Protective Diet Class #314

Veg It Up with Zucchini and The 50/50 Bowl Balance

A summer meal demonstration to keep your practice of a whole food plant-based diet exciting. Air-fried Zucchini Noodles offer superb texture and rich roasted flavor. Oil-free, plant-based air-fryer techniques get fresh, seasonal protection on your plate fast.

Announcements

• Engage in our official support group, Protective Diet Living (PDL). Join Live Chats & Coaching Hour for personal assistance.
• Shop www.protectivediet.com/bulk, an independent source for low-cost, high-quality PD staples in bulk.
• Take advantage of current savings on Protective Diet Plant-Based Broth Mix.

Vocabulary

Plant Fiber

50/50 Plate

Gut Microbiome

Metabolism

Excitement

Plant-based Air Fryer

Action Steps to Veg It Up with Plant Fiber

Review the 50/50 Plate Practice

• Protective Diet 50/50 Bowls balance starch and veg energy to add more plant fiber to the diet. Adding more plant fiber will populate a robust, happy gut microbiome. It’s gut microbes, not digestive enzymes, that break down plant fiber. As part of this process, the microbes produce short-chained fatty acids, which are used to repair the gut lining (epithelium), reduce inflammation, improve metabolism, regulate body weight, and more.
• Eating starches alone leaves us feeling full and satisfied, but lacks the maximum benefits of incorporating a variety of plant fibers. Make your meal 50/50 to feel full and satisfied while increasing the protective plant fiber on your plate.
• Explore Protective Diet’s exciting 50/50 bowls, including Banana Split Yogi Bowl, 50/50 Probiotic Noodle Bowl, 50/50 Egg Roll Bowl, 50/50 Bunny Chow Bread Bowl, 50/50 Pro Bowl, 50/50 Potato Bowl with Fry Sauce, and 50/50 BBQ Ranch Layer Salad.

Make an Exciting 50/50 Summer Bowl

• Get the seasonal protection of summer squash by combining Instant Pot Kids Spaghetti & Air-Fried Zucchini Noodles.
• A perfect way to use green zucchini, yellow squash, patty pan squash, rampicante zucchini, or even young green pumpkin.
• Plan to use 2 large, or 4 to 5 small zucchinis for one pound of pasta.

Air-Fried Veggie Noodles

Spiralize the Veggies into a large julienne. Exert pressure as you twirl the handle so your noodles have the perfect thickness. Spiralizing into long thin strands maximizes the surface area for flavorful browning. Invest in a simple, sturdy spiralizer. Space Them Out. Portion 1 large, or 2 small squashes per parchment-lined air-fryer tray with plenty of room for air to circulate. Don’t Skip the Salt. This little bit of salt is not going to stop you from losing weight, lowering blood pressure and reversing disease. If you are retaining water, incorporate more diuretics, such as Flower Water, to flush the system. This is a low sodium diet. The small amount of salt brings food alive and makes it exciting. Salt makes eating a whole food plant-based diet sustainable. Adjust the Recipe cook time and temperature for your air fryer. Some air fryers cook hotter and faster than others. Once you have discovered the settings that give you perfect golden zucchini noodles, leave a note on the recipe page to help others.

Pressure Cooked Pasta

Choose Your Pasta. Spaghetti or linguini are best for this 50/50 bowl. Then the starch and veggie noodles match perfectly. Homemade Pasta—Fresh milling flour at home and making your own pasta allows you to include the entire wheat kernel for superior nutrition and texture. Store-bought whole wheat pasta does not contain the entire grain. Julie Marie considers it nearly equivalent in nutrition to additive-free, organic white pasta. Ingredients should only include durum or semolina wheat and water. Break the Noodles. Break spaghetti noodles in half. Pressure cooking them whole results in large clumps. Follow the Recipe for Instant Pot Kids Spaghetti to prepare the sauce. Reduce cook time to 5 minutes if using Thin Spaghetti. Stir vigorously and add an additional ½ cup of soymilk if the noodles can take more moisture.

Raw, Fresh Side or Starter

Prepare a Salad while you wait. Protective Diet summer salads are as simple as mixed greens or cucumbers tossed in a light dressing, or piled high with a variety of vegetables, sprouts, and Air Fried Chickpeas as salad croutons. Try a Finger Salad, garden-fresh Jerusalem Salad, Detoxifying Smashed Cucumber Salad, a leftover “soggy salad”, or a Quick Mix BBQ and Ranch Salad.

