled vegetables really begs for is a flavorful sauce for dipping. The grilled vegetables almost seem like extra flavorful and colorful French fries once you add a nice aioli to dunk them into.

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Filed Under: gluten free, paleo, recipe, sides, vegetarian, whole30 Tagged With: dairy free, grain free, grilling, jalapeño, okra, onion, peppers, summer, zucchini

Cantaloupe, Corn, and Zucchini Salad with Lemony Pesto

August 5, 2019 By Becky 2 Comments

This cantaloupe, corn, and zucchini salad with lemony pesto is a perfect no-cook recipe for hot summer nights. It’s vegan, gluten free, and dairy free.

What’s fresh, fast, raw, and super delicious? 

Cantaloupe, corn, and zucchini salad with lemony pesto, that’s what!

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Filed Under: dinner, gluten free, recipe, vegan, vegetarian Tagged With: basil, cantaloupe, corn, dairy free, no-cook, pesto, salad, summer, zucchini

Bolognese Stuffed Zucchini with Pesto

June 14, 2017 By Becky 36 Comments

This post is sponsored by Uncle Steve’s Italian Specialties.

These bolognese stuffed zucchini with pesto are a satisfying and summery Whole30 meal made with organic tomato basil sauce, ground beef, and plenty of fresh pesto on top.

How is summer treating you so far? Here in Chattanooga it’s been nice and hot (just the way I like it!) and we’ve been getting in a lot of swimming. I’ve also been working on my tan while doing my farm share work, and loving the first rounds of summer produce showing up, like zucchini, basil, and even a few tomatoes.

I used my early squash to make these bolognese stuffed zucchini with pesto, which combine seasonal vegetables and a few pantry staples to make an easy but hearty paleo dinner.

And no, I’m not suggesting you make a true bolognese sauce that needs to simmer away for hours in this heat. This is a bit of a cheater’s bolognese, because we’re letting Uncle Steve’s do the hard work for us. Their organic tomato basil sauce is so flavorful that all we have to do is brown the ground beef with a little onion, and stir in the sauce. The resulting filling will fool all your lucky dinner companions into thinking you worked all day to handcraft an authentic Italian sauce.

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Filed Under: dinner, gluten free, paleo, recipe, whole30 Tagged With: beef, dairy free, grain free, ground beef, italian, pesto, sponsored, summer, zucchini

Maple Balsamic Chicken and Bacon Skewers

June 10, 2016 By Becky 26 Comments

Maple Balsamic Chicken and Bacon Skewers

 Chicken and bacon skewers are sure to become your next grilling obsession! These easy skewers feature chicken with a maple balsamic glaze, zucchini, summer squash, and peppers woven together with bacon.  This post is sponsored by Santa Rita.

Food on a stick is just more fun, right? Especially when there’s bacon involved. These skewers will be the star of your next cookout. Maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, and spices add flavor to the chicken, and the chicken and vegetables are super succulent because they’re nestled in between waves of bacon while they cook. The end result is a skewer with a perfect balance of sweet and salty, with plenty of protein and colorful pops of veggies.

Maple Balsamic Chicken and Bacon Skewers

Together with a glass of chilled white wine, these skewers just scream summer, and I recommend Santa Rita 120 Sauvignon Blanc. I absolutely love a good wine that doesn’t break the bank, and this one is perfect. All its citrusy notes make it super refreshing, the perfect counterpoint to a smoky skewer of grilled goodness. I also feel good about this wine because of Santa Rita’s commitment to sustainability–they’re working hard to measure and reduce their carbon footprint and implement technologies that reduce pollution and wasted water. Cheers to that!

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Filed Under: dinner, gluten free, paleo, recipe Tagged With: bacon, balsamic vinegar, chicken, grilling, maple, peppers, sponsored, summer, zucchini

Pesto Shrimp Bake with Squash and Tomatoes

August 3, 2015 By Becky 25 Comments

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Pesto Shrimp Bake with Squash and Tomatoes #30MinuteMondays | acalculatedwhisk.com
 
I know this is a totally blasphemous thing to say in the food blogging world, especially in the middle of summer, but I’m really not a fan of tomatoes. They’ve grown on me since I was a kid, when I wouldn’t touch foods with them in it (including pizza, ketchup, and most of all anything involving raw or sundried tomatoes). I now really enjoy a good tomato sauce (like this bolognese or this garlic tomato sauce) and I’ll dip into a fancy ketchup if it’s got curry mixed in or something, but the appeal of raw tomatoes still largely eludes me.
 
