Great Veggie Recipe Ideas!!

These come from: http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/index.html

Jeannie shared the link above on how many veggies and fruits one should eat each day...you can go in and add your age, activity level etc and it'll bring it up. Keep looking on the site as each time you visit you'll see something you didn't see before ...that's where I found these very simply ways to use more veggies!:bigsmile:

Enjoy and definitely go check out the site...lots of good stuff to be had on that one thanks to Jeannie:smooched:
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Very Vegetable Lasagna

Take your favorite lasagna recipe and try adding different combinations of your favorite vegetables between the layers: mushrooms, spinach, broccoli, carrots, zucchini, onions, or eggplant. Be creative.


Vegetable Primavera

1. Choose a combination of different vegetables, such as mushrooms, tomatoes, cauliflower, and bell peppers. Chop the vegetables into bite-size pieces.
2. Sauté in a skillet with a small amount of cooking oil or non-stick cooking spray until the vegetables are tender, but still crisp.
3. Toss with your favorite pasta and add garlic and basil to taste.
4. Top with low-fat or fat-free parmesan cheese.


Make-Ahead Salads

1. Chop up some cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, and onions.
2. Lightly toss with a low-calorie version of a salad dressing such as Italian or vinaigrette.
3. Store it in the refrigerator in a bowl with a lid.
4. When you're ready to eat, take a scoop of the marinated vegetables and spoon it over your favorite lettuce and toss.
5. You have a flavorful salad in no time.

Elizabeth, it never occured to me to add veggies to my lasagna! I havent made it in a long time because apart from the tomatoes, it is heavy and laden with cals.

I am going to try it with lf ricotta and veggies instead of meat. Ill let you know how it turned out!

Yea that'd be great to hear. I actually ate a frozen veggie lasagna by WW years ago and have always since then wanted to add spinach and zuccini to mine...it was one of the best I've tried. Since then they've changed the recipe and it's blah now. :grumble: The last time I tried it was a couple years back.

So if adding in spinach....how does one do that...anyone??? Like I would add blanched? Frozen? not raw though right? I mean it would cook but it needs to be prepped first before going in????

Thanks ahead of time:drinker:

Curiouser and Curiouser.......:bigsmile:

FC

Elizabeth, it never occured to me to add veggies to my lasagna! I havent made it in a long time because apart from the tomatoes, it is heavy and laden with cals.

I am going to try it with lf ricotta and veggies instead of meat. Ill let you know how it turned out!

Yea that'd be great to hear. I actually ate a frozen veggie lasagna by WW years ago and have always since then wanted to add spinach and zuccini to mine...it was one of the best I've tried. Since then they've changed the recipe and it's blah now. :grumble: The last time I tried it was a couple years back.

So if adding in spinach....how does one do that...anyone??? Like I would add blanched? Frozen? not raw though right? I mean it would cook but it needs to be prepped first before going in????

Thanks ahead of time:drinker:

Curiouser and Curiouser.......:bigsmile:

FC

funny, spinach and zuchini are the exact veggies I was entertaining!! oh and mushrooms!:drinker:

yup me too me too....so how ya plan on doing it....cooking them before hand or tossing them in raw?
Oh one time I saw them cut round another time I saw they had added what might have been a yellow squash in rectangle pieces...ok so probably a professional chopping word for that but....I can't think of it right off..:blushing: :laugh: That added some nice color as well:drinker:

I have made a chicken, spinach, mushroom lasagna. It's an Emeril recipe so not lo cal. But you could use either frozen spinach thawed & squeezed to get rid of the water. Or blanche your own, again squeezing to get rid of the water. The mushrooms are also sauted first. So going with that I would saute all of your vegetables before putting your lasagna together. Some of them have more water content that would cook out during sauteing. If you did not cook them first it might make your lasagna watery.
Happy Cooking!

Thank you very much, I was pretty sure I wanted to slightly pre-cook them but was unsure on how the best way to do it was.

You've been most helpful Keiko:flowerforyou:

bumpin cause it's a great article Jeannie posted for us:drinker: