How to incorporate more veggies??
xodreamariexo
Posts: 63 Member
Hi all, I’m not a huge vegetable fan. I enjoy peas, corn, potatoes, lettuce, occasionally carrots, and that’s about it. Beans? If those are even a vegetable lol. I’m looking for some tips to incorporate more vegetables or make them taste better. For example the zucchini mini pizzas on Tik tok look delicious. I’m planning on trying those. The restaurant I work at has grilled zucchini which I don’t care for but I also don’t hate. So maybe some good zucchini recipes or whatever else you guys have for me. Thanks so much!!
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Roasting vegetables in the oven is terrific.13
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What are some typical meals that you eat? People may be able to suggest how you can incorporate vegetables into those.2
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What are some typical meals that you eat? People may be able to suggest how you can incorporate vegetables into those.
Stuff I cook a lot is spaghetti (the sauce I use says it has a serving of vegetables in each serving of sauce), chicken and dumplings (I usually do potatoes, peas, carrot, and onion in that), pot roast with potatoes and carrots, lasagna, chicken Alfredo with peas, a salad with grilled chicken, avocado, corn, peas, and a little bit it shredded Carrot if I have any. Pretty simple and basic stuff. I live alone so I keep it simple.0 -
Zucchini has a very mild taste if raw, so pair it with hummus, guacamole, salsa or something you like the taste of. It is also mild if sautéed lightly, a little butter added. Spanish rice has tomatoes. A fresh tomato sauce on pasta—or zucchini zoodles.
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Stir fry with meat of your choice, bok choy, snap or snow peas, onion, mushrooms, etc.
Quick sauté of baby spinach, baby kale, baby protein greens, etc
I'm a bit lazy and buy organic Caesar, slaw and chopped salad kits because they have a mix of greens in them and to buy all the different vegetables would be too much volume and they'd go bad before I'd have a chance to use them. The primary reason I get organic is the dressings tend to have less garbage in them than non-organic but if you don't mind that there are plenty of those to choose from.
Spiralize (or julienne) zucchini and use in place of pasta with a meat sauce.
Oven roasted Brussels sprouts are pretty good. Give them a light coat of olive oil and roast in the oven.
Vegetables can be boring so look for recipes where you add just one or two things. For example I might add a little lemon juice and slivered almonds to sautéed green beans or asparagus. Or cook Brussels sprouts with a piece or two of sliced up bacon. Dip raw vegetables (celery, cucumber, carrots, etc) in hummus or a yogurt dip.
Buy already shredded cabbage/carrot slaw mix and add a dressing of your choice. I like to Asian it up with sesame oil, cider vinegar and a little peanut butter. But you can just add mayo. I sometimes use Primal Kitchen chipotle lime avocado mayo. Makes it a little spicy but flavorful.
I used to make pasta and throw in baby spinach at the last minute of cooking and then drain the whole thing together adding a little grated parm (or feta) and tomatoes.3 -
I think an easy start would be adding additional veggies in your pasta sauce (Jamie Oliver has a seven veg tomato sauce). Also in your lasagne you could sneak lots of extra veg in.
I'm trying to go down the route of hiding veggies in foods as you would for kids until you get more used to them!4 -
One of my tricks is my dehydrator.
Sliced thin and dehydrated? Tomatoes are great!
Dehydrated cucumber slices are good, too.
Others I have tried are string beans, spinach, even yellow onions are delicious when diced coarsely and dehydrated to a crunch.
Just be sure to have something to drink when you snack on them. Too much fiber and not enough water is an excellent cork where you really don’t want a cork.1 -
I'm not much of a from-scratch cook, because it just doesn't seem worth the effort for a single person. But I do "pump up the veg" for many of my meals by keeping bags of frozen vegetables and adding them to lots of things. Broccoli, green beans, mixed peppers, asparagus, etc. For example, last night I made one of those Bertolli frozen bag pasta dinners, but addded lots of frozen broccoli and peas. 2 nights dinner with lots of extra vegetables.
The other thing I often do is make a big batch something in the InstantPot and once again, add extra veg. Soup? double what the recipe says (and add more stock if needed). And with spaghetti sauce, add a few carrots that have been shredded in the food processor. They add sweetness without seeming vegetable-like.
