I am a sucker for a good alternative fry, and this simple side fits that bill perfectly. Every time I’ve made this, I’ve eaten an embarrassing number of zucchini.
Note: Mine are a little pale in the picture because in this batch I forgot to spritz with oil. They were still yummy, though.
gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan (check your labels)
Zucchini Ranch Air Fryer Fries
3-4 small zucchini
2 Tbsp. ranch seasoning (check your labels if you need this to fit into your specific dietary requirements)
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
Generous sprinkle salt
Fry Sauce
2 Tbsp. mayo
1 Tbsp. ketchup
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. pickle relish
Oil for brushing
Preheat your air fryer for 3 minutes (200C/400F).
While your air fryer is preheating, slice the zucchini into fry shapes. Salt generously and let sit in a bowl while you make the fry sauce.
Whisk the fry sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.
When the air fryer is heated, add the Ranch seasoning and cornstarch to the bowl and toss well to coat.
Add to the bowl of the fryer in a single layer. Spritz lightly with a little oil or brush a little on top.
Fry 8 minutes, shaking a couple times and hitting with a little more oil if needed.
😍😍 Evening coat dress in authentic brocade from the 1750s, Christian Dior for his boutique, 1957. This dress is typical of the New Look style Dior pioneered – and has been my favorite silhouette since I caught a re-run of the Donna Reed show as a small child. I absolutely love this dress 💯 sewing goals right there
My plan for this new year is to focus on hitting my protein macro for this new weight first (I’ve found that carbs, fat & calories tend to work themselves out if I’m doing what I need to do here). My old macro was 70g a day; this new macro is 80. I think I can do it while keeping the parts of my current diet that are working for me (light breakfasts namely) if I eat decent portions of something protein rich for lunch and dinner & plan ahead with meaty snacks.
The goal: 80g of protein a day; explore this brave new air fryer world.
This is my meal planner – I’m using a combination of Evernote for rough drafts, a Google spreadsheet for protein quick reference, and paper notebook for more detailed recipe writing
Breakfast
M-Sat: Green smoothie with collagen protein, chia seeds or keto protein powder
2 homemade Anzac cookies on Friday & a pale substitute for that Sunday – a pear + spiced nuts. I also had a collagen drink on Tuesday to attempt and hit my protein goal after being so bloated, real food sounded like too much drama for dinner.
Leftovers day – by this point, I was a bit bloated Aaaand an extra day of chickpeas & high FODMAP foods was a mistake. Dinner was slack because I was painfully bloated. This lasted like 3 days. Oops. Moral of the story: 1 meal full of questionable for my gut ingredients is fine; multiple days of it – not so much. Zucchini ranch fries FTW. They’re a bit pale because I forgot to brush them with oil. Still tasty though. This lettuce wrap sub didn’t have as much meat in it as I’d envisioned, but it made a good treat for having walked to the mall. Bbq lamb at a friends house – 🤤- with homemade Anzac cookies. Anzac bikkies are 🔥 This chicken turned out really well – kinda spicy, a little sweet, a little crunch and lots of pepper. Yum. The dinner potatoes aren’t beautiful, but they turned out really well for a day I was just puttering around. Win!
What I learned this week: This week I played single lady and was generally uninspired to grocery shop. The first half of the week was a good fridge clear, and I managed to find a bunch of random ingredients to combine. I didn’t hit my protein goal every day, but I did give it a try. I also learned to not eat multiple days in a row of foods that are fine for my gut but only in moderation. I paid the price for that one for days.
