Making Your Veggies Less Boring? Share Your Recipes!

Asparagus is great to try out. Cut the stems such that they are even in length, and the woody parts are removed. In a hot skillet, splash a bit of Worcestershire sauce, and a tiny bit of water. Let them sautee up, until they are tender but NOT limp. They should still crunch, but they shouldn't be limp. Great as a bed for your protein :-)

My favorite is asparagus. Preheat the oven to 450. Cut the ends off the asparagus and lay on a pan separated. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. bake 10-12 minutes or until the ends brown. Delicious.

I make curries out of everything. Saute chopped veggies with curry masala and salt in olive oil. If in mood for something stewy, add pureed tomatoes and chopped onions, minced ginger and garlic . yum.

or stirf ries.


or roasted veggies with olive oil drizzled and sprinkle with salt,pepper and garlic powder.

Sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese on your broccoli for a different flavor.

Sauté Zucchini with oil and red chili flakes, garlic, s&p

Steam cauliflower then smash for "mashed potatoes"

Spaghetti squash, roast in the oven, then shred it into "spaghetti" and serve with a light tomato or Alfredo sauce; or eat with just some butter, s&p

Try spicing veggies up with the flavored balsamic vinegars that are on the market these days. I love this white balsamic and pear vinegar I have over French cut green beans. It makes a great side dish.

I've been on a mission for several months to get five to seven servings of fruits and/or veggies a day, so am experimenting a lot.

How do you cook your spinach? I crush and mince a clove of garlic, then sautee it in a teaspoon of oil in a non-stick pan coated with a spritz of oil spray... once it releases that "garlic" scent, I toss in a bit of chicken or vegetable stock, throw the fresh spinach in, and put a lid on, turning the spinach every thirty seconds or so until it is still bright green, but wilted. So yummy; even for a snack!

I also love baked sweet potato... bake until ultra soft and eat as is, or with pumpkin pie spice on top. Now and then (I have a sweet tooth) I'll drizzle with a bit of honey. It's great beside any protein, and I often have a quarter cup of it tossed on top of my brown rice with chicken or fish. P.S. I do the same with fresh pumpkin.

Like others, I am big on steaming the veggies; I toss in whatever combo I have (I go for colour... last night it was zucchini, red bell peppers, and yellow squash; the other night it was asparagus, yellow bell pepper, and fresh cherry tomatoes -tossed in after steaming). I usually eat my veggie combos plain but have been known to make a quick vinaigrette with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, crushed minced garlic, and a small dab of dijon mustard.

Of course, there is always the lite stir-fry; spray a non-stick pan with spray oil, then put in a teaspoon of oil, toss in minced garlic (see a pattern here?), sliced onions, sliced ginger, and sliced bell peppers. Let them soften a bit, then toss in other veggies (bok choy, thinly sliced carrot, sliced mushrooms, whatever) and some chicken stock, stir as they soften and shut the lid to draw the juices out (I have a glass lid so I can keep an eye on them). Stir in a tablespoon full of stir fry sauce if you want, or just toss in a bit of soy sauce (the ginger and garlic already give everything a lovely flavour). As soon as the thicker bits start to soften, but before they are soggy, pull it off of the heat and serve over brown rice. Sometimes I toss a cupful of mung beans on the rice first (fresh) and then toss the lite stir-fried veggies in with the mung beans and rice. I've done a similar stir-fry with garlic, onions, red bell peppers and okra with success.

Microwave swiss chard or kale; wash the leaves and tear them into pieces, toss in a bowl whilst still wet, then put the bowl in a microwave with a plate or cover over it. Cook until tender and season as you like (my friend drizzles olive oil over hers, then a bit of salt, and I have to admit, it tastes pretty darned good when she does that).

Zucchini is so yummy! You can even make zucchini chips and have those instead of potatoe chips

Grilled zucchini brush with a little reduced sodium teriyaki sauce a minute before you take it off the grill.

I made a stir-fry tonight: mini bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, carrots and celery.

Orange glazed carrots

Stuffed mushrooms

skewers (also for the grill): green pepper, mushroom, pineapple, onion. Brush with a lil' bbq sauce while it's grilling.

Bump

Bacon

Chopped bacon with any vegetable
Cook them in bacon fat
Wrap them up in bacon

Or this.......^^ Bacon makes everything taste delicious.....mmmm bacon

**off to make bacon sandwich**

ive been eating sauteed shaved brussel sprouts with cut up pieces of bacon. it's so good.