Please share your green vegetable cooking ideas

I'm wanting to increase my green vegetable intake but lack the knowledge in how to prepare them deliciously and keep them healthy. Would love to hear your recipes.

Replies

  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited September 2016
    Depends on the vegetable. Broccoli and brussels sprouts and asparagus are all delicious roasted. All of those and zucchini and green beans are delicious sauteed. I use a bit of olive oil (sometimes other oils, depending) in both preparations. Steaming is good too, but I prefer sauteeing or roasting. Cucumbers I really only like raw (plain, dipped in hummus, in a salad, in gazpacho or a smoothie), and celery I also like raw or in a soup, mostly. (I'm going with green vegetables, but all of this also applies to non green ones, like cauliflower.)

    I really usually do a simple prep with just a mix of veg, a little oil, salt and pepper, sometimes garlic, but for something more elaborate I will do a sautee with mushrooms (often add mushrooms anyway), pine nuts, and at the end dill or another herb. Playing around with herbs and spices is a good idea.

    For greens themselves many are good raw in a salad or smoothie. For cooking, I like them in an omelet, in a soup, tossed on to a mix of sauteed veg for a stir fry, or sauteed on their own with oil and garlic, often finished with a splash of vinegar. Spinach, chards, beet and turnip greens, mustard and dandelion greens, kale, bok choi, cabbage, and of course collards, etc., are all good cooked this way, and so the non green radicchio and endive,

    Another option is boiling which of course is really traditional for greens like cabbage and collards and mustard greens, and also can be delicious--the normal trick is to include a source of fat but of course that adds calories and there are lots of tasty vegan collard green recipes that are lower cal and IME good. But I like fast, so once I learned they could be sauteed deliciously, I converted to that most of the time.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    This is how I prep most of my veggies: Place in a covered dish. Lightly sprinkle with EVOO & flavored vinegar, salt, pepper, or other seasoning. Sometimes I throw in some mushrooms or green onion. Microwave for 2-4 minutes, depending on veggie. You can add finely grated Parm cheese for serving if you want.
  • laur357
    laur357 Posts: 896 Member
    Stir fry - you can pack a lot of leafy greens, as well as broccoli, shredded Brussels sprouts, green beans, and cabbage into a stir fry. Kale and chard hold up well during cooking, and you can toss in spinach at the end to wilt it a little. Spicy pork and green bean stir fry is one of my favorite foods.

    Eggs - frittatas, omelets, scrambled eggs - I put spinach in all of them. Broccoli goes great here too. Make muffins out of eggs and saute a bunch of spinach to add to them. You can also add them to hash and top with an egg. I like sweet potato, Brussels, and ham.

    Saute with a little bacon - just a little bacon will give veggies a ton of flavor. Brussels with bacon and a little balsamic vinegar? Amazing. Cooked cabbage? Kale? It works with everything.

    Grilled - toss in a little oil, salt, and pepper and toss on the grill. Asparagus is great grilled, so are zucchini strips.

    Roasting - so many options, 400 degree F oven and some oil. You can add Italian seasoning, ranch seasoning, season salt. I like garlic, onion, and a little cayenne personally. Broccoli florets with oil, garlic, and Parmesan cheese is super tasty.

    Salads - beyond just lettuce. Shredded cabbage and Brussels work really well with heavier dressings like Caesar. Broccoli slaw. Roasted veggies with lemon and feta over salad greens. Kale too (you may want to "massage" the kale - the internet will give you directions. Just makes it more tender in its raw form).
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Grilled asparagus is yummy, I like to brush with soy sauce & oil. Add a bit of sesame oil at the end.

    Napa cabbage makes a nice Asian slaw, you can throw in some shredded broccoli stems (these come prepackaged), bean sprouts, snap peas, chopped bell pepper, green onions, etc. A simple dressing (so many variations): oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, grated ginger, minced garlic & brown sugar.
  • tamms_1965
    tamms_1965 Posts: 38 Member
    Pepper slaw (bell peppers, cabbage, apple cider vinegar, Dijon, etc)
    Roasted/sautéed w/balsamic vinegar
    Pizza
    Steamed w/bourbon chicken
    Stir fried w/white wine sauce flavored w/your choice of herbs/lemon
    Pasta salad
    Cajun chicken pasta

    I'll stop, I'm getting hungry
  • llello75
    llello75 Posts: 34 Member
    Wow! All these seem amazingly delicious! Thanks! Now i have my next week grocery shopping list to do
  • Bench_Bunny
    Bench_Bunny Posts: 67 Member
    I also like to juice my raw greens with an added fruit for taste (usually an orange).
  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
    Boil Brussel sprouts for 5 minutes and toss in olive oil and seasoning. Bake at 400 for 20-30 minutes.

    Collards are my new go to and this recipe is ridiculously easy - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/vegetarian-southern-style-collard-greens-recipe.html
  • PennWalker
    PennWalker Posts: 554 Member
    edited September 2016
    Steaming is good for leafy greens to keep the nutrients. Just buy a steaming basket and put the greens in a pot with a lid.

    Blanching is another way to keep the nutrients. Boil a pot of water, put greens in the water, wait 1-2 minutes, and scoop them out. Don't overboil greens or you lose the nutrients.

    I like to stir-fry other vegetables in a little olive oil (a good fat).

    Seasoning: I use just a little salt or McCormick's has a garlic-pepper spice you can shake on if you want to skip the sodium.
  • shadowelmtree
    shadowelmtree Posts: 6 Member
    a spiralizer can be a great investments, so you can make noodles out of cucumber, carrots and zucchini which if you toss with a little dressing makes a filling salad or omit the cucumber and blanch the carrots and zucchini and add a little olive oil with garlic. Like spaghetti without all the carbs
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    I hate boiled veggies :sick:

    To get a huge variety of different veggies, stir fry is my go to. But add them right at the end of cooking so they stay crunchy. I stuff as many different kinds as will fit in my wok.

    I also bake broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus and mushrooms. Lay out on a baking tray, spray over olive oil and sprinkle with lemon juice, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt n pepper and bake til crunchy. I use ranch as a dipping sauce.
  • pebble4321
    pebble4321 Posts: 1,132 Member
    I make a delicious soup (which I just call "green soup") with lots of green veg... filling and yummy for breakfast or lunch.

    Usually something like this:

    - 1 onion diced,
    - 2 chicken thighs (leave them out if you want it veggie only)
    - 1 potato, peeled and diced
    - chicken or veg stock (about a litre, more if you have lots of veg or want a thinner soup)
    - 1 head broccoli
    - cashews (probably about 60 - 100g)
    - 1/2 head cauliflower
    - 1 medium zuccini
    - spinach, baby spinach or kale or any green leaves that you have
    - frozen peas - about 100g

    I cook the onion first, then add the chicken to brown a little. Add in the potato, broccoli stems, cashews and stock, simmer until the potato is nearly soft. Add the broccoli and cauli, when that's soft but not mushy add the spinach and peas, cook for about a minute, then turn off the heat. Let it cool a little, then blend it all up.

    The cashews and chicken add a nice bit of protein and make it more filling than just veggie soup.
    If you don't like potato you could leave it out, but I only add one (about 120g) which just gives it a bit more body.
    Don't let it cook too long once you add the broccoli - you don't want it to turn grey. The peas are optional too, but they give it a nice sweetness and bright green colour.
  • llello75
    llello75 Posts: 34 Member
    Thank you all very much! I appreciate all your recipes and ideas.