Pesto Shrimp Bake with Squash and Tomatoes #30MinuteMondays | acalculatedwhisk.com
 
My best experience so far has been with a couple of memorable caprese salads, including one at dbar, one of my favorite Boston restaurants, which is conveniently located just blocks from our apartment. A caprese salad with housemade mozzarella and tomatoes and basil from their rooftop garden was on the specials menu, and my mom and I had to try it. And, surprisingly enough, I didn’t hate the raw tomatoes.

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Filed Under: #30MinuteMondays, dinner, gluten free, paleo, recipe Tagged With: 30 minute meals, grain free, italian, pesto, primal, shrimp, summer, tomato, zucchini

Basil Lime Chicken with Roasted Vegetables

July 24, 2015 By Becky 4 Comments

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 
Basil Lime Chicken with Roasted Vegetables | acalculatedwhisk.com
 
Happy Friday! Are you ready to slather your dinner in an irresistible basil lime compound butter?
 
I love this meal because it’s simple and flavorful. The basil lime butter makes the chicken and vegetables more delicious without making them taste any less like themselves. Instead of obscuring the flavors of the main ingredients like heavy sauces sometimes do, it just kisses them with a little herbal, citrusy richness that still lets their natural essence come through.
 
Basil Lime Chicken with Roasted Vegetables | acalculatedwhisk.com
 
For the roasted vegetables, you can use whatever you have on hand. I used beets, carrots, summer squash, and onions. They need different amounts of time to roast, so I added the beets to the baking sheet first, then the carrots, and finally the squash and onions. If you want to sub in other vegetables and aren’t sure how long they need to roast, check out this handy chart.
 

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Filed Under: dinner, gluten free, paleo, recipe Tagged With: basil, beets, butter, chicken, grain free, lime, primal, summer, vegetables, zucchini

Caramelized Salmon with Basil Chile Oil and Pickled Vegetables

July 20, 2015 By Becky 38 Comments

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Caramelized Salmon with Basil Chile Oil and Pickled Vegetables #30MinuteMondays | acalculatedwhisk.com
Broiled salmon, basil chile oil, and quick-pickled summer vegetables
 team up for a fast and fresh paleo dinner with tons of flavor.
 
As a recent salmon convert, I’m still a little bit surprised every time I bite into a piece of salmon and find that it’s totally delicious.
 
For so long the strange pink hue of salmon turned me off, but now I can’t get enough. My favorite way to prepare salmon is under the broiler, where it cooks in less than ten minutes flat. I love how the top of the fish gets nicely browned and even a little bit crispy (especially here, with the help of a sprinkling of maple sugar) while the inside remains perfectly tender. This caramelized salmon is inspired by a recipe from Lindsay of Pinch of Yum and it’s SO good.
 
Caramelized Salmon with Basil Chile Oil and Pickled Vegetables #30MinuteMondays | acalculatedwhisk.com
 
 

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Filed Under: #30MinuteMondays, dinner, gluten free, paleo, recipe Tagged With: 30 minute meals, Asian, basil, carrots, dairy free, grain free, pickled, salmon, shallots, squash, zucchini

Zucchini Lasagna

April 27, 2015 By Becky 40 Comments

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 
 
 
I’ve been on the fence for a while about whether I should buy a spiralizer. I want to make rutabaga noodles so badly, but I can’t seem to bring myself to purchase another kitchen gadget. I’ve made zoodles by hand with my julienne peeler, but it’s a huge pain. After adding the spiralizer to my cart on Amazon several times and then taking it back out again, I’ve decided that I’m going to ask for one for my birthday next month (are you reading this, Mom?). I won’t feel as bad about getting yet another cooking tool if it is a gift from my wonderful mother.
 
In the meantime, I was excited to find this zucchini lasagna over on Sarah and Tim’s blog, Curious Cuisiniere, because it uses veggie noodles that you don’t need any special gadgets to make. Strips of zucchini stand in for lasagna noodles, but all the great Italian flavors and delicious textures of the original dish still come through.
 
