Lighter Zucchini Bake Cuts Fat, Leaves Flavor

Most Americans believe that sweets are the most fattening foods they eat. Well, desserts generally are at the top of the food chain, but sometimes a seemingly innocent vegetable casserole can contain more fat and calories per serving than even a rich slice of chocolate cake.

For example, in the original recipe for zucchini cheese casserole, each serving contained 27 grams of fat and 365 calories. The recipe called for egg yolks, cheese, bacon, butter and sour cream; the six cups of zucchini and two egg whites couldn’t balance out all the fattening ingredients.

Several changes rescued the recipe without altering the basic flavor and souffle texture. The first change was to switch to fat-free egg substitutes, low-fat Cheddar cheese and fat-free sour cream. The second was to cut by half the amount of bacon. Few foods offer the same flavor as bacon, so it wouldn’t have been a good idea to eliminate it completely. However, we did eliminate the butter in the topping.

These changes shaved off 176 calories and 22.5 grams of fat per serving. In the revised recipe for Zucchini Cheese Bake, fat accounts for only 21 percent of total calories instead of an astronomical 65 percent.

Light Zucchini Cheese Bake

6 cups zucchini, thinly sliced (about 4 medium)

3 slices bacon, cooked

1/3 cup liquid fat-free egg substitute

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup fat-free sour cream

1/2 teaspoon dry basil

2 egg whites, stiffly beaten

1 cup low-fat Cheddar cheese, shredded

1/4 cup dry bread crumbs

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a 9-inch-square baking dish with corn oil cooking spray. Set aside.

Bring 1 inch of unsalted water to a boil. Add the zucchini slices and cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain in a colander while preparing remaining ingredients.

Crumble the bacon and set aside. In a large bowl, blend together the egg substitutes, flour, fat-free sour cream and basil. Fold in the egg whites.

Layer half the zucchini in the baking pan, top with half the egg mixture, half the cheese and half the bacon. Repeat layers. Sprinkle the bread crumbs on top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Serve immediately.

Yield: 6 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 189 calories, 4.5 grams fat (21 percent fat calories), 20 grams protein, 18 grams carbohydrate, 43 milligrams cholesterol, 807 milligrams sodium.

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