Healthy Side Dish Recipes - Let's share!!

knittygirl52

In addition to the in-progress weight loss, I want to healthify my eating. We recently read an article that boiled down to the following: "Eat Real Food, Eat Less, Mostly Plants." I need some help in creating or finding side dishes appropriate for everyday meals--the kind of thing you can pull together fairly quickly.

I have a (heretical) non-Potato-eating husband. Our sides are usually steamed vegetables and some kind of packaged rice or noodle dish. They're fine, but I'd much rather prepare something from scratch, with REAL FOOD ingredients. The only kind of healthy sauce I know how to make for a noodle/pasta is marinara! They have all these lovely packaged things that have who-knows-what powdered up to make cheesy sauces, herb-butter, fettucine, beefy rice, fried rice, etc. Does anyone have recipes to share that don't take HOURS to prepare?

lutzsher

Since the majority of sauces add so many calories (and typically fat) to most dishes we usually only have steamed veggies and either brown rice or whole wheat couscous for side dishes. We eat very clean so the only sauces we eat are homemade by me. The only few I make are either a tomato sauce or I throw together a quick stir fry sauce.

Tomato sauce:
large can of tomatoes (I choose whatever one is lowest in sodium)
1 onion chopped
1/2 garlic head
1/2 bunch of fresh basil
Let the above items simmer (really low, about 2 out of 10) for a few hours, add the other 1/2 of the basil, salt and pepper, then blend in a blender until smooth.

Stir fry sauce:
1/2 c pineapple
2 tbsp low sodium soya sauce
1 tbsp splenda brown sugar
Blend until smooth and throw into your stir fry about 1 minute before it is comletely cooked.

sabrinafaith

RoastEd asparagus: 1 bunch, cleaned tossed with 2 tsp olive oil, sea salt and pepper, roasted for 35 min at 375 degrees.

Roasted butternut squash puree: 1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into cubes, roasted till soft with olive oil, salt and pepper, and 1 onion and 1 sweet potato (peeled and cut up), purred in blender with low fat low sodium chicken broth (enough to puree, 1/4 to 1 cup spending on blender)

Roast cauliflower: cauliflower florets roasted at 400 for 40 min with Pam, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic power and onion powder

4lafz

I generally stay away from the carb sides at dinner and serve a big serving of steamed or roasted veggies - always with a chopped garlic clove for flavor. If I want something I serve some wonderful bread that II buy fresh baked at the farmer's market with no preservatives, fat or sugar. I do make quinoa once in awhile - pretty easy. Rinse in a fine sieve. Sweat a chopped shalllot in a bit of olive oil and then add quinoa to toast a bit. Add low sodium veggie broth (can use chicken stock too) according to serving size and instructions on the bag. At the end I stir in a handful of dried cranberries and sliced almonds. REALLY high protein - I use as a main dish too!

The sodium in those packages of rice and noodles is frightening.

I also love a baked sweet potato (yam) or baked sweet potato fries. Even a baked potato is not bad (it's everything you put on it). I use Fage 0% plain greek yogurt as sour cream on it.

msemejuru

Rice Pilaf

1 Tbl butter or margarine
1 small onion
1 cup uncooked rice
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 tsp salt

1. Cook onion in saucepan with butter
2. Stir in rice, cook 5 min stirring frequently, add broth and salt
3. Bring to boil, lower to simmer and cook covered for 16 min.
4. Do not lift lid during simmer, Let stand 5 min covered before serving.

220 cals for 3/4 cup. Less cals if you use veggie broth and cook onion in 3 TBLS of broth.

SyreetaJayne1

Not a recipe, it's more of an idea I started doing, when i find something packaged that i like the taste of, i go online to allrecipes.com (i've been able to find so much there) and search for the homemade way to make it. I've done that for several recipes, and it always tastes better than the packaged version (probably cause it's minus the preservatives!).

I do like to do roasted potatoes (sorry i know you said your husband doesn't like those), brown rice in the rice cooker, lots of veggies (steamed, grilled, roasted, etc), also i'm about to try a recipe for couscous so i'm excited to see how that turns out (couscous is supposed to be pretty good for you). I do find that the more protein and veggies i eat, the less i really want carbs, so sometimes i have nothing more than a slice of toasted multigrain bread.

knittygirl52

Thanks for the ideas!!! Those are a really good start to my branching out to make my own. I really SHOULD do more sweet potatoes, because the hubby actually LIKES those! Thank you all so very much!!

Stephanieb325

Ok so I make these on the regular because I love potatoes but I know I shouldn't eat them all the time! So here is my "mashed potatoes"

1 head of Cauliflower
1/4 cup skim milk or light sour cream
2 TBSP of EVOO or Margerine (really up to you how much you want to use)
Salt and pepper to taste(or you don't have to use it, I usually just use pepper)

1. Cut the Cauliflower into pieces and steam
2. Put in half of all the ingredients in food processor first and get it to a creamy consistency. Empty into bowl, then do other half and combine. Or if you have a large food processor then just put it all in there! Hope you like it!

It really is yummy!

lupuslady

Have you tried cooking carrots in orange juice with soy sauce and splenda? Very delious.

I love spagetti squash put a slit in it, and microwave for 8 mins. Then cut them in half and scoop out the seeds. Then pull out the squash with a fork and put it in a bowl and fluff it up. A very little butter goes a long way, use salt and pepper and basil with garlic. It is yummy.......

bethvandenberg

I make a stir fry (mostly to use up what I have in the kitchen at the end of the week) and use what veggies, and meat, that I have left over from the week. I make the brown rice according to package directions.

Then with just a bit of sesame oil (less than a t) in a very hot pan I stir up the left over veggies. Generaly I have some left over roasted cauliflower, or green beans, and add some carrot, celery, and toss in my cut up left over meat. stir it about and add 1/2 cup veg or low sodium broth, soy sauce (2T maybe) and some ginger and garlic powder to taste. Sometimes red pepper. stir in a T of corn starch into the broth before you add it.

Then dish it up on rice. I belong to a veggie co-op so this is a nice way to finish up my veggies before the new week.