Veggie-phobe. Help!

Isaacsmama
Isaacsmama Posts: 43
edited September 19 in Recipes
Ok. Im the first to admit that I run from veggies. But I have been doing better. Ive started to like zuchinni. I sneak spinach into things. Ive upgraded my iceburg to romaine. And Ive double up on the one veggie I always liked, carrots. Ive even started to eat onions and bell peppers (not green) in certain recipes. But Id like to start eating more. I, however, dont want to buy a whole bunch of food that might go to waste if I dont like it. So any ideas? Ive been contimplating eggplant, asparagus, and different greens. I cant stand brussel sprouts though, or peas, as I was force fed them as a child. lol. So, any recipe ideas? Especially for making them taste less ... green? :)

Replies

  • BxMom
    BxMom Posts: 363
    If you like meatloaf you can finely chop veggies an sneak them in that way.

    You can sneak veggies in sauces for pasta; crockpot meals and burgers.

    Hope this helps
  • PinkShoes
    PinkShoes Posts: 269 Member
    I love greens! And they're so good for you! If you cook them right, they are delicious! My favorites are swiss chard, beet greens (with the beets attached), and collard greens.

    For swiss chard, chop up the leaves and stems and wash well under running water. Place in a pot and cover with water. Boil the stems for about 20 minutes or until tender. Boil the leaves for 5 to 10 minutes or until tender. Drain well and saute in a pan with olive oil and garlic. Sprinkle with lemon juice just before serving. They are great with malt vinegar sprinkled on top too! \

    For Beet greens, cut the beets off and leave about 2 inches of the stem attached (otherwise the beets will "bleed"). wash the beets well and place in a deep saucepan. Cover with water, cover the pot, and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium and cook for 20-60 minutes or until fork tender. Remove. Then Cut up the leaves and wash well. Place in a pot with water and bring to a boil. Cook these the same way you would the swiss chard leaves until tender. Cut the stem off the beets and peel them. Chop them up and sautee the beets and greens in some olive oil and garlic.

    Cook collard greens the same way. But discard the stems as the get tough and stringy. Collards usually need a little while longer to cook.

    And greens cook down A LOT so get more than you think you'll need. I usually make a few bunches.

    Sweet Potatoes and Yams are also really good for you. I make yam fries:
    Cut yams into french fry sized wedges. Toss with a little extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper. Bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes or until tender.

    Here is a recipe from www.cookinglight.com that I really like. And even if you don't think you like brussels sprouts, this recipe is still really yummy!
    Brussels Sprouts with Pecans
    Yield
    8 servings (serving size: about 2/3 cup)
    Nutritional Information
    Calories: 82 (33% from fat)
    Fat: 3g (sat 0.8g,mono 1.3g,poly 0.7g)
    Protein: 3.6g
    Carbohydrate: 12.6g
    Fiber: 3.9g
    Cholesterol: 3mg
    Iron: 1.3mg
    Sodium: 207mg
    Calcium: 45mg

    Ingredients
    • 2 teaspoons butter
    • 1 cup chopped onion
    • 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
    • 8 cups halved and thinly sliced Brussels sprouts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
    • 1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
    • 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 8 teaspoons coarsely chopped pecans, toasted
    Preparation
    Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in Brussels sprouts; sauté 2 minutes. Add broth and sugar; cook 5 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring frequently. Stir in salt. Sprinkle with pecans.

    Another helpful hint - go to healthy cooking recipe websites such as www.cookinglight.com, www.eatbetteramerica.com, www.eatingwell.com and type in an ingredient into their search engine. They will bring up recipes that use that specific ingredient!

    Hope some of this helps!!! :smile:

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    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Food Diary
  • freezeframe
    freezeframe Posts: 184
    these sound great!! Thanks
  • leann_m_olson
    leann_m_olson Posts: 363 Member
    Definately try Asparagus, mmmmm, my favorite.
    ROASTED ASPARAGUS

    1 1/2 lbs. fresh asparagus, trimmed
    3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
    1/2 tsp. salt

    Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Spread asparagus on a baking sheet in a single layer and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and roast the asparagus in the upper third of the oven until the spears are tender when pricked with a tip of the knife; about 10 to 12 minutes depending on their thickness
  • Poison5119
    Poison5119 Posts: 1,460 Member
    Finely grinding veggies for meatloaf is an excellent idea!! Add to soups, tuna/egg/chicken/turkey salad sandwiches, add to ground beef for hamburgers, and anything else you dare to try.

