For the love of Produce...

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Replies

  • o0Firekeeper0o
    o0Firekeeper0o Posts: 416 Member
    Athijade wrote: »
    I need a produce suggestion for a side for a meal. Here is the entree description:

    Blue Crab Blue Corn Enchiladas
    blue crab, yellow peppers & Monterey Jack cheese rolled in blue corn tortillas & topped with hatch green chile cream sauce, shredded cheddar cheese & scallions

    Since this entree seems higher in calories, I would like something really filling and lower calorie. I just thought all of you might have some ideas that I just can't think of.

    Not at all an expert, but I thought of maybe arugula? Like a light salad with perhaps a vinegarette to help balance all the creamy and spicy?
  • o0Firekeeper0o
    o0Firekeeper0o Posts: 416 Member
    f10qqpuq0v7d.jpeg

    Took some inspiration from a recipe on Bon Appetite and made a bean soup with artichoke hearts, kale, and olives. It’s good. Not the epic I was hoping for, but good enough. Husband complained about it being ‘vegetable soup’ (which basically means anything vegetarian in his mind) and the toddler ate the beans. I’m still trying to figure out how to cook beans perfectly so ALL of them are super tender EVERY time. I’m most of the way there but it’s not perfect
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,551 Member
    I do this on a cast iron griddle pan.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,717 Member
    Athijade wrote: »
    I need a produce suggestion for a side for a meal. Here is the entree description:

    Blue Crab Blue Corn Enchiladas
    blue crab, yellow peppers & Monterey Jack cheese rolled in blue corn tortillas & topped with hatch green chile cream sauce, shredded cheddar cheese & scallions

    Since this entree seems higher in calories, I would like something really filling and lower calorie. I just thought all of you might have some ideas that I just can't think of.

    With something that rich, I think the acid suggestions others have made are spot on. Another option would be a citrus-y slaw, maybe cabbage, but maybe things like jicama, broccoli, roasted or raw sweet red peppers, roasted sweet corn (though that's a little more calorie dense), etc. Citrus could be sections/chunks of fruit or maybe just some lime vinaigrette.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 12,930 Member
    Athijade wrote: »
    I need a produce suggestion for a side for a meal. Here is the entree description:

    Blue Crab Blue Corn Enchiladas
    blue crab, yellow peppers & Monterey Jack cheese rolled in blue corn tortillas & topped with hatch green chile cream sauce, shredded cheddar cheese & scallions

    Since this entree seems higher in calories, I would like something really filling and lower calorie. I just thought all of you might have some ideas that I just can't think of.

    Cabbage salad! Green and red cabbage, shredded. Maybe some red onion and grated carrot. Add some white wine vinegar (not much), lime juice mild oil (grape seed or the like), and some other "secret ingredients." Let this sit for a few hours before you serve. So good, and perfect with things like tacos, enchiladas, or... more cabbage salad.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 12,930 Member
    We ate alfalfa sprouts a lot growing up. But grocery stores now don't seem to carry it...I heard it was a food safety issue of some sort

    Just E. coli.... Current guidelines are to cook 'em if they aren't home-grown, and if you grow them at home, use seeds sold for sprouting so they have, ideally, been handled more safely.
  • Safari_Gal_
    Safari_Gal_ Posts: 1,461 Member
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    We ate alfalfa sprouts a lot growing up. But grocery stores now don't seem to carry it...I heard it was a food safety issue of some sort

    Just E. coli.... Current guidelines are to cook 'em if they aren't home-grown, and if you grow them at home, use seeds sold for sprouting so they have, ideally, been handled more safely.

    😱 and I’ve been eating raw alfalfa sprouts store bought ....
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 12,930 Member
    Remember back in the summer when I had all those fresh berries? They were so good. Blueberries, raspberries, and marionberries. Mmmm.

    My canes and bushes produce more than I can eat. I froze some this year on cookie trays, then vacuum sealed them. Well, spring is around the corner, and soon more berries. I still have so many frozen from last year.

    If you had a bunch of frozen home-grown berries, what would YOU do with them? I did make a pie, but if I make pie, there's a bad side effect. I eat the pie. Now it's tasty enough, but someone once told me that even though the berries are homegrown, there's still calories in the pie. So sad.

    Maybe I should make one anyway.

    What would YOU do?
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,717 Member
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    Remember back in the summer when I had all those fresh berries? They were so good. Blueberries, raspberries, and marionberries. Mmmm.

    My canes and bushes produce more than I can eat. I froze some this year on cookie trays, then vacuum sealed them. Well, spring is around the corner, and soon more berries. I still have so many frozen from last year.

    If you had a bunch of frozen home-grown berries, what would YOU do with them? I did make a pie, but if I make pie, there's a bad side effect. I eat the pie. Now it's tasty enough, but someone once told me that even though the berries are homegrown, there's still calories in the pie. So sad.

    Maybe I should make one anyway.

    What would YOU do?

