Did you know that VARIETY is the key to good health? A simple and practical way to improve your diet variety is by “eating the rainbow” aka including a range of colour on your plate.
This simple strategy can not only help to improve your overall health outcomes, it can also play a role in improving your gut health. A recent study into the gut microbiome (the American Gut Project) highlighted the importance of consuming a variety of plant foods with one key finding showing that people who ate more than 30 different plant foods a week had a more diverse gut microbiome than those consuming 10 or less plant foods weekly.
How many different plant foods are you consuming across the week?
Our dietitian Aleisha loves creating new healthy recipes to share with you and these delicious veggie fritters are packed full of colour, variety and plant based goodness!
Recipe:
CORN, ZUCCHINI & QUINOA FRITTERS
Ingredients:
To make the quinoa:
½ cup of quinoa, 1 cup of water OR 1 x can of quinoa* (rinsed and drained)
To make the fritters:
2 tbsp onion (fresh or frozen)
1 tsp garlic (fresh or jar)
1 x can of corn, rinsed and drained
1 x bag of frozen spinach
2 x zucchini grated
¼ cup feta, crumbled
¼ cup grated cheese
¾ cup wholemeal flour
A dash of milk
3 eggs, whisked
Olive oil or spray (for cooking)
Salt & pepper + herbs of choice (for seasoning)
Method:
- Prepare quinoa according to packet instructions or use canned variety.
- Using a lightly oiled frypan, over medium heat cook corn, until lightly charred. Set aside.
- Using same pan (add more oil if required), cook onion & garlic until browned. Add spinach and cover with lid until thawed. Mix to combine.
- Grate zucchini and remove as much moisture as possible (this will stop the fritters going soggy!) Place grated zucchini between two sheets of paper towel and press together. Once moisture has been removed, add zucchini and corn to the pan and combine. Set aside mixture into a large bowl.
- Add feta, cheese, milk and eggs to the veggie mixture. Add the flour and combine well.
- Add quinoa and mix through.
- Season with salt and pepper + your favourite herbs (for more flavour).
- Using a 1/3 cup scoop out mixture, cook in a lightly oiled frypan over medium heat. Cook for 1-2 mins on one side, then flip. Place lid on and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from pan and place fritters on a tray. Repeat until all the mixture is used.
- Serve with a side of salad or vegetables and some sweet chilli mayo!Notes:
*ALDI had a canned variety of quinoa available
Enjoy! x