I also use things like cucumber or carrots (slice on the angle for a nice big chip) in place of where I used to eat chips: for hummus, salsa, etc.2 -
I love dipping fresh veggies in hummus or lite ranch dressing. I'll add a variety of veggies to my omelets, such as spinach, onions, green peppers, mushrooms. I also will heat up a veggie burger and slather it with those same veggies, sometimes a little avocado. Minestrone soups are great for adding tons of veggies! Lately my breakfast has been a huge green salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and mushrooms(and whatever else I have on hand).
Sweet potato fries are good.
Lots of foods are great for sneaking veggies in to it, all kinds of casseroles and soups. If you like smoothies throw in spinach. My sister made a smoothie using a whole pack of fresh spinach and she said you'd never know it was in there. Just mix in with lots of fruits such as blueberries, banana, and strawberries.0 -
This thread!!!
So much beautiful food and it's just a pleasure to read:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10726786/for-the-love-of-produce#latest3 -
I'd like to try the sesame oil, cider vinegar, peanut butter dressing. Can you please provide the ratios or recipe?LazyBlondeChef wrote: »Buy already shredded cabbage/carrot slaw mix and add a dressing of your choice. I like to Asian it up with sesame oil, cider vinegar and a little peanut butter. But you can just add mayo. I sometimes use Primal Kitchen chipotle lime avocado mayo. Makes it a little spicy but flavorful.
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Have you tried different cooking methods, fresh frozen, etc. ? I grew up eating canned veggies. Yuck! One of my favorite veggies is green beans......fresh green beans are tastey.
Cauliflower roasted in an air-fryer is great. Cauliflower has such a mild flavor. Below is a simple recipe, but you can add any seasonings you like: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/267304/air-fryer-roasted-cauliflower/3 -
Add some to your smoothies. A handful of spinach makes no difference to the taste. And I love rhubarb in my smoothies.1
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You might try watching some cooking shows or videos that feature vegetables. You might not ever use any of the recipes you see, but just seeing how a vegetable can be prepared and served can inspire you to try it, or even to try cooking it yourself.
I saw Lidia Bastianich cook tomato-braised cauliflower on her show. It looked interesting, so I tried it - delicious! I added a little parmesan cheese on top, even though the recipe doesn't call for it.
https://lidiasitaly.com/recipes/tomato-braised-cauliflower/1 -
TX_Bluebonnet wrote: »
I'd like to try the sesame oil, cider vinegar, peanut butter dressing. Can you please provide the ratios or recipe?LazyBlondeChef wrote: »Buy already shredded cabbage/carrot slaw mix and add a dressing of your choice. I like to Asian it up with sesame oil, cider vinegar and a little peanut butter. But you can just add mayo. I sometimes use Primal Kitchen chipotle lime avocado mayo. Makes it a little spicy but flavorful.
I tend to eyeball things but maybe 1/4 cup peanut butter and a tbsp each of sesame oil and vinegar. Then taste and adjust as you like.
This white miso dressing was quite delicious so if you have all the ingredients give it a try.
https://www.loveandlemons.com/asian-slaw/
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Thanks so much! Looking forward to trying that dressing once I have all the ingredients on hand.LazyBlondeChef wrote: »
I tend to eyeball things but maybe 1/4 cup peanut butter and a tbsp each of sesame oil and vinegar. Then taste and adjust as you like.TX_Bluebonnet wrote: »
I'd like to try the sesame oil, cider vinegar, peanut butter dressing. Can you please provide the ratios or recipe?LazyBlondeChef wrote: »Buy already shredded cabbage/carrot slaw mix and add a dressing of your choice. I like to Asian it up with sesame oil, cider vinegar and a little peanut butter. But you can just add mayo. I sometimes use Primal Kitchen chipotle lime avocado mayo. Makes it a little spicy but flavorful.
This white miso dressing was quite delicious so if you have all the ingredients give it a try.
https://www.loveandlemons.com/asian-slaw/
That miso dressing salad looks delicious with an interesting combination of ingredients. I've never had miso before (just googled it to see what it is), so am thinking I may give that salad a try as well.
