Zucchini Caprese Salad- Recipe ReDux Post # 3

I hope you all enjoyed last week’s summer squash “noodles” tutorial, now on to some recipes using them as promised! This has easily become one of my favorite salads and when the Recipe ReDux challenge for July was unveiled to be “No Cook Meals” I was so excited to share this recipe as one of mine.  My husband loves it to and my toddler will even eat it on occasion.  I have enjoyed using the zucchini “noodles” cooked as a pasta substitute so much that it had never occurred to me to try them cold.  One warm evening I decided to test my luck with using them raw in a salad and this recipe was born. It is a great refreshing ow calorie side dish that can even be made a meal topped with some white beans, tuna or chicken- like my Simple Grilled Garlic Chicken. Try it and some of these other awesome no cook recipes by the talented bloggers from the Recipe ReDux Clan! 

Ingredients:

2 cups zucchini “noodles”(check out how to make those HERE)

1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut into halves

1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

2 sticks low fat string cheese sliced into 1/4 inch think rounds

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon lemon juice

a dash garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Toss all the above in a medium sized bowl and serve.  Chill if not serving immediately

Makes 6 servings

Serving size, a little over ½ cup: Calories 45 Protein 1 g Carb 2g Fiber 0 g Sugars 1 g Fat 4.5  g Saturated fat <1 g Sodium  0 mg 

Variations: This salad is also great topped with 1-2 tablespoons shredded parmesan cheese or even without any cheese (if you want to drop the Caprese theme and go non-dairy!)

You can also sub in any of your favorite light vinaigrette or Italian dressing in place of the olive oil/lemon. I have enjoyed this salad topped with Trader Joe’s fat free balsamic vinaigrette