Side Dishes

Have you tried roasting or grilling cauliflower, broccoli or squash? Just drizzle with some olive oil and season how you like it. I am also not a big veggie eater, and never could I eat those things raw. But cook em up like this and they're delicious.

I eat so much potatoes too... lol.

I eat a lot of green salads. I buy the large tubs of mixed greens or spinach, throw on some onions and some sort of pickled something or other, possibly some peppers, cheese, any leftover grilled or deli meat, and I have a collection of delicious dressings.

I also keep a few cans of things like yellow squash and onions or baby carrots. Eating an entire can of these things will cost you less than 100 calories, so they're great sides when I'm really hungry.

But personally, I love veggies and I eat a bunch of them. Try some of the veggie mixes in the freezer section that you can throw in the microwave. Even if you find that you don't like the mix, or most of what's in it, you may find one or two good veggies that you love, and next time you can buy just those.

If you like things on the sweeter side, try sweet potatoes and winter squash like butternut or acorn. You usually won't find them frozen, but they're super easy to cook. For the squash, you can cut them in half longways, scoop out the seeds, and just throw them in the oven at anywhere between 35-450 until they're soft. You can add butter, oil, herbs and spices if you want, but really all that's necessary is a little salt. You can eat them right out of the shell, or scoop out the flesh into a bowl and mix with things like honeyed goat cheese or spinach. I'm currently making a butternut squash casserole with ham and pasta shells, goat cheese and spinach. An entire large serving will be less than 400 calories. I'll be stuffing myself on it all day.

Definitely try roasting veggies. High heat (400-450), drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper. Roasting completely transforms a lot of veggies people think they don't like, including cauliflower and Brussels sprouts (both are amazing roasted), broccoli, and onions. I also love roasted peppers, carrots, sweet potatoes, asparagus, summer and butternut squash. You could also cook up some spaghetti squash and use it in place of pasta - it is great with marinara or light sauces like lemon butter, etc.

Grilling is another great thing to do to veggies, especially those with a bit of sugar like winter squashes and carrots. The grilling caramelizes the sugars and they end up super sweet and smoky. Baby carrots are one of my favorite things to put on a grill. If they're thick, steam them for a few minutes in the microwave first so they'll cook all the way through. Then wrap them in foil with salt (and butter or oil if you insist, but it's not needed), poke a few holes in it with a fork and throw it over the coals. Turn it over every few minutes to get it even. Check it every so often...it's done when you start getting little black spots on the ends of the carrots. It's a revelation. You'll never view carrots the same way again.