Thank you. 🙂0 -
You can have half baked soupy vegetables with some black pepper salt and salt to make it taste better. Half bakes veggies holds the nutrients intact that are crucial for our body.0
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If most of your experience with vegetables has been boiled to death, steamed with no seasoning whatsoever, or reheated from a can, try whatever the vegetable in question is fresh or frozen, and roasted in the oven or sauteed, with just a little bit of oil and salt.* I love roasted broccoli, asparagus, and Brussels sprouts prepared like this, with maybe some paprika or garlic powder tossed in the mix as well. Eggplant also does amazing things in the oven; try this recipe, if it turns out you like miso: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015113-miso-glazed-eggplant
* Oil and salt can have a place in a healthy and balanced diet. Unless YOUR specific doctor has told YOU specifically to avoid these things, there's no reason you have to do that in order to lose weight. I use about a quarter-teaspoon of oil per serving when I prep vegetables like this, basically just enough to thinly coat each piece. I'm not worried about salt so I don't usually measure precisely, but that's even less than a quarter-teaspoon per serving, usually.3 -
Green smoothies are great. The trick is balancing the vegetables with something sweet and, for me, low carb. Ocean Spray makes a 5-calorie cranberry juice blend that I like. So I use five ounces of that, an ounce of greens (spinach, kale, anything darker than iceberg), and then whatever I have. I like to add half a jalapeño for a flavor boost. I've added any of these: mandarin orange, chopped onion, carrots, tomato, chia seed, avocado. I try for at least four vegetables. You either need a very good blender or a lot of patience. You will probably have to mash everything down a few times to get it going. It's kind of a project, but really tasty. It makes about two cups after you rinse out the blender with a little water and stir that in. Raw food is (usually) the best way to get the most nutrients out of your vegetables. If you don't add banana or a high carb fruit your overall carbohydrate count will be fairly low but solid on fiber.
Pro tip: rinse out your blender, fill it about half full of warm water and one or two drops of dish soap, then turn it back on for just a few seconds. Your blades will clean themselves and you just have to wipe down the sides and lid, and rinse.2 -
ridiculous59 wrote: »Add some to your smoothies. A handful of spinach makes no difference to the taste. And I love rhubarb in my smoothies.
I'm already adding spinach to my smoothies. Excited to try rhubarb!1 -
TX_Bluebonnet wrote: »Thanks so much! Looking forward to trying that dressing once I have all the ingredients on hand.
That miso dressing salad looks delicious with an interesting combination of ingredients. I've never had miso before (just googled it to see what it is), so am thinking I may give that salad a try as well.
Thank you. 🙂
Sure. That's the first time I've bought white miso. I usually have red for ramen soup in the winter.
And I was a little misleading when I said I eyeball it because currently I do weigh/measure everything for logging purposes but I don't have a preconceived idea of how much I plan to use beforehand because it's based on consistency and the flavor I'm looking for. If it's too thick it won't easily mix with the greens.0 -
im a lazy mofo, i buy frozen veggies and nuke them. top it with cholula and pepper. accompany with any meat3
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I’m “energy efficient” aka lazy too @azuki, and a fan of frozen veggies.
Cook once, eat lots works for me too, so I’ll make a big batch of soup in the instant pot, toss in all the veggies I have in the fridge and whatever bagged veggies from the freezer and some meat and broth and seasoning. Portion it out into containers that can go from fridge-freezer-microwave-dishwasher and it saves tons of time and energy for the weeks ahead. Works for chili, minestrone, stew recipes, etc. Go ahead and add in extra veggies. Can always add pureed zucchini (that thickens the broth nicely too for stews) or chopped.
Buying into a CSA, community supported agriculture, is a way to get boxes of fresh produce delivered weekly or every-other week. It’s a surprise, you don’t get much say in what’s in it each week, the farmer’s crop is what determines it. So, you have the adventure of looking up recipes and trying it out.
Maybe you have a friend who likes veggies and is willing to teach you? Once a month you could do dinner together in order to learn new recipes and techniques?
Or, maybe you could pick a veggie of the month at the store? Something you’ve never tried, read about it first, then pick a recipe, but it the next trip and try cooking with it?3 -
Just wanted to share a couple of recipes. This one, for fennel parmigiana, is terrific. I cut way, way back on the cheese, though.
Another good one is tofu braised in tomato sauce. There are several variations on it. Here's a Vietnamese recipe. I make a simplified version by sauteeing some onions and garlic in a skillet, adding a large can of crushed tomatoes and a small can of Rotel tomatoes with chilies, and about half a pound of tofu cut into cubes. Drizzle soy sauce and toasted sesame oil on the tofu to season it a little. You could also bulk up the vegetables by adding chopped fennel, celery, or peppers. Add star anise for flavor, unless you're using fennel in which case you may not need it.1 -
xodreamariexo wrote: »What are some typical meals that you eat? People may be able to suggest how you can incorporate vegetables into those.
