Baked Zucchini Ziti is a great idea for a Sunday dinner. Zucchini is the key to this dish which is generally used as a vegetable in savoury dishes. I was personally surprised to learn that Zucchini is actually a fruit and has quite a dense nutritional value. It’s peel is an excellent source of dietary fibre and provides all the benefits of fibre. It contains certain antioxidant and folate values, is an excellent source of potassium and has moderate amounts of vitamins A, C and B complex. This dish is a little fussier to prepare than most I recommend but, if you approach it in the steps I suggest, it comes together nicely and turns out to be very yummy.

It probably goes without saying but the most important benefit of switching zucchini into this dish in place of the pasta is a calorie windfall while still supplying similar nutritional value. A cup of sliced zucchini has about 20 calories versus about 220 calories in the same amount of cooked ziti pasta. I also swap out full fat cheese for lighter versions which also cuts calories and fat content without sacrificing taste. These are both excellent Veteran Moves than can be used in most pasta casseroles.

The antioxidants in zucchini help support brain function including fighting cognitive decline, have cancer fighting value and its high vitamin C content helps the body resist infections. In particular, the potassium in zucchini helps fight the development of heart disease and has been shown to improve cognition, concentration and neural activity in general. The B complex vitamins in zucchini are valuable in helping combat nausea and depression while its vitamin A helps skin and hair.