Ideas for eating more cooked veggies without daily cooking?
kiela64
Posts: 1,447 Member
I’m terrible at eating vegetables because I hate most of them raw and salad makes me gag. Now that it’s getting into winter the few veggies I like raw taste bad & are more expensive (raw carrots & cucumber taste weird now 😞).
But I love stir fry & cooked veggies! Mushrooms & peppers & cauliflower & broccoli & cabbage & beets are delicious to me. But I can’t bring myself to spend the extra 30min every day to chop and wash and cook a stir fry. I frankly almost never do this. I also live with people and the times when the kitchen is clear is very early AM or late PM. Cooking daily isn’t possible really.
I also have extremely limited freezer space, again due to sharing. But I really need to and would like to eat more vegetables. I’d really appreciate any suggestions, I seem to go in a loop where it doesn’t seem possible.
But I love stir fry & cooked veggies! Mushrooms & peppers & cauliflower & broccoli & cabbage & beets are delicious to me. But I can’t bring myself to spend the extra 30min every day to chop and wash and cook a stir fry. I frankly almost never do this. I also live with people and the times when the kitchen is clear is very early AM or late PM. Cooking daily isn’t possible really.
I also have extremely limited freezer space, again due to sharing. But I really need to and would like to eat more vegetables. I’d really appreciate any suggestions, I seem to go in a loop where it doesn’t seem possible.
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Replies
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roast a week's worth on the weekend (most veggies need little to no prep for roasting, especially compared to stir frying), store in refrigerator, then eat them cold (dressed like a salad) or refresh them with a quick trip through boiling water, in a frying pan, or in the microwave during the week.6
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lynn_glenmont wrote: »roast a week's worth on the weekend (most veggies need little to no prep for roasting, especially compared to stir frying), store in refrigerator, then eat them cold (dressed like a salad) or refresh them with a quick trip through boiling water, in a frying pan, or in the microwave during the week.
Can you keep them overnight that long? My mom throws out refrigerated food after 2 days/one night.0 -
Frozen protein/veg combos that can be nuked.
Birdseye and the like have a lot of options now.0 -
Buy frozen vegetables. Ready to cook.
Buy precut fresh vegetables.
Precut your vegetables for several days all at once, store them in the refrigerator and take out what you will use for that meal.
Get a food processor to more quickly slice or chop things.
Cut and cook the vegetables on all one day and reheat them throughout the week.
I don't know how you feel about pickled vegetables but that might be another way to eat them.
Those are pretty much the options I see to cut down on daily prep time of home cooked vegetables.
Otherwise I suppose just go to a restaurant and order cooked vegetable dishes.4 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »roast a week's worth on the weekend (most veggies need little to no prep for roasting, especially compared to stir frying), store in refrigerator, then eat them cold (dressed like a salad) or refresh them with a quick trip through boiling water, in a frying pan, or in the microwave during the week.
Can you keep them overnight that long? My mom throws out refrigerated food after 2 days/one night.
I only cook on Sundays and eat that food from my fridge until Friday or Saturday. I haven’t died, or even gotten queasy yet!13 -
I also rarely mess with whole fresh veggies. I either buy pre-cut from the produce section or salad bar or else use frozen. Either way, it gets cooked once and eaten the rest of the week.6
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I have never suffered any ill effects from this. Obviously, use common sense and discard if you see mold or smell (or taste) something "off". I usually discard (or freeze separately for making soup) any liquid that cooks out of the veggies, and store the veggies in the refrigerator in something reasonably air-tight, such as aluminum foil with well-crimped edges, a storage container with lids that "burp", or plastic bags with a seal.3
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lynn_glenmont wrote: »I have never suffered any ill effects from this. Obviously, use common sense and discard if you see mold or smell (or taste) something "off". I usually discard (or freeze separately for making soup) any liquid that cooks out of the veggies, and store the veggies in the refrigerator in something reasonably air-tight, such as aluminum foil with well-crimped edges, a storage container with lids that "burp", or plastic bags with a seal.
Thank you! I’ll have to look up how to roast, my cooking knowledge is bad lol.0 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »roast a week's worth on the weekend (most veggies need little to no prep for roasting, especially compared to stir frying), store in refrigerator, then eat them cold (dressed like a salad) or refresh them with a quick trip through boiling water, in a frying pan, or in the microwave during the week.
Can you keep them overnight that long? My mom throws out refrigerated food after 2 days/one night.
4-5 days should be okay to keep most cooked food if you have cooked and stored it properly in a refrigerator.
Cooked cabbage for example https://www.stilltasty.com/fooditems/index/166584 -
Stirfry, saute, or roast a large amount of vegetables of your choice, and use them in omelets, soups, rice or pasta dishes or stews (add beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, sausages, etc. for added protein). You can use the hand-held blender to pure the vegetables when making soup.
