I need to add vegetables to my diet, please help.

hokiemom14

bebeisfit wrote: »

I like roasted vegetables. Broccoli, cauliflower, onion, eggplant, peppers (I'm not a fan, but others do), splash with a bit of olive oil - maybe a tablespoon at most depending on how much you're preparing. sprinkle with salt & pepper and mix to incorporate. Cook at 400 degrees F for 15 min, toss, back in the oven for another 10-20 min. And they are wonderful.

I also love mashed cauliflower. cut up the florets - discard the green leaves and inner core. Steam for 20-30 min. Add to a food processor and add in any of the following.. a T. of cream cheese, butter, a dollop of sour cream, a tablespoon or two of parmesean cheese, roasted garlic. Add in a teaspoon or less of salt - you can always add more. My favorites are cream cheese, butter & roasted garlic (or you can add a clove in the steamer - just don't add raw, it's too intense).

Also a fan of soup - but that can be a bit daunting. Look up recipes on pinterest or some of the blogs - skinnytaste gets a lot of good reviews, but I haven't made any of her recipes.

Good luck, and keep trying different vegetables prepared in new ways. Sometimes it takes a few trys - some people like their vegetables mushy, some a bit more crunchy.

Just saw your post. Love Love Love some roasted veggies I love that you can literally put whatever you have in the house in the oven!

Alyssa_Is_LosingIt

I agree with roasting your veggies.

My kids hate broccoli unless it's roasted. I hate cooked carrots unless they're roasted.

Some of my faves (besides broccoli and carrots) are asparagus, Brussels sprouts, green beans, sweet potatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, potatoes, and bell peppers.

almostsuperpowered

Buy a vegetable tray. Feature it prominently in your fridge or place of work. Eat them.

l911jnt

George Foreman grill is the best thing since sliced bread lol. Spray with non stick spray sparingly, salt and garlic powder on veggies ( i make cauliflower "steaks", fresh green beans, cabbage "steaks", brussel sprouts cut in half and more) and grill them. You can get a small one at a thrift store anywhere just about it and pay less than $5 for it. I have a large and small. Sometimes I do alot at once on the big one and put in portions in the fridge for work that week.... or you can just throw it on a pan in the oven too.

Lovee_Dove7

A couple years ago I learned how to eat veggies.
This might help you.
Feel free to eat them with fats, because fats make them taste awesome! Veggies are very satisfying, so it's good to eat a load of them daily.
I shoot for 454g (which is a lb) per day. That's only 150g/meal. Or divided however you want. example: It could be 75g at breakfast stir fry, another 37g added to a smoothie, then 37g in a snack later. Then 75g at lunch, and the rest at dinner.
Stir fry....steamed and blended into a creamy soup......salad.....added to smoothies.....roasted.....steamed with sauce on top......sauteed and inside a taco shell with meat and jalapeno cheese and avocado.....
Sauteed onions make everything taste better, and the fragrance is mouth watering.

I've gotten to where sometimes I just Ninja-blend up some veggies and flaxseed and chug it down before a meal, then just enjoy a sandwich or soup and bread (for example), if I'm not in the mood to chop, prepare and chew. Sounds gross maybe, but it just tastes fresh and I don't mind--it gets the job done. Usually that's parsley/celery/carrot/flaxseed when I do that. If I'm feeling tolerant of a rather "healthy" taste, I'll throw in some broccoli to that, but it's not my favorite taste.

fuhrmeister

I like my vegetable roasted. I buy them raw, cut them in to bite sized chunks an place in roasting pan toss with salt, pepper and olive oil and roast in the oven at 400 for about 25-30 minutes. I love the combination of onions grape tomatoes and zucchini. You can also throw in Italian sausage cut into 4 pieces each to make this a whole meal. If you add sweet potatoes or rutabaga (try it...it tastes like a carrot and a potato combined and it's cheep) to the mix you may have to roast a little longer. You can do a do a big pan of vegetables on Sunday and eat them all week. You can always try celery, bell pepper or carrots and dip them in hummus for more taste and protein.

pyudain

I have a suggestion that may or may not work for you, but if you can find a couple of hours on a weekend, it might be worth a try. Go out and buy a large onion, a package of carrots (I don't think the baby ones will hurt you, but the "real" ones have more taste), a bunch of celery, a small cabbage (unless you really hate cabbage), a can of beans (the sort you would put in chili) a can of crushed tomatoes and a piece of lean beef (just about anything will do, but cheaper cuts seem to actually work better). Cut up the the onion, the celery, the carrots and the cabbage if you're using it. Put the beef (I usually remove any big pieces of fat first), onions and cabbage into a large pot with enough cold water to cover everything, Bring it to a slow boil and add some salt and pepper and and a beef bouillon cube in you have one (worth buying if you don't). Continue to boil until the beef seems tender when you stick a fork or knife into it. Add the celery, carrots and beans and cook until they are tender. Take the pot off the stove and let the soup cool down. Remove the fat and bones (if any) from the meat and chop it up and add it back. Put it into a container or containers and refrigerate. You can then just quickly heat it up for dinner when you get home from work. It's low in calories, high in fiber, and pretty tasty, expecially with a nice crunchy french bread or roll, and if you want to go crazy, some salad. You can also add other vegetables if you'd like. I ofter add corn and/or geeen beans and/or cut squash, even potatoes.
You can also make a similar soup with chicken replacing the beef. The beauty of this "recipe" is you can pretty much add what ever you'd like and in whatever amount you want. I've probably made this soup a thousand times and I can't think of any time it didn't come out OK.
Good luck!