    When I first had trouble even affording fresh vegetables, I used to (and still do) supplement my fiber intake with ground flax seed. It's easy to use in just about everything - all of the above mentioned items, plus yogurt, cereal, oatmeal, pbj sandwiches, shakes and smoothies, spaghetti sauce, just about anything. Two grams of fiber per tablespoon.

    Also remember that if you're not nuts about vegetables, there's always fiber in fruit, so between your efforts to eat veggies, eat some fruits that you like and try some ground flax. YOu'll be fine.
  • havingitall
    havingitall Posts: 3,728 Member
    Asparagus on the barbeque is great. Coat it in a little olive oil and grill it. Broccoli & Cauliflower are great together. Try cooking carrots and parsnips and mash them together with a little butter and some pepper.

    You say you don't like peas, but have you aver had fresh raw peas right from the pod? They taste amazing
  • GIBride01
    GIBride01 Posts: 328 Member
    I have found most veggies, even ones I have disliked in the past, are really good roasted. Brussel sprouts have never been a favorite of mine, until I tossed them in some olive oil, kosher salt, pepper and garlic and threw in the oven for about 45 min at a high temp, like 400-425 degreee. This technique works with most veggies, sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, corn, onions, sweet peppers..all are yummy tossed in some oil and roasted. They get brown and crispy on the outside, and really tender inside. Try it! Look on recipezaar.com for roasted veggies. Good luck!
  • Isaacsmama
    Isaacsmama Posts: 43
    Tank you guys so much!:bigsmile: You all have such great ideas! :love: This will really help me expand my recipe repitore. Any ideas on good sauces to go with asparagus? Also, I liked the idea of cutting up the brussel sprout first. I just wanna find a few low cal, hi vitamin dishes that I can fill up on. I wanna get some nutrition bang for my buck. :smile: Any other ideas? Any fancy veggie recipes? Something exciting? Thanks again guys!:flowerforyou:
  • myvueof2
    myvueof2 Posts: 1
    I love love love asparagus done on my George Foreman, I have been doing it for years. I spay them with a little butter no-stick spray and add Mrs. Dash Original or a lemon-pepper seasoning.
  • vanessadawn
    vanessadawn Posts: 249
    my faves right now - roasted beets, carrots & turnips, spaghetti squash, and sweet potatoes
  • jojoworks
    jojoworks Posts: 315 Member
    it's hard not to go on and on about my fav veggies, but I'll try to keep it to TWO points:
    1) I HATED peas as a kid too. To this day I can't eat cooked peas. But I was so surprised to find out I like them fresh, straight out of the pod. The kind to eat out of the pod are called english peas, or shelling peas, just shell em and eat em, if they're fresh and young, not over ripe and starchy they are sweet as candy. Also, snap peas are GREAT. You don't shell these, but you want to clip the ends off and pull down the green string type thing that runs around it. You can eat snaps raw (wash of course first) or gently steamed. They're great by themselves or in a salad or stir fry or with pasta.
    2) I joined a CSA 3 years ago (community supported agriculture). Basically you pay a farmer in the late winter to grow a share of their crop for you and then once a week you get a box of what ever is being harvested at that time. I've learned to use many different veggies I never thought I would or could because of course my goal is to use up what I get each week before the next box arrives. I've found that making a frittata each Sunday (a lazy omelet, you don't have to do all the folding) is a fabulous way to incorporate various greens and veggies into a really great fulfilling meal (of yeah, I get farm fresh eggs with this deal too).
    good luck!
  • courtney_love2001
    courtney_love2001 Posts: 1,468 Member
    Love sweet potatoes with brown sugar and cinnamon. I recently put seasoned salt on corn on the cob...delish! I bought a big bag of frozen veggie mix (broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, water chestnuts, red bell pepper, baby corn, from Birdseye I believe) and I put a cup of them in the microwave with a wet paper towel over them for about 2 mins. I put all sorts of sauces/seasonings on there--soy sauce, thai sweet chili sauce, teriyaki, lemon pepper, garlic/onion, cheese. It all depends on what else you're having. You can match your veggies to your main meal with a sauce or seasoning. These veggies are really convenient for someone like me who doesn't have a ton of time to prepare several things.