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Prep for several days at once, if you can devote early morning or late night time like you said... Buy a bunch of fresh produce or frozen vegs, slice them and have ready for easy things... Make stir fries, curries, veg soups and stews in the crockpot. Maybe make a huge amount of stirfry vegs one day, and end up using leftovers in stew later in the week... Get canned vegs if need be, might be easier for the purpose of sharing the kitchen without needing to prep fresh vegs, maybe stuff like canned beets and beans and greens, etc.0
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Yeah I can't imagine that 2-3 day old cooked veggies would be very appetizing, even if they are technically OK to eat. If you really can't find the time to cook fresh every day I would just eat raw brocolli, peppers and cauliflower with a low cal dip to make it more palatable.
You can also use prewashed and quicker cooking veggies and add them to whatever you are eating. I buy a large container of baby spinach every week and have it with my eggs in the morning, and add to soups and pastas. It sautees in like a minute.1 -
Womanvsfood18 wrote: »Frozen steam bag veg are a godsend, a few mins in the microwave and your done 👍
That sounds convenient, does it actually taste okay? I assumed that would just be like mush.0 -
Yeah I can't imagine that 2-3 day old cooked veggies would be very appetizing, even if they are technically OK to eat. If you really can't find the time to cook fresh every day I would just eat raw brocolli, peppers and cauliflower with a low cal dip to make it more palatable.
You can also use prewashed and quicker cooking veggies and add them to whatever you are eating. I buy a large container of baby spinach every week and have it with my eggs in the morning, and add to soups and pastas. It sautees in like a minute.
Yeah....I think I've had a second day stir fry before but nothing later than that. I've really never been able to eat more than one piece of raw broccoli or cauliflower, I really can't do raw veggies. I like cooked spinach alright, but how do you ever finish the container?! I've bought some before and I'd get maybe a handful cooked with eggs but the giant container would go bad in like 2 days.0 -
PotentiallyCrazy wrote: »Prep for several days at once, if you can devote early morning or late night time like you said... Buy a bunch of fresh produce or frozen vegs, slice them and have ready for easy things... Make stir fries, curries, veg soups and stews in the crockpot. Maybe make a huge amount of stirfry vegs one day, and end up using leftovers in stew later in the week... Get canned vegs if need be, might be easier for the purpose of sharing the kitchen without needing to prep fresh vegs, maybe stuff like canned beets and beans and greens, etc.
That's when the kitchen is available for more than 5min at a time. Before 7am or after 8pm. I'm usually tired and not able to focus much at those times (just injured myself trying to do laundry while overtired lmao). I'd ideally only want to make things once or twice a week that aren't too complicated. When I prep lunches I just make sandwiches with deli meat and freeze them. That takes up my entire section of the freezer sadly, about 10 sandwiches. So I can't really make and freeze anything in addition. Canned beets sound good! I'll check that out, thanks!0 -
Yeah I can't imagine that 2-3 day old cooked veggies would be very appetizing, even if they are technically OK to eat. If you really can't find the time to cook fresh every day I would just eat raw brocolli, peppers and cauliflower with a low cal dip to make it more palatable.
You can also use prewashed and quicker cooking veggies and add them to whatever you are eating. I buy a large container of baby spinach every week and have it with my eggs in the morning, and add to soups and pastas. It sautees in like a minute.
Yeah....I think I've had a second day stir fry before but nothing later than that. I've really never been able to eat more than one piece of raw broccoli or cauliflower, I really can't do raw veggies. I like cooked spinach alright, but how do you ever finish the container?! I've bought some before and I'd get maybe a handful cooked with eggs but the giant container would go bad in like 2 days.
Well I actually eat a ridiculous amount of spinach so I have to buy the big container- but they have a smaller size too. And spinach shrinks a lot. 😁 I eat 2+ cups in my eggs every morning. The small container would last maybe 3 days for me?
But anyway put a paper towel in the container once you open it to absorb the moisture and it keeps it from going soggy - it makes it last longer. I have found it usually last several days to a week.1 -
i eat the same vegies with similar living conditions. i steam every 3 days and refrigerate. be sure to drain well. i like them cold.1
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Why not make a soup with those veggies and a few more. It keeps well in the fridge and is also good in the freezer. Offer some to the "roomies" in exchange for more fridge/freezer space. this is a great veggie soup0
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lynn_glenmont wrote: »roast a week's worth on the weekend (most veggies need little to no prep for roasting, especially compared to stir frying), store in refrigerator, then eat them cold (dressed like a salad) or refresh them with a quick trip through boiling water, in a frying pan, or in the microwave during the week.
Can you keep them overnight that long? My mom throws out refrigerated food after 2 days/one night.