Stuff I cook a lot is spaghetti (the sauce I use says it has a serving of vegetables in each serving of sauce), chicken and dumplings (I usually do potatoes, peas, carrot, and onion in that), pot roast with potatoes and carrots, lasagna, chicken Alfredo with peas, a salad with grilled chicken, avocado, corn, peas, and a little bit it shredded Carrot if I have any. Pretty simple and basic stuff. I live alone so I keep it simple.
@xodreamariexo Hi! Veggie lover here ! 😎💕
Just from the typical dinners you highlighted above..
Some ideas for add ins:
Spaghetti - how about pasta primavera with olive oil, parm and try asparagus, broccoli, bell pepper, zucchini, peas, and tomatoes. Shrooms, yellow squash, artichoke hearts, carrots, and spinach also work!
In red sauce - onions, spinach and a variety of peppers?
Chicken and dumplings- how about switching it up with diced sweet potatoes? Any root veg will work. Rutabega?
Pot roast - pairs well with squash, how about mashed turnips?
Chicken Alfredo - Romanescu or chopped cauliflower? Leeks?
Any of the above dishes could use a variety of veg add ins! Hope that helps a little...
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what’s nice about frozen veg is the variety is actually amazing. organic asparagus, sliced okra, veg blends, shitake mushroom, baby corn, water chestnuts, chopped kale, they’re all there.1
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I've been helping a niece who never met a vegetable she liked experiment with recipes to broaden her food choices in her words "beyond mac and cheese".
Cooked sweet potato, cooked carrots, and peeled and cooked eggplant have all performed well in our experiments to "hide" veggies in pasta sauces, smoothies, and soups.
Riced cauliflower, celery, and avocado got the big thumbs down.0 -
My favorite trick for greens is to saute with a little bit of butter and garlic (really, a small amount, you don't need much) and season with salt and pepper. I will serve those as a side by themselves, but they're also easy to incorporate into pasta sauces and egg dishes for a boost - I often do that with leftovers to use them up. We do a CSA box where we get a bunch of vegetables every week. Right now we get tons of greens, and though I didn't use to do this I now will eat leftovers with breakfast. It adds maybe 20 calories but wow it's a lot of micronutrients.2
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This is what I've been obsessing on lately:
Garbanzo Salad
15 ounce, Garbanzo Beans, Canned, mashed
2 tbsp Mayo (regular or vegan)
40 g, Sweet Onion, chopped
1 tablespoon, Lemon Juice
1 T, sweet pickle relish
0.50 tsp, Garlic Powder
0.50 tsp(s), Tamari or soy sauce
0.50 Tsp (5g), Dijon Mustard or other coarse grain mustard
1 tablespoon, White Distilled Vinegar
0.25 tsp, ground, Spices, pepper, black
7.50 g, Large Flake Nutritional Yeast
You mix all that up and then chop up 300 grams of greens (I'm using mostly spinach and romaine and some Asian cruciferous greens like bok choy and you cai sometimes) and mix it into the salad. It makes a huge bowlful of food for only 500-some calories and is a meal in and of itself.
Soup is another way to get lots of veggies in. You can start out with some lentils, onions, and potatoes in water or broth and put in whatever else you have, celery, carrots, spinach, tomatoes, anything you like. Or make a soup with your favorite noodles, maybe some Asian hotpot powder or paste, and add green veggies, mushrooms, bamboo, baby corn, even tomatoes etc to it. Many veggies cook down smaller in soup so they are not as overwhelming to eat as raw for someone who doesn't love them.
I'm also a big fan of roasting. I like frozen Brussels sprouts, halved or broccoli florets mixed with squash cubes ( Delicata, Sweet Dumpling and Kobucha are the sweetest and all have edible skin, so you don't have to peel them, just chop them up) and an apple like Pink Lady, chopped. I roast them on parchment paper in the oven, and they are sweet and savory at the same time. Sliced shiitake mushrooms and edamame is another combo I like, and even frozen, mixed vegetables are completely different roasted than boiled or steamed.
Roasted eggplant mixed into hummus is also delicious with chopped or shredded greens mixed into it.
Sweet potatoes are lovely roasted or even just microwaved, and there are some wonderful Japanese varieties of sweet potatoes that also microwave or roast up beautifully, with sweet, nut-like taste and a drier texture.
If all else fails, almost any veggie is delicious dipped in hummus--Especially bell peppers, baby carrots, bok choy.
Those have been some of my favorite ways to eat veggies over the last year or so.
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