Favorite Vegetables?
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bebeisfit
Posts: 951 Member
What are some of your go-to vegetables and how do you prepare them? I need to step it up!
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I have discovered roasted brussel sprouts (with a little bacon too). My parents made me sit at the dinner table until I ate the cold, boiled plain sprouts, so I didn't eat them for 40 years.
I also like a roasted eggplant salad from the Barefoot Contessa. I tweeked it to substitute bulgur for her orzo and add chick peas. It's great in the summer.
I'm looking for ideas for zucchini. I bought a couple and don't really know what to do with them. I usually use them for a stir fry, but don't have a taste for that and have few other ingredients.4 -
I mostly use zucchini in an omelet or in a pasta sauce/topping or as a side. If as a side I usually sautee them with mushrooms.
I love roasted brussels (also sauteed brussels), and roasted broccoli, cauliflower, and all roasted root veg.
I love veg in soups.
I often do a salad and add some cooked veg.
Most recently I was unsure what to do with my about to go bad green beans, plus carrots and celery and onions (which I always have on hand) and happened on a photo of a lentil salad, so did one using finely chopped and cooked (sauteed) green beans in place of the green peppers I did not have (ate it with salmon).
Cooked greens are great as a side or in a soup.2 -
I grew up in the "boil vegetables till they are mush" era. Roasted brussel sprouts taste like a completely different vegetable to what I knew as a child! So yes, I love all veggies roasted these days. Funny though, I still enjoy a side of carrots and turnip mashed together, like my mother used to do.
Back in March I started getting a box-a-week of veggies from a small food shop in town. The box is stocked with local and/or organic produce, depending on the season. The store had always done boxes but I chose to shop in person or, in the summer, at our farmers market. But then COVID decided that I needed to limit my time shopping and this was one way I could do that while still supporting a small local business. I love trying out new veggies. Last week, for example, there was a delicata squash and I'd never tasted that before. I really liked it and was happy to see another one in this week's box. I could do without the Swiss Chard though......definitely not one of my favourites. The only way I like to eat it is mixed in salads or a smoothie. But the bunch they put in the box is HUGE and I feel pressured to not waste any of it because I know its good for me and, well, I paid for it LOL
Ideas for zucchini: Chopped in salad. Sliced raw with hummus or cottage cheese/yoghurt dip. Roasted. Shredded in stew, chili, etc. I'm making chili for dinner tonight and will shred a small one in it because my husband is not a veggie eater so I try and fit them in where ever I can for him.
I have a bag of green beans so I will try some in a lentil salad in place of green pepper for lunch today. Good idea! They are really only in the salad for texture and colour so why not?1 -
I love swiss chard. Sauteed with onion, garlic and sometimes a jalapeno. I used to toss the stems but found that if you start them earlier than the leaves they will soften. It takes longer than spinach but less time than collards. Add some stock, white navy beans and a small amount of Italian sausage. Yum!
Now kale. No.
Weird how some greens are delish and some not.
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I'm looking for ideas for zucchini. I bought a couple and don't really know what to do with them. I usually use them for a stir fry, but don't have a taste for that and have few other ingredients.
I too, love Brussels sprouts and eggplant. One great way to use eggplant and zucchini together is to make ratouille. I usually use the recipe from The Joy of Cooking, though there are many simiar ones available on the web.
Vegetables were never my thing until I spent six weeks in Spain, where I was fed copious amounts of fantastic veggies prepared for me by my "house mother," who was shocked at how large I was. When I returned home, I had a new appreciation for vegetables.
Oh, I also have a small, non-stick grill pan that I use for grilling zucchini. I quarter them lengthwise, add a bit of oil and spice, and throw 'em on the pan.
Carol
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Zucchini, peppers, spinach, kale, I like to sautee in olive oil and garlic then serve with just about anything. I also love roasted brussel sprouts.0
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I like everything except lima beans and most seaweed.
In Winter, I eat a lot of the Georgia Candy Roaster squash that I roasted and froze in the Fall, endless cooked dried peas/beans/lentils if those count, roasted root veggies (turnips, parsnips, etc.), roasted brussels sprouts or cabbage, roasted cauliflower, roasted broccoli (are you sensing a theme here?), spaghetti squash . . . .
I also use most of the above and others in soups and stews (usually with some legumes in there), or in simple pasta dishes (usually with chickpea or pea pasta for extra protein, or as stir-fries with edamame pasta and peanut sauce (made with peanut butter powder) or other pseudo-Asian preparations).