 
Curious Cuisiniere was my assignment for this month’s Secret Recipe Club reveal, and I had a great time perusing the site to choose a dish. I noticed that this recipe isn’t their only noodle-free lasagna–they also have a butternut squash lasagna that I’m planning to try in the fall. Sarah and Tim also have recipes from countries all around the world, and the best part is that they have an interactive map that helps you explore food from different regions. Click on India, for example, and you’ll be taken to a page with all of the Indian recipes on Curious Cuisiniere. So cool! If you’re looking to expand your palate and cooking repertoire with some food from faraway lands, their blog is the place to do it.
 
 

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Filed Under: dinner, gluten free, recipe Tagged With: beef, casserole, grain free, ground beef, italian, lasagna, low carb, mozzarella, primal, secret recipe club, spring, summer, tomato sauce, zucchini

Prepping a Week of Paleo Breakfasts (Whole30 Day 9)

January 9, 2014 By Becky 2 Comments

Prepping a Week of Paleo Breakfasts | acalculatedwhisk.com
Need help planning a week of paleo breakfasts for your Whole30?
I’ve got you covered with this easy guide!
Guys, I am going back to school next week!  Part of the reason I picked January for my Whole30 is that I knew having the first two weeks of the month off would help me get myself on track with my new eating plan before having the stress of school, work, and clinic added on.  Everything has been going smoothly so far, but it’s about to get a lot harder.

The key to sticking with the Whole30 throughout a busy work week is planning and preparation.  This weekend I’m planning to make big batches of a few different meals so I can bring leftovers to school for lunch, and even eat leftovers some nights for dinner if I’m too tired to cook.  However, even though I occasionally enjoy a good dinner for breakfast, most mornings I want something a little more traditional.

So, today I’m sharing my plan for prepping a week of paleo breakfasts.  These ideas are perfect if you’re doing a Whole30, but are also just great if you have a goal to start each day with a healthy breakfast.  Most of these ideas do require you to get up and cook, but it should only take about 10 minutes, and for a nutritious & tasty breakfast, it’s worth it.

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Filed Under: breakfast, gluten free, paleo Tagged With: banana, eggs, omelette, recipe roundup, sausage, shallots, whole30, zucchini

Braised Zucchini (Whole30 Day 6)

January 6, 2014 By Becky Leave a Comment

We’re going nose-to-tail with our zucchini today!  I saw these charmingly small organic zucchini at Whole Foods, and was inspired to cook them without trimming the ends off, chopping them up, or turning them into noodles.  Sometimes, we just have to let zucchini be!  It’s a beautiful vegetable, and when it’s browned like this and braised until tender, you can eat the whole entire thing.

This zucchini is slightly spicy thanks to the cumin, paprika, and cayenne, and has just a hint of tang thanks to the sherry vinegar.  The vinegar, broth, spices, & shallots form a deliciously rich sauce that you can serve spooned over the zucchini, and/or on top of whatever protein you’re eating with it.
I had this for lunch alongside a pork chop, cooked using the method outlined in this recipe, seasoned with salt and pepper and just a little garlic powder.  Bonus: if you decide to make these pork chops, with or without the apple compote, they can cook in the oven alongside the zucchini, and everything will be ready at the same time.

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Filed Under: gluten free, paleo, recipe, sides, vegan, vegetarian, whole30 Tagged With: ACW original, cilantro, dairy free, vegetables, zucchini

Chicken Meatballs with Garlic Kale Marinara (Whole30 Day 4)

January 4, 2014 By Becky 15 Comments

This post contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 
 
Chicken Meatballs with Garlic Kale Marinara (Paleo, Whole30)
 
These deliciously moist paleo & gluten-free chicken meatballs with garlic kale marinara are Whole30 compliant and contain two hidden vegetables!

I’ve always been more of a baker than a cook, but I’m working hard to change that, especially since starting my Whole30.  It’s exciting to try lots of different meats in lots of different forms.  Yesterday I made pork belly (you can see the before & after pics on Instagram–it was good, but not quite good enough to share with you!).  Today I used ground chicken to make meatballs.  I am so happy with the way this dish turned out–it’s one of the best savory recipes I’ve made!  The meatballs are moist and rich, and the sauce provides the perfect level of tart tomato and roasted garlic flavor.

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Filed Under: appetizer, dinner, gluten free, paleo, recipe, whole30 Tagged With: chicken, dairy free, garlic, italian, kale, meatballs, tomato sauce, zucchini

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