Don’t Be an Overachiever

• Avoid the common mistake of overcorrecting in the beginning. You don’t have to veg it up quite this much. If you are just getting started, don’t worry about the 50/50 plate. Focus on removing off-plan foods and food additives to rebuild your microbiome. Give yourself time to adjust to cooking your own meals. Find PD replacements for your old familiar favorites.
• Cutting out all starch and eating only salad while hoping for “emergency results” is not a Protective Diet. No more extreme dieting! The goal is a guilt-free, sustainable, enjoyable lifestyle.
• Instead of adopting “all-or-nothing” restrictive thinking, enjoy indulging in all PD recipes. None of them will hold you up.
• Fails happen when someone makes up their own hybrid version of a Protective Diet, such as continuing to include food additives like “spices” and “natural flavor”, or nuts and avocados.
• Know the difference between psychological hunger and physical hunger. Get to know yourself and address your true needs.
• You deserve focused time in the kitchen, your Workplace for Wellness. Meal preparation is active meditation. Learn to see the protection in the whole grains, fruits and vegetables you are preparing. Appreciate the effort you are making to eat this way, which is actually very little. There is no need to disinfect surfaces or scrub greasy pans anymore.
• Prepare one starch per meal to keep it simple. Check out the Quick Prep recipes on busy days. Just stay on-plan 100%.

Cooking Tips

• Remove the pressure cooker insert from the base before adding ingredients to keep it clean and prevent accidents.
• Clean as you go. Rinse the spiralizer immediately and place on a drying rack. If your air-fryer pan gets charred, use PD All Natural Oven and Pan Cleaner to make clean up easy. Lining it with parchment paper will prevent charring in the first place.
• Zucchini Storage Tip—keep zucchini crisp by storing it in an airtight zipper bag in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
• Add prebiotics to your summertime meal with protective beverages like a Citrus Slushie, or a Skinny Mocha Frappe.
• Start your meal prep by making a quick batch of Dry Steamed Kale in the Instant Pot to incorporate more sulforaphane.

Encouragement

• The key to results on a Protective Diet like reversing disease for the rest of your life, staying slim, trim and fit for the rest of your life, and enjoying optimal health for the rest of your life is every single bite, every single day.
• The most important thing on a Protective Diet is consistency, every bite, every day.
• This is supposed to be fun and enjoyable. You should have a lightbulb moment like, “I can’t believe this is happening! I can’t believe I can eat bread and still lose weight without exercise!” Results are typical. Read the Testimonials.
• Eat. Do not restrict. Eat through cravings as you’re detoxing. Do not let things like age, or being post-menopausal hold you up.
• There are no good “bad foods”. Going off-plan will cause a setback if you want to experience what we are experiencing.
• This is what keeps us going every single day: quick, easy recipes that are so satisfying. Don’t make it harder than it needs to be.
• Write your starting date on your Calendar of Achievements. Watch the Day One Lesson and use the recipes as your guide. Be in class. Watch archived classes and make more changes as you learn more details. Just keep moving forward.
• Don’t let anything make you feel so bad, or like you failed enough that you should just go back to eating garbage.

“We’ve got to make it exciting,

and that’s what these zucchini noodles are all about.”

Recommended Recipes

Pressure Cooked Pasta	Instant Alfredo	Banana Bread Under Pressure
Air-Fried Chickpeas	Nice Cream Sandwiches	Breadmaker Whole Wheat Loaf Bread

Recommended Classes

#260 Day One on a Protective Diet (Free Class)	#302 Lifeline Recipe & Producing Results
#290 High Energy Fuel: Build Muscle & Get Shredded Fast	#291 July Garden Tour
#139 Satisfying Salads: Building a Salad w/Flavor, Texture & Nutrition	#313 Master Fasting—A Transitional Approach
#072 PD The PD Practice Check Up (the 50/50 Plate Practice)	#287 Achieving a Pro Mindset
#304 Personal Weight Loss Consultation	#309 Get Excited and Get It Done

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Class Description:

A summer meal demonstration to keep your practice of a whole food plant-based diet exciting. Air fried Zucchini Noodles offer superb texture and rich roasted flavor. Oil-free, plant-based air-fryer techniques get fresh, seasonal protection on your plate fast.

Class URL: https://protectivediet.com/courses/protective-diet-education/lessons/veg-it-up-with-zucchini-and-the-5050-bowl-balance-class-314/