Vegetable lamentation

buffalogal1979

I am not a veggie fan. Usually I cut up raw veggies for snacking and make a big green salad during the week. If I am in need of a hot vegetable, I cook frozen and MAYBE, I will add imitation butter and garlic season. BORING. I know I need to eat them, I want my kids to see me eating them (and for them to eat them too obviously), but if it were up to me, I would do without them!

Can you help? What are some of your favorite, tasty veggie recipes? They must also be EASY. I have 3 babies under 3 - it's got to be quick or able to be done ahead of time.

Thanks in advance,
J

shannonkk

you can buy bags of veggies that you pop in the microwave, or load up a sandwich with veggies and add a little ketchup and mustard or lite ranch,

messyhare

My favorite way to cook vegetables is to bake them at a high heat w/ garlic and olive oil.

You can choose your favorites - any and all work - this is how I do mine:

I cut all vegetables in chunks/slices - peppers (green, yellow, red), zucchini, onion, green beans, fresh tomatoes or if I don't have fresh I will throw in a can of stewed, . I put all of this in a big bowl, chop up fresh italian parsley and throw that in along with garlic and then I drizzle some olive oil on it and mix it up real good. Dump it all on a large cookie sheet and cook for about 45 mins at 425. I stir it ever so often.

These are amazing - I make them often in the winter when I have company and EVERYONE raves about how yummy they are.

Pretty simple too!

melodyg

I made a great omelet for breakfast the other day -- spray your skillet with cooking spray and toss in 2 cups of raw spinach and a few cup up grape tomatoes. Let them saute for a bit until the spinach is wilted and the tomatoes are cooked a little. While they are cooking, mix together a couple of eggs (with a bit of skim milk if you want). Remove the veggies from the pan, throw in the eggs, and put the veggies and most of a 1/4 cup of mozarella cheese on after the eggs have set a bit. Top with the rest of the cheese. That is about 3 veggie servings right there.

I also love doing vegetables in soups -- chili, taco soup, lentil soup, and vegetable soup of course. The easiest way to do that would just be to buy some frozen vegetable soup mix and some vegetable broth or chicken broth. Throw in the veggie soup mix with some canned tomatoes and any other leftover veggies you have and cook until it is done! You could also throw some small pasta in (I bet the kids would love alphabet pasta or you could steal some other shapes from a box of mac and cheese). Many soups you could just throw together in the morning and let sit in a crockpot all day.

Taco salad is another quick and easy way to get in veggies... besides lettuce and tomato, we love to add black beans and avocado.

For just veggies... mashed potatoes are easy (leave the skins on for more fiber, and just dice and boil until done and mash up). You can also make potato soup out of leftover mashed potatoes. Baked sweet potatoes are easy too... or you can boil and mash just like sweet potates (I'd peel those first though). I make green beans by microwaving frozen green beans with some dried minced onion in chicken broth (for a long time!).

Here's a good recipe I've used before for roasted carrots too: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Honey-Roasted-Carrots/Detail.aspx

buffalogal1979

Thanks! Those are some good ideas. I will try these soon.

LaSirena29

I'm a big fan of roasting fresh vegetables. The flavor & texture is soooo much better that boiling and steaming, in my opinion. It's also super easy & convenient. Great for a busy mom. Just chop up the veggies, toss with a little olive oil & spices, stick them in an oven at 425-450 for 30-40 minutes, depending on the veggie. Stir them around about half way through. I always use a foil or parchment paper on the baking tray, so the clean-up is really easy. If I'm feeling really lazy, a bag of baby carrots doesn't even require cutting up!

Here's a few of my favorite tips...

1. Basic is just olive oil & garlic.
2. For potatoes, I love to add a little crushed up rosemary.
3. Fresh or dried dill is great with carrots.
4. If you have a marinade or seasoning that you & your family already likes, try tossing the veggies in it before roasting. This is a great way to introduce new veggies, because then they are associated with something you already like.
5. Depending on your families tastes, get a little exotic. We love cauliflower roasted with just olive oil, salt & pepper, but sometimes I'll toss it with curry powder. Then I serve a little Greek yogurt to dip it in, to cool the heat. This might not work for little kids, but the key is to experiment.
6. Some spices & spice blends work better if you just sprinkle them on after the roasting. We really like za'atar (a middle east spice blend) sprinkled on root veggies after they come out of the oven.
7. Try veggies you don't think you like! I can not tell you the number of people I have converted to brussel sprout lovers just because the flavor is so much better when they are roasted. They always start out saying "ewe, brussel sprouts!" with a crinkled up nose, but end up asking for seconds.

A lot of these tips work great for cooking veggies on a grill, too. Big stuff you can just brush with a little oil & put right on the grill. Smaller stuff you can stick on skewers. I've found that kids love grilled vegetable kabobs. I'm not sure why, but eating stuff off a stick is just more fun!