Comfort food cravings

You know those nights when you really just have no idea what to make for dinner? You kind of want pizza but you’re like, nah I should eat healthy and not waste money, but you’re also like, ugh cooking sounds hard right now… Anyone? Just me?

Well I have the perfect solution for nights like these - zucchini fritters! Traditional fritters are typically carb and saturated-fat heavy, deep-fried, and lacking in the fresh veggie department. Yet we tend to love them because of that warm comforting bready goodness they really hit the mark on.

Hitting the Healthy mark

These zucchini-kale fritters hit that same mark, but on a MUCH healthier scale! I bumped up this zucchini fritter recipe to the next level by adding some extra veggies (kale and onion) along with some extra heat (white pepper, chili flakes, and sriracha). Plus, the cheesy cheddar shreds really provide that warm melty comfort that you get from your classic comfort foods like traditional fritters and good ol’ pizza.

Not to mention, this recipe is pretty simple when you get down to it! Really the toughest part is just prepping the veggies, which you can buy pre-cut and pre-washed to take even more work out of the process. After that, and massaging the kale of course!, you sort of just mix it all together and throw it on a pan until it reaches golden perfection on each side.

I served these fritters with sriracha sauce alongside a simple kale salad with tomato, avocado, and a homemade apple cider vinegar dressing, but you could honestly just eat them on their own if you wanted! Other ideas would be to serve them with zoodles (continuing the zucchini trend) or as a side dish with your choice of protein. The leftovers, if you have any, will save perfectly for lunch the next day too.

Recipe Notes

• Be sure to get as much water out of the zucchini as possible to avoid watery fritters that don’t come together very well

• Small zucchinis tend to be more firm and less watery than larger zucchinis

Simple Cheesy Zucchini-Kale Fritters

Ingredients

*Note I recommend using organic ingredients whenever possible

• 2 cups zucchini, shredded

• 2 cups kale, shredded (or finely sliced), massaged, stems removed

• 1/2 a sweet yellow onion, diced

• 2 large eggs

• 1/2 tsp pink himalayan sea salt

• 3/4 cups blanched almond flour

• 1 tsp black pepper

• 1/2 tsp white pepper

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp chili flakes

• 1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used Daiya’s Non-dairy Cheddar Style Shreds)

• Olive or avocado oil for cooking

• Sriracha (to taste)

Instructions

• Shred zucchini on a box grater. Place in a colander and add the salt - toss to coat evenly. Set aside to allow water to drain.

• Meanwhile, prepare onion and kale and mix in a large bowl. Squeeze out excess moisture from zucchini and add to bowl. Add the eggs and mix until frothy and evenly coated. Mix in the cheese.

• In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients and add to the veggies. Mix to coat evenly.

• Heat a pan to medium-high heat with olive or avocado oil (use two pans to cook more fritters at a time). Add heaping tablespoons of batter to pan - roughly 3-4 fritters per pan. Slightly shape into pancake-like form. Cook until golden brown (roughly 1-3 minutes) on each side. Slightly turn up heat if cooking is taking too long. Optional: add extra cheese to top each fritter while cooking second side.

• Transfer fritters to paper towel lined plate.

• Serve with sriracha sauce and enjoy!

Adapted from The Healthy Foodie and Low Carb Maven’s zucchini fritter recipes.