Need Help w/ Veggies

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jcmelhorn
jcmelhorn Posts: 2
in Food and Nutrition
Hello! I am doing a diet plan that follows the MyPyramid recommendations for each food group. Per that, I am to eat 2.5-3cups of veggies a day. I love zuchinni so that typically is the first thing I make. However, I do not like salads! I have tried and tried and tried and just cant eat them.

Do you all have any suggestions of other veggies recipes/dishes I can make to add variety and make sure I hit that recommendation?

Thank you all for you help! have a good day!

Jaime :-)

Replies

  • unicornpoop
    unicornpoop Posts: 178 Member
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    I hear adding kale or spinach to smoothies doesnt change the taste and its a good way to get in veggies.
  • Tdk4685
    Tdk4685 Posts: 293 Member
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    Try grilling vegies. Just add a little olive oil maybe a touch of garlic and put on the grill.
  • hungryshay
    hungryshay Posts: 40 Member
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    Spaghetti squash noodles!
  • Klem4
    Klem4 Posts: 399 Member
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    My new fave is roasted cauliflower. I eat a lot of bell peppers, cucumbers, and broccoli too, raw.
  • amyLhuff
    amyLhuff Posts: 102
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    Try adding them to soups I made a killer cabbage soup the other night with green peppers onions, or make a huge pot of the weight watchers vegetable soup it has ton in there and super low cal and yummy. As far as salads go I put corn and black beans mushrooms cucumbers avocado and dress it with light ranch and a bit of BBQ sauce. I also add a Morningstar veggie chicken patty in most of the time too. Maybe you just need to dress up your salad a bit. I usually do lots salads like that for lunches
  • emileesgram
    emileesgram Posts: 141 Member
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    Have you tried roasting them? Peppers, onions, carrots, parsnips, eggplant, squash, sweet potatoes etc. drizzle olive over any veggies you like, salt and pepper them and put in a 450 oven for about 20-30 minutes.
  • whatascene
    whatascene Posts: 119 Member
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    Ok I'm gonna be a little out there with my answer because I completely relate with you because I am not a veggie person, and 2, I just got back from living in Turkey for 7 weeks and those people can really make their veggies. Look up some Turkish recipes for veggies. I am now a huge fan of eggplant, I never used to eat it but saute it. I love eggplant. lol.

    Another thing they make is called "piaz" which is a bean salad with cucumbers, tomatos, onions, sometimes green peppers- they add olive oil and grape vinegar. (I haven't been able to find grape vinegar, it's very mild to other vinegars, I think apple might be close). This salad is awesome, and if you want to spoil yourself a bit, dip some bread in the juice it leaves- it's amazing.

    Also look up something called "menemen". This is a breakfast meal with eggs, tomatoes, onions, and peppers. I'm in love with this, it's so good. A lot of times adding plain non-fat yogurt adds more yum to menemen.

    I love stir frying and sauteing vegetables. Also, since I ate so many veggies while I was there, it eventually changed my eating habits to where I actually enjoyed eating them more with simpler things like lemon juice and olive oil. If all you leave is a nice variety of these snacks, it will grow on you. It takes time, but you actually begin to enjoy em. And try eggplant!!!! :)
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
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    Sugar snap peas: put a serving in a glass bowl, cover and microwave for 3 minutes. Delicious.

    Steamed fresh green beans.

    Baked sweet potato fries

    Fresh sliced tomato
  • hbm616
    hbm616 Posts: 377 Member
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    Stir fry is a great way to cook up a whole bunch of vegetables. I typically use broccoli, bell peppers, onions, and maybe some mushrooms and snow peas.
    Peppers and onions can be sauteed with some steak or chicken for fajitas.
    Curry dishes are a great place to sneak in a bunch of vegetables like peas, carrots and spinach
    Spaghetti sauce with mushrooms, spinach, or peppers
    Chilli with plenty of peppers and corn.

    I basically just add as many vegetables as possible (with in reason of course) whenever I cook!