    Oh and I loveeeee zucchini. Tonight I roasted some with salt and pepper, hollowed it out and put ricotta cheese in it and baked it off in the oven. Yum!
  • kshiz
    kshiz Posts: 24
    Definitely try the roasted or grilled asparagus with a tad of olive oil and a tiny salt.
    A great fat free yummy seasoning to add flavor to veggies is Trader Joe's 21 Salute. It is all natural herbs and seasonings. ( Hope you have a trader joes)

    I bake a Spaghetti squash in the oven. Cut in half, remove the seed, place face down in a pan with a bit of water. Bake 350 for about 40 minutes depending on the size of the squash.
    With a fork this pulls apart and can actually be substituted for Spaghetti noodles in your favorite dish. It has a sweetness. My family loves it !

    Cauliflower can be steamed and mashed with no salt chicken broth and substituted for mashed potato. Try it ...you won't believe how good this is !
  • ctmom1
    ctmom1 Posts: 189
    I follow this recipe all.the.time for grilled veggies, except I never use the whole 1/4 C of oil the recipe calls for to brush on the veggies.

    http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/grilled-vegetables-recipe/index.html

    You can play around with this a lot and figure out what vegetables you like! The dressing is really good!

    I usually make extra so I can eat them in wraps during the week for lunch...

    Mary
  • mel_istheshit
    mel_istheshit Posts: 102
    You should try eggplan parmesan. You can get a good recipe from Eating Well at foodnetwork.com. The nutrition info is already on mfp. It's so good! I halve the recipe and end up with four generous portions that I serve with a small amount of whole wheat pasta.

    Good luck:smile:
  • Isaacsmama
    Isaacsmama Posts: 43
    Wow guys, Thanks! I cant wait to try some of these ideas. Ill have to try the raw fresh peas. And I bet asparagus on my george forman wuld work great. Plus, Ive been hovering around the spaghetti squash at the super market, but now i definately have to try it. Thats great guys! Any other zuchinni or even mushroom recipes? I love those 2 veggies. OOO!!! I almost forgot. I bought a 3 pack of red, yellow, and orange bell peppers. I roasted them in the oven and set them aside thinking I could TRY to find a use for them. Well, they were gone in 3 days. They were amazing!! I put them on pizza, in sandwiches, in stir fry in dips. I even pureed them with a little fat free dressing and made an amazing sauce! I was so surprised because I cant stand the taste of green peppers. Any other Ideas for roasted peppers!? O, sorry. Im just so excited now. Im having fun finding all these great new foods! Anything else I should try? Thanks guys!! :heart: :heart:
  • junkgypsy
    junkgypsy Posts: 217
    Not sure how you feel about tomatoes, but I just found out I liked them this year.

    They're good in EVERYTHING.
  • jojoworks
    jojoworks Posts: 315 Member
    since you like zucchini, don't forget them in soups! Minestrone is a fabulous soup and a great way to get in your veggies and protein from the beans. Also, I've been getting so much spinach and kale in my CSA box lately, I chopped them up and put them into my big pot of "chock full of beans" chili for added fiber and nutrients.
  • creativefrugalmom
    creativefrugalmom Posts: 267 Member
    Veggie packs:

    Slice:
    zucchini
    squash
    mushrooms
    red onions
    red potatoes (optional)

    Add all to a bowl and add garlic powder, seasoning salt, pepper and other spices you would like to try and mix them up. Place them on a sheet of aluminum foil (leave enough to fold over and allow one sheet for each person you are serving). Add butter (optional) and worcesterchire sauce, seal the foil and place in the oven or on the grill.

    If you are not grilling, you can place in a baking dish, cover with foil and place in the oven.

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  • Isaacsmama
    Isaacsmama Posts: 43
    I actually have never made chili. Id like to though, because it has so much veggie potential. I have to say, I dont like beans. Im not opposed to trying a recipe with only a little of them, especially if they are small and easily ignored. But I cant handle those huge ones! Im also not big on really chunky chili, but regular tomato sauce is great. :flowerforyou: Any good recipes that arent too spicy and mostly meat. Lean beef or turkey , even chicken is cool. Let me know! Thanks
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