5 ways with courgettes

Courgettes are a great vegetable to add to your acne friendly diet.

Did you know that they’re 95% water?  They’re therefore great for keeping you hydrated. They also contain decent amounts of immune system boosting vitamin C. If you leave the skin on, they will help stabilise blood sugar levels as the soluble fibre in the skin slows your digestion.

Eating a wide variety of vegetables is one of the best things you can do to support your skin from the inside. The fibre will provide food for the microbes in your gut. Science continues to demonstrate the gut-skin connection and the improvement in acne when the gut is better supported. To read more about the gut-skin connection, click here.

I’d cooked courgettes a few times but just found them soggy and boring, not surprising given the water content. They were great for pureeing when my daughter was first weaning. She loved courgettes but I just couldn’t take to them.

Then I came across a tip from Jamie Oliver and I discovered a more interesting side of the humble courgette. Now, I buy courgettes every week and use them in the following ways:

1. Ribbons

This is the tip I picked up from Jamie. Use a wide potato peeler and peel your courgette into ribbons. Work around the courgette so you are left with the middle, which I find is still a bit soggy and doesn’t peel very well! Ribbons are great in salads, pasta dishes and layered into lasagna.

2. Grated

Grate a courgette and mix it into pretty much any dish to boost your veggie quota. I love grated courgette in omelettes, chilli and salads.

3. Stir-fry

Chop your courgette into bitesize pieces and add to a stir-fry. I alternate between half moon shapes and matchsticks depending on how lazy I feel when I’m chopping. I find courgettes are best added a few minutes from the end of your cooking time so they still have a bit of bite in them.

4. Pesto

Chop then steam or blanch them for a few minutes. Add fresh basil, olive oil, garlic and lemon juice. Blend in a food processor or with a stick blender until smooth. Stir your pesto into pasta, scrambled eggs or spread onto fajitas before layering your meat and veg.

5. Courgetti

Noodles or spaghetti made from courgettes are highly fashionable but they’re also delicious. If you’ve got a spiraliser, spiralise one courgette per person and use in the same way as you would noodles or spaghetti. I love them as an alternative to spaghetti and serve them with a sauce of chopped tomatoes, garlic and onion with a little parmesan and fresh basil sprinkled on top.

Hopefully I’ve given you some good ideas to try. Increasing the variety of vegetables you eat will boost your gut health and help you heal your skin from within.