    ETA: the more you "sneak" vegetables into your diet, the more you will get used to them and eventually start to like them! I eat all vegetables raw now when before the idea of raw vegetables not on a crudites platter with ranch was so unappetizing to me. I particularly enjoy building a big slad with whatever fresh produce I have and whipping up a nice light dressing such as an fresh herb buttermilk ranch or honey mustard.
  • mehaffeymk
    mehaffeymk Posts: 154 Member
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    i saute veggies like everyday. zucchini, mushrooms, bell peppers. edamame is a really good veggie. just get those steamer packs in the freezer section and nuke em. and its fun to eat them out of the shell! and i love roasting veggies too. like carrots, onions, broccoli and season them with rosemary, thyme and oregano. and all the steamer things in the freezer section. some have alot of sodium because they have a sauce in them, but if i do those i just make sure to drink alot of water with it. and it makes em taste even better! i just do alot of experimenting and looking on healthy eating websites for ideas when i'm stuck.
  • shaynak112
    shaynak112 Posts: 751 Member
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    Broccoli!! Zucchini and broccoli are my favourite!!! I also love cauliflower.
    Salads - maybe you need to try a different dressing? I like Kraft Low Calorie Zesty Italian dressing. Yum! I add in fake bacon bits and olives and tomatoes!
    Carrots and celery are great for snacks but I will admit I don't eat those nearly as much as the others!
  • AlessisMore
    AlessisMore Posts: 179 Member
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    I love cauliflower with red wine vinegar. If that doesn't work you could try it sprinkled with a little garlic and parmesan cheese.
  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
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    Roasted cauliflower is absolutely DA BOMB. So good!!! I may never eat it any other way, ever again.
  • hippietofugirl
    hippietofugirl Posts: 430
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    ASPARAGUS!!!!

    CANNED PUMPKIN!!!

    Both super foods (and you can mix the pumpkin with oatmeal, cinnamon and truiva if you like!)
  • newmooon56
    newmooon56 Posts: 347 Member
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    cut up colorful peppers, onions or scallions, mushrooms- any kind, spinach, and saute in a bit of olive oil - add egg whites or whole eggs and make a fantastic scramble. (add cheese or not)

    try this salad- cucumber peeled and sliced, firm ripe tomato sliced, bit of very thin sliced onion olive oil and vinegar some italian seasoning - great light salad (again- feta, parm, moz, etc cheese if you like)

    After steaming some green beans- add 1 tsp butter to a pan- drop in 2 oz sliced almonds- saute 5 minutes- add beans- yumm!

    add tons of veggies to turkey/chicken/meat loaf .. great way to bulk up the meal with less calories.

    grab a few baby carrot, or a stalk of celery and enjoy with the many varieties of laughing cow cheese.

    Hope some of these sound good to try..
  • tarisaralonde
    tarisaralonde Posts: 7 Member
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    Do you like tacos?? Do a taco salad! It's basically all the ingredients in a taco but having it as a salad gives you a greater proportion of the veggies than the meat or beans. I usually use:

    1. green lettuce
    2. tomatoes
    3. red onions
    4. cilantro
    5. black beans
    6. ground beef (if you want it to be lower in calories, use ground turkey/chicken) + taco seasoning
    7. low fat sour cream
    8. jalapenos - if you want some kick to it

    You can make one serving less than 300 calories or so! :)
  • llamalland
    llamalland Posts: 246 Member
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    Saute' seasonal veggies, such as beets (both greens and root), onions, mustard (or any) greens in olive oil and/ or steam. I will pick those items from my garden, or maybe carrots, a handful of green beans, a zucchini, spinach, peas..... whatever is ready. Can't miss!
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
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    I hear adding kale or spinach to smoothies doesn't change the taste and its a good way to get in veggies.

    You can definitely taste the kale, but spinach is pretty much flavorless in smoothies.

    *You can also get lots of veggies by eating soup. I like minestrone for a lot of vegetables and not a lot of calories.
    *Add salsa to eggs or meats. 1/4 cup is one vegetable serving.
    *I add onion to most everything I put into a casserole dish.
    *Fresh cut veggies are good with Greek yogurt mixed with hidden valley ranch packets. You get a double good meal as the yogurt is high in protein, too.
    *Sauteè onions, bell pepper, and mushrooms to put on grilled meat or in fajitas.
    *Try roasting your veggies in the oven with garlic and olive oil.
    link to recipe: http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipes/cooking-tips/oven-roasted-vegetables
    *Try pureeing your veggies and adding into pancakes or smoothies. I like pumpkin, sweet potato, butternut squash and carrots for this best.
    *Make your own homemade guacamole. Add in extra cilantro, tomato and shallots to up your veggie content in your uber-healthy guac.
    *make pureed soups. Add lots of ingredients like carrots and onions, include a can or two of navy beans then puree the soup. Delicious and full of healthy fiber. My favorites are cream of broccoli and cream of celery pureed this way. Omit the potatoes, cream and cheese, add in the navy beans (or other white beans) and 1/2 cup of lowfat milk for a nutritious treat.

    I have a family that hates veggies and especially salad. I've been spending over 15 years devising the work arounds!
  • jcmelhorn
    jcmelhorn Posts: 2
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    THANK YOU ALL SOOOO MUCH! You all have given me so many ideas to try! After my run I am going on this morning I am going to hit up the grocery store to stock up on veggies to try some of these suggestions. I greatly appreciate all the help.

    Have a great day everyone :-)

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