Most of the roasted veggies are nice with some grated parmesan, and for some reason I like that alongside so-called chickpea rice (really chickpea orzo pasta). Another option is to dress them with good balsamic vinegar or a vinaigrette (mustard vinaigrette is especially good on roasted brussels sprouts, cabbage or broccoli IMO). Chevre is excellent with brussels sprouts. Sometimes I make a big batch of roasted veg, and use them through the week in soups/stews, in omelets or scrambled eggs, cold in salads, as sides, etc.
I like white miso mixed into the Winter squash, or sometimes I make a "squash puff" by mixing the thawed roasted squash with eggs and baking.
I've been getting the shelf-stable cooked beets at Costco as a thing to use when I'm between shopping and running low on fresh veg. Mostly, I eat them cold, either with a vinegar based dressing, or crumbled feta cheese, with or without romaine.
If you want really aspirational veggie ideas, the produce thread in the Food section is full of lovely, tempting things, often with photos:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10726786/for-the-love-of-produce/p11 -
@AnnPT77 I re-discovered that produce thread last week when I was looking for ideas for my new-veggie-to-me delicata squash. I'd forgotten about it! My motto for veggies is pretty much when in doubt, roast
I often make a big pan of various things roasted, with the idea that I'll eat them during the week. They never last more than a couple of days though because I always end up snacking on them!
I pickle many pint jars of beets every Fall. I used to give some to my kids but now my daughter, who lives 12 hours away, is growing and pickling her own. Love that ♥️ So now I only share them with one of my sons (I think the other son got sick of eating them while growing up LOL). They too are my go-to side dish when my fresh veggie options are getting low before my box-a-week day or farmers market day.
Something I recently discovered that I like as a snack when they are cold is steamed green beans. I now always cook enough for dinner so that I have some left in the fridge to munch on. The beans make a nice change from the usual raw veggies, as long as they are steamed just enough so that they still have a bit of crunch.2 -
Add on: White things! Ones that are low in calories, not super starchy, either.
For eating raw, I really like Hakurei turnips (the smaller white ones). They have a mild flavor, little softer texture (when raw) than the regular purple and white ones. (The purple and white ones, with their tiny bit spicy flavor, are really good layered with a wholegrain bread/mushroom/herb stuffing.) They're milder than mild radishes, and a little more mellow texture to the tooth.
The greens are good, too, as a pot green, lightly stir-steamed or in soup/stew. They have a very faint spicy quality, similar to mustard greens, maybe. Nice hot with mustard vinaigrette.
Another thing that's great raw on its own or in salads is jicama. It's super crisp, almost juicy (but not quite) and is high in prebiotics (the stuff the beneficial gut microbiome residents like to eat to thrive and do the good things they're supposed to do when they colonize our bodies). Sprinkling it with a little lime juice, chili powder, salt - that's a thing. I really like it plain, though.
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Frozen Broccoli steamed cooked in a bag in the microwave is my go to......I love it with eggs and salsa in the morning, with ricotta cheese as a snack and with any protein at dinner.2
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Thanks for sharing the produce thread. I bookmarked that one. Yesterday I signed up for a Misfits food box, a collection of "ugly" fruits and vegetables that will be delivered to my door every other week. We eat a lot of produce, and I am hoping the box will expand our repertoire--at least during the winter.
I aim to make a carrot soup later this week--one of several on the blog Cookie and Kate. https://cookieandkate.com/17-healthy-vegetarian-soup-recipes/2 -
Hi all! Yes, thank you for the produce thread! Tomorrow I will be trying a recipe for creamy roasted cauliflower soup with roasted chickpeas on the side. Hopefully on the path to make cauliflower more interesting. Here goes!2
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I love mashed cauliflower. Steam it til mushy. Add cream cheese, sour cream or parmesan. A good amount of salt as well. Whir it in a food processor. You can also bake it with a parmesan or bread crumb crust.
A favorite at Thanksgiving.
I'm going to try this instead of potatoes on shepherd's pie.2 -
losemicaroline wrote: »Thanks for sharing the produce thread. I bookmarked that one. Yesterday I signed up for a Misfits food box, a collection of "ugly" fruits and vegetables that will be delivered to my door every other week. We eat a lot of produce, and I am hoping the box will expand our repertoire--at least during the winter.
I aim to make a carrot soup later this week--one of several on the blog Cookie and Kate. https://cookieandkate.com/17-healthy-vegetarian-soup-recipes/
I make carrot soup from one of Jamie Oliver's cookbooks. You add some freshly chopped ginger, and the zest and juice from one orange. Its one of my favourite soups and I make it alot 1 -
The orange and zest sound like a fine addition. Maybe I will try this!1
