For those who don't like vegetables

HeidiCooksSupper

Many of us grew up in households where vegetables were limited in variety and were boiled into submission. No, I don't like the cabbage that's been in the corned beef water for hours either, but I do love cabbage that's been lightly sauteed with olive oil, salt and pepper, and caraway seed. It's even better with some mushroom pierogies on top.

Making tasty veggie-loaded suppers requires a little research and some imagination. Tonight we had pasta in a parsley and caper pesto with roasted multi-colored peppers, shaved salami and mozzarella. Between the two of us, we ate three bell peppers and a whole bunch of flat-leafed parsley in this dish and only 2 ounces each of cheese and salami. Why and how?

Well, this week Aldi had three packs of red, orange and yellow bell peppers on sale so I knew I needed to use them up. I did a little web cruising for roasted pepper recipes and found a picture showing "Roasted Peppers with Capers and Mozzarella" http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2011/06/roasted-peppers-with-capers-and-mozzarella/

Starting with that, I came up with some ideas for a supper that would make our tummies happy. It only took about 1/2 an hour to put together. Roast the peppers under the broiler while gathering the other ingredients, making the parsley/caper pesto and bringing the pasta water to a boil. Peel the peppers, dice the mozzarella and shave the salami while the pasta boils. Drain the pasta and return it to the still hot pot with everything else. Toss until everything's warmed through and Voila!

Last night we had a beef dish that included 3/4 head of red cabbage, a serving of frozen cherries, and three helpings of olives while dividing only 6 oz. of lean beef between us. Who knew a marinade of dark sweet cherries, oil-cured olives, and balsamic vinegar would taste so good? But the cabbage needed using and I did a little web surfing to see if I'd be crazy to put olives and cherries together and found I wasn't the first one to blaze that path.

So, hit the supermarket produce aisle and stock up on fresh veggies and then play with them throughout the week to have some delicious veggie-heavy meals. You'll be happy and healthy from it.

SairahRose

Those meals sound fantastic!

Peachy1962

They both sound tasty!!! will have to find some more recipes for low carb veggie meals and get as brave as you my friend!!! :bigsmile:

Kestrel45

Yeah you're so right about veggies. You just need an open mind, play around with them a little and you can't not love em

And those meals do sound scrumptious!

m_wilh

Sounds wonderful! I'm in NC and we have 2 Aldis in town. I make use of their produce section a lot! Thanks for sharing.

RobynMWilson

Love this post! Skinnytaste.com has a lot of recipes that are loaded with veggies!

seliinac

I've looked at a few food diaries which were sadly lacking in fruit and vegetables. I have been pushing eating more vegetables on my husband for years and he finally came around and lost his belly! Of course I was augmenting my healthy food with ice cream, chocolate bars, etc. so I hadn't lost any, but I'm back on track now!
I like to make an easy side dish with just olive oil, a tomato or two and a big handful of spinach. I just sauté them and add a little salt. I love it!