lemurcat12

I also agree with roasting vegetables, although sauteeing is good too. Basically, dry heat makes them tastier.

Also agree with using them in soups and stews (yes, this is an exception to the dry heat), and adding them to stir fries and pasta sauce.

frannieshack wrote: »

If you aren't used to eating vegetables, do not go out and buy a bunch of fresh vegetables. They will sit there in your refrigerator and rot.

This is true, but I have a different solution. Buy a few things, and then make sure you use them over the next two days. (Don't stuff them in a produce drawer and ignore.)

Too often I think people look up recipes or meal plans and think "oh, I need broccoli with that" so they go buy it and the zucchini they had on hand goes to waste when they could have just used zucchini as the side. One of the more valuable things I've done (although I don't recommend it to someone just starting to eat vegetables, as it could be challenging) was cooking from a farm box, as I had to plan my dinners and lunches around what I had in order to use it up vs. going out and getting things specifically. Learning to cook from what you have in the house is a helpful habit/skill.

Adc7225

Try getting some of the frozen single packs of vegetables (preferable without sauce but if you must - you can start there ). Start with adding one or two servings a day, you might find you will feel a little different with the addition of veggies in your life and go from there.

I started with the packs from Trader Joe's and then moved on to fixing my own, it funny how you don't realize what is missing from your diet until you stop and take a close look.

Lovee_Dove7

frannieshack wrote: »

If you aren't used to eating vegetables, do not go out and buy a bunch of fresh vegetables. They will sit there in your refrigerator and rot. Frozen vegetables are a great way to go. My boyfriend did not eat a lot of veggies, I finally got him to keep the frozen peppers and onions medley in his freezer, now he really loves them, he adds them to eggs, potatoes, chicken, steak, whatever.

If you line your veggie drawer with parchment and put the veggies in the drawer with no plastic wrap on them, they keep a looooong time, even herbs. If there's a tab for humidity, set it to high.

This week I found a very big box of baby portabella mushrooms. I was so excited they were marked down to $2. So I made 3 1-gallon ziploc bags with my own assortment of sliced mushrooms and other veggies and froze them. I've not done that before but that made breakfast stir-fry's super easy this week so far.

In your veggie drawer you can put your celery with the root end cut off already, so it's easy to take them out. A few peeled carrots (I keep the rest of my carrots in their bag in another refrigerator so they don't take up all our space in the main fridge.). Some parsley and cilantro with the bands removed so you just take out what you want. Mushrooms stay in their cardboard box. Green beans can be nestled in a paper bag (just cut off the top of the bag or roll it down so the beans are easy to reach in and take), or just freeze the bag of fresh ones.
Cut off the root end of the lettuce and place that in the drawer (again, no plastic bag), the leaves are easy to take from the drawer.
You can even keep the onion and tomato you are working on in the drawer, unwrapped, as you use slices off of it. Same with avocado. Keep the soft, ripe ones in your veggie drawer.

Replace the parchment liner once a week, say, the day before you grocery shop.

French_Peasant

I second, third, and forth the recommendations for roasting vegetables. For family holiday get-togethers, I have started a coup against green bean casserole, instead bringing a large dish of carrots, parsnips, potatoes, leeks, red onion, and butternut squash roasted with olive oil, garlic and rosemary. IT IS INCREDIBLE. You want the edges of some of the veggies to become slightly carmelized. The roasting and carmelization really bring out the natural sweetness and complexity of flavor, giving it an almost meaty (umami) presence. The first time I brought it to a Thanksgiving, to my chagrin, I did not have the plentiful leftovers I expected. Now I know to save some back.

Here is one basic recipe, although this one doesn't call for the squash: http://www.food.com/recipe/roasted-root-vegetables-54134

Sauteed brussels sprouts with a balsamic reduction are amazing as well.

Julia Child's potato-leek soup is a delicious classic, and super easy to make: http://www.food.com/recipe/potage-parmentier-potato-leek-soup-julia-child-270731

Just a few of my favorites, although I grew up being forced to eat my veg, and now eat a wide variety with great enthusiasm.