I only cook on Sundays and eat that food from my fridge until Friday or Saturday. I haven’t died, or even gotten queasy yet!
I cook on Sundays and eat the portioned out roasted veggies through the following Saturday. Never had a problem as long as they’re refrigerated3 -
How about making a green shake in the
Morning? Toss spinach and kale in blender or nutribullet with additions of choice and blend! Presto! Greens and no cooking, no refrigeration.
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Womanvsfood18 wrote: »Frozen steam bag veg are a godsend, a few mins in the microwave and your done 👍
That sounds convenient, does it actually taste okay? I assumed that would just be like mush.
Depending on the vegetable they can be really good. I love edamame, asparagus, and artichoke hearts in steam bags.
Root veggies roast and keep very well. Also, if you chop them they take about an hour to roast, but it's not an hour of cooking, you can do something else in the meantime, and prep is very quick.
If you need the kitchen, assert yourself, you live there too!3 -
I make larger amounts of roast dinners so I have something for another day. No problem about veg lasting a few days then ‘ping!’ Nuke it in the microwave. Have you thought about an electric steamer...you could technically steam your veg in your room along with chicken or fish (subject to smells I suppose)0
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If you have the funds and space in your home you could buy a small freezer unit for about $150-200.1
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If you're worried about storing roasted veggies for a week (I wouldn't be, frankly - been doing it for decades), consider separating some out and putting a bit of vinegar on them for use in salads or stir-fries late in the week, if you like vinegar, then use the un-vinegar-ed ones first. The acidic environment is a bit of a spoilage retardent.3
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If you're worried about storing roasted veggies for a week (I wouldn't be, frankly - been doing it for decades), consider separating some out and putting a bit of vinegar on them for use in salads or stir-fries late in the week, if you like vinegar, then use the un-vinegar-ed ones first. The acidic environment is a bit of a spoilage retardent.
Thank you! I've never tried keeping them that long so I'd have to see. Initially though I'm more worried about my mom seeing it and tossing it to protect me from the spoiled food. She's thrown out 3 day old vegetarian foods often enough I think that's the main thing to get past. (A conversation would not help, only call her attention to it and make it more likely she'd do it sooner). I could probably tuck it behind some things on the bottom shelf and hope it gets passed over. The first challenge is learning how to roast veggies...which I think should be straightforward I just haven't done it before. I may have an opportunity tomorrow so we will see.0 -
If you're worried about storing roasted veggies for a week (I wouldn't be, frankly - been doing it for decades), consider separating some out and putting a bit of vinegar on them for use in salads or stir-fries late in the week, if you like vinegar, then use the un-vinegar-ed ones first. The acidic environment is a bit of a spoilage retardent.
Thank you! I've never tried keeping them that long so I'd have to see. Initially though I'm more worried about my mom seeing it and tossing it to protect me from the spoiled food. She's thrown out 3 day old vegetarian foods often enough I think that's the main thing to get past. (A conversation would not help, only call her attention to it and make it more likely she'd do it sooner). I could probably tuck it behind some things on the bottom shelf and hope it gets passed over. The first challenge is learning how to roast veggies...which I think should be straightforward I just haven't done it before. I may have an opportunity tomorrow so we will see.
Here's a thought experiment that may be reassuring:
Do you know how to make sauerkraut? I've done it multiple times. You slice raw cabbage thinly, sprinkle it with salt, and pack it in a crock, weighting it down with a plate so the solids stay below the juice it releases. You put the crock on the counter (room temperature). You skim the surface daily and wash the plate & weight, and put them back. You leave it for like a month or six weeks minimum, right there on the counter. Then it's ready, and you eat it - raw, if you like. It's safe. (It's partly because of the salt, and partly because of the micro-organisms.)
If you have veggies in the refrigerator, and they don't smell bad or grow strange-colored fuzz or get super slimy, they're pretty much certainly safe to eat for a week, plus. Meats/fish are very different. I've been vegetarian for 44+ years now, and have always followed the "smell it and guess" rule, if in doubt, and I'm not dead yet.
Hiding it in the back from your mom is probably a good plan. If you're comfortable with deception, put a date on the lid for tracking, and date it a couple of days later than the actual (or surreptitiously change it as time passes), to better get along with toss-happy meat-eating refrigerator cleaners.
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I have steamer bags and I LOVE them. Just pop in some veggies with a tablespoon of water, and microwave according to instructions printed on the bag. So, so convenient for when I don't feel like I have the time after work, or just feeling lazy. They even take sweet potatoes/regular potatoes. ETA they don't come out mushy. Potatoes are soft but not mushed, and corn/green beans/whatever usually are soft enough but not over cooked. As long as you follow the timing instructions.
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