    I put frozen berries in my oatmeal every day. Do you like oatmeal, or maybe pancakes, or fruit soup, or marinades/sauces for veggies that use fruit?
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 12,930 Member
    I love oats; I just don't eat them that often. My breakfast is usually just coffee. Sometimes I have yogurt with sunflower seeds around 10:00, and I thought about making berry instead of seed yogurt. I might go with that.

    I'll definitely try to remember to pull out a bag of berries next time I do make oats. Or rye. Takes a little longer to cook, and I love it. When I make it later in the day, I tend to go savory rather than sweet.

    I even thought about macerating some up into a cocktail. Not yet though.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,717 Member
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    I love oats; I just don't eat them that often. My breakfast is usually just coffee. Sometimes I have yogurt with sunflower seeds around 10:00, and I thought about making berry instead of seed yogurt. I might go with that.

    I'll definitely try to remember to pull out a bag of berries next time I do make oats. Or rye. Takes a little longer to cook, and I love it. When I make it later in the day, I tend to go savory rather than sweet.

    I even thought about macerating some up into a cocktail. Not yet though.

    Savory(-ish) and fruit are not necessarily mutually exclusive, IME. You're an experimental kind of a guy. I've seen fruit salsa. What about berry salsa? How about Winter squash and berries (chevre would be nice in there, or white miso, I think)? Sweet potato and berries?

    If I were rich in berries, I'd try it. I do some of the above with apples or citrus, very occasionally, if my supply gets ahead of its probably top-quality keeping time.

    Berry souffle? 😉
  • littlegreenparrot1
    littlegreenparrot1 Posts: 694 Member
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    Remember back in the summer when I had all those fresh berries? They were so good. Blueberries, raspberries, and marionberries. Mmmm.

    My canes and bushes produce more than I can eat. I froze some this year on cookie trays, then vacuum sealed them. Well, spring is around the corner, and soon more berries. I still have so many frozen from last year.

    If you had a bunch of frozen home-grown berries, what would YOU do with them? I did make a pie, but if I make pie, there's a bad side effect. I eat the pie. Now it's tasty enough, but someone once told me that even though the berries are homegrown, there's still calories in the pie. So sad.

    Maybe I should make one anyway.

    What would YOU do?

    My mother's answer is to make it all into jam and give it to everyone for Christmas, it is quite labour intensive though and you end up with loads of jam instead 😆

    I would put them in porridge, yoghurt, make a crumble.
    Make muffins with them, have them with scones and cream. I appreciate that's the same issue as the pie though!

    I once saw a recipe that used quinoa as a grain base for a fruit salad. So where I might usually roast veg to have with it they had used berries for a sweet version. It looked lovely.
  • ridiculous59
    ridiculous59 Posts: 2,807 Member
    I have berries most mornings in my yoghurt or oatmeal. If I make pancakes, French toast, or waffles I'll warm some berries up in the microwave with a bit of stevia and use that instead of syrup. There's a recipe somewhere in the recipe forum for cheesecake made with protein powder. I went through a phase of making that all the time and had the warmed berry mixture on that too.

    Use them in smoothies. Jam for gifts is a good idea too but if it doesn't set properly for you, no worries, then you have pancake syrup for gifts instead.

    Or send some to me 🙂
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,400 Member
    I love overnite oats and frozen berries are great in there. I also make banana crepes and use berries on top.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    Remember back in the summer when I had all those fresh berries? They were so good. Blueberries, raspberries, and marionberries. Mmmm.

    My canes and bushes produce more than I can eat. I froze some this year on cookie trays, then vacuum sealed them. Well, spring is around the corner, and soon more berries. I still have so many frozen from last year.

    If you had a bunch of frozen home-grown berries, what would YOU do with them? I did make a pie, but if I make pie, there's a bad side effect. I eat the pie. Now it's tasty enough, but someone once told me that even though the berries are homegrown, there's still calories in the pie. So sad.

    Maybe I should make one anyway.

    What would YOU do?

    I put frozen berries in my oatmeal every day. Do you like oatmeal, or maybe pancakes, or fruit soup, or marinades/sauces for veggies that use fruit?

    We heat them and serve over pancakes or french toast, with just a touch of maple syrup.

  • icemom011
    icemom011 Posts: 999 Member
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    Remember back in the summer when I had all those fresh berries? They were so good. Blueberries, raspberries, and marionberries. Mmmm.

    My canes and bushes produce more than I can eat. I froze some this year on cookie trays, then vacuum sealed them. Well, spring is around the corner, and soon more berries. I still have so many frozen from last year.

    If you had a bunch of frozen home-grown berries, what would YOU do with them? I did make a pie, but if I make pie, there's a bad side effect. I eat the pie. Now it's tasty enough, but someone once told me that even though the berries are homegrown, there's still calories in the pie. So sad.

    Maybe I should make one anyway.

    What would YOU do?

    Most mornings my breakfast is Greek yogurt and frozen berries and other fruit.
    I would make berrie crumble, frozen desert like sherbet, maybe mix with sugar free jello for low calorie treat? I also would just enjoy a bowl of frozen berries, as an ice cream substitute.