Looking for healthy veggie side dishes

Toss green beans in olive oil and garlic powder (or real garlic) and roast in the oven, then top with Parmesan cheese

Broccoli with olive oil and garlic, then roast in the oven.


I apparently have a trend in how I like to cook things...mmhmm garlic


Oh and roasted carrots with honey and fresh rosemary

Corn is NOT a vegetable. Corn is a grain. Corn is delicious but it does weird things to my blood sugar so I don't eat it much anymore.

Diced red potatoes, mixed with diced turnips, diced yams, some sweet onion, and coated lightly in olive oil, salt/pepper, and a little Parmesan cheese....spread out on a cookie sheet and roasted in the oven until golden brown and slightly crunchy. Not a bad side dish...loads of potassium.

Found some new Green Giant Steamers - Garden Vegetable Medley that is awful tasty too....whole box is like 140 calories.

Peas, carrots, cauliflower, eggplant, bok choy, cabbage, turnip, asparagus, beets, sweet potato, Brussels sprouts, spinach, swiss chard, zucchini. Lots of veggies to choose from.

Asparagus, roasted or steamed.
Brussel Sprouts
Sauteed spinach or other greens


I haven't had spinach in so long... Maybe I'll make tonight!

Roasted butternut squash with olive oil and a touch of brown sugar

Mashed turnips

Roasted cauliflower with brown butter, pine nuts, and currants/raisins

Oven-baked kale chips

Creamed kale/spinach

Green peas with butter and thyme

Zucchini and/or yellow squash sauteed with onion and olive oil

Spaghetti squash with butter/olive oil (kids will love it)

Sugar snap peas sauteed with green onion and butter

Pan-roasted carrots

Shaved brussels sprouts, chard, or any green sauteed in garlic and olive oil (you could add balsamic for sweetness/acidity)

Steamed asparagus with olive oil and lemon (get a bamboo steamer if you can - delicious flavor)


(Note all of these require salt and pepper!)

Have you ever tried having a mass of stir-fried vegetables? Just go to the local grocery and chances are you will find prepared packages of stir-fry veg, which are usually quite low in calories for a whole pack. When you get home, stir fry them in a wok, using SPRAY oil, or, if you must use liquid oil, then use just a measured teaspoonful and a little bit of a good quality soy sauce. You could also have some chicken stir fried beforehand and kept hot in the oven whilst you stir fry the veg. Pile the veg into a wide bowl, put the cooked chicken on top and voila! You have a pretty tasty but low calorie dinner.

The other thing I like to do is to have some salmon, on a bed of courgettes (that's zucchini in the US), carrots and fennel, all cut into thin matchstick size pieces. The veg need to be stir fried, then kept warm, deglaze the pan with a couple of tablespoons of white wine, then add 2 tablespoons of low calorie creme fraiche to the pan, allow it to bubble, put the veg back into coat with the sauce you just made, pile on a plate and put the salmon on top (the salmon has been cooked in the oven for about 15 minutes - same place you kept the vegetable hot after their first stir fry).

So there are a couple of suggestions for a nice dinner that is a bit different.

Also, what about beetroot and orange salad - that combo works really well and you can always add raw onion, garlic or fennel.

Roasted bell peppers are also a favourite of mine - in fact any Mediterranean veg, such as Aubergines (eggplant in the US), Butternut Squash, Courgettes (zucchini) combined with onions, white mushrooms in large chunks, red onions in large chunks, tomatoes in quarters - put the lot on a baking tray which you have sprayed with oil, spray them a bit on top (don't be heavy handed with the spray oil) and roast in the oven - yummy!

Roasting broccoli is amazing.
Also, try spaghetti squash instead of pasta with marinara. If you roast the squash it's really delicious. My kids love it.