Vegetables-- which ones to do you eat how do you prepare the

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  • alneuby
    alneuby Posts: 28 Member
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    I like to do one piece of center cut bacon in some stuff. It gives it a great flavor without adding very many calories. Just do one piece though :) I do it with leeks and with chard, makes it yummy.
  • angimac
    angimac Posts: 145 Member
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    I've learned to love vegetables. Most any vegetable can be roasted in the oven. Drizzle or brush with olive oil, dash some garlic powder, salt, and pepper on it, and roast at 350 until tender...

    Spaghetti Squash cooked this way is amazing. Cut squash in half, scoop out the seeds, then do the above and bake for 45 minutes to an hour depending on the size of the squash. Shred the inside of the squash with a fork, and it comes out like spaghetti noodles. I like it plain, but you can have sauce and serve it like it really is pasta...
  • RumOne
    RumOne Posts: 266 Member
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    try mixing spinich and then spring mixed greens in with your lettuce. Add sweet peppers in things with onions. Spaghetti Squash with your favorite Tomato Sauce (add shredded carrots instead of sugar if you make your own). Roasted Beets with Roasted sweet potatoes.
  • livestar
    livestar Posts: 140 Member
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    I make a roasted veggie medley every other weekend, freeze the rest, and eat it intermittently so I am sure to get my veggies in.

    roasted root medley

    Brussel Sprouts
    Parsnips
    Turnips
    Broccoli and/or Cauliflower (added 1/2 way through roasting the roots)
    Butternut squash
    Golden Beets (color preference only)

    Trader Joe's Seasoning
    small Red onion or 3 shallots
    Smashed and sliced garlic (3-5 dep on pref)
    Olive oil

    Peel and cut to evenish 1" pieces
    Mix it all up in a bowl
    Bake at 450 for 45-1hour
    >covered for first 30min, turn them all over and add any non-root veggies like broc/cauli or any softer squashes
    >recover for 10-15 min to cook other sides
    >uncovered until soft

    portion those out, freeze, and you can heat and eat for at least 4-5 more times.
  • 0RESET0
    0RESET0 Posts: 128
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    Pan fry some lean meat in a couple tbsp of roasted garlic olive oil then remove the meat. Dump about 4 cups of fresh broccoli, cauliflower and carrots in the pan and add water to about 1/2 inch deep. cover and let steam/boil for 5 minutes or until desired tenderness. If you want, you can add 2 oz (dry) or pasta to it at the same time. The vegies/pasta will soak up all the water and flavor from the meat. Good stuff.
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  • thepetiterunner
    thepetiterunner Posts: 1,238 Member
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    My list of veggies & preparations:

    Butternut squash - pureed in soup or roasted with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper
    Kale - sauteed with copious amounts of garlic and a bit of olive oil
    Asparagus - marinated in basalmic vinegar and garlic and sauteed or steamed with lemon and a dab of butter
    Broccoli - steamed alone or with shredded cheese or mashed into a broccoli pesto (smash broccoli, add olive oil, garlic, grated parmesan cheese, serve with pasta)
    Lettuce of all varieties - salads mostly
    Spinach - sauteed or put into soups
    Carrots - sliced as snacks usually or cooked in soups
    Celery - cut into sticks with peanut butter usually or cooked in soups
    Tomatoes - diced into homemade pomodoro style sauces or in salads or on sandwiches
    Sweet potatoes - roasted whole like a baked potatoe or smashed like mashed potatoes or cut into fries with a bit of olive oil, garlic and basil
    Onions - sauteed and just dumped into any dish really
    Cucumbers - sliced as snacks
    Red bell peppers - sliced into sticks as snacks
    Zuccini - sauteed or roasted with lemon, garlic, olive oil, fresh herbs

    I think that's mostly it.
  • lmarshel
    lmarshel Posts: 674 Member
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    I love all kids of vegetables! For dinner, I steam some broccoli, cauliflower, squash, zucchini or fresh mushrooms in the microwave. Just sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder and put a few tablespoons water in the bottom of the bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and nuke for 3-4 minutes (closer to 4 min for tougher veggies like broccoli). My hubby and I also love the Green Giant Just for One veggies. They are already seasoned or packaged with cheese or butter sauce and ready to microwave. Just enough for one person...so we each have what we like. These are also great for lunches at work.

    For lunch, I always bring some raw tomatoes or cucumbers. I slice them, add a little salt, and eat them raw. Raw broccoli or cauliflower dipped in light ranch dressing is also very good.

    For breakfast, I love omelettes with veggies. For convenience, I'll use canned mushrooms and bagged spinach in my omelettes. Sliced tomatoes are also very good, but add them once the omelette is cooked. I also eat cheese toast with sliced tomatoes rather often. That combination is delicious.

    Also try adding some veggie toppings to your pizza or to pasta dishes. Mushrooms , spinach and arugula are very good, but pretty much anything goes. Get creative! :)
  • shawnp80134
    shawnp80134 Posts: 86
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    I have found it easier to add to salads. I'm kind of surprised at how well veggies and fruit mix in and bring about a completely different taste to salads.
  • knelson422
    knelson422 Posts: 308
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    I love to drizzle a little olive oil over some zucchini, squash, and red pepper and grill them in a grill basket. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper, so good. Leftovers go great on pizza or in morning omelets. Good luck.
  • TejasSlim
    TejasSlim Posts: 2
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    Try getting out your crockpot. That way you just thrown in a bunch of veggies at the start of the day with some veggie broth and switch it on low- by the end of the day you have an amazing vegetable stew. If you have a problem with textures- throw it in the blender (or invest in an immersion blender- best purchase ever)- and you can make a great tasting soup. I like to use a lot of root veggies in my stews- like parsnips, sweet potatoes, rutabagas, and carrots.

    Roasting and broiling is great too- I didn't like asparagus until I tried it roasted with some olive oil. When roasting try throwing in some raisins and almond slivers for a little sweet and crunch. Soak the raisins for about 20 minutes in warm water first.
  • KimAggie04
    KimAggie04 Posts: 165 Member
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    If you have a busy schedule, steaming them in the microwave is very easy and delicious. Ziploc sells steam bags, and you just chop up the vegetable (carrots, brocolli, cauliflower, zuchinni, yellow squash, asparagus, etc) and throw it in the bag and microwave for a few minutes. Add a little bit of butter and seasoning, and it's done! They taste so fresh, it's wonderful.

    Also, I love to microwave seasonal squash, such as, acorn or spaghetti squash. Just cut it in half, and scoop out the seeds. In a microwavable glass dish, place 1/4" of water and place the squash cavity side down. Microwave it on high for 8-10 minutes. Then flip the squash over, and add seasoning (I like a little butter and brown sugar) to the cavity. Microwave for another minute. I mix up the butter and the squash and erve it just like that. The squash serves as its own bowl, and my children love to eat out of it.
  • therealkittymao
    therealkittymao Posts: 194 Member
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    Roasted cauliflower! Spray with olive oil, roast at 425 until it's brown and crispy, then lightly salt it and eat it with ketchup. Swear, it tastes JUST like fries.
  • pauljsolie
    pauljsolie Posts: 1,024 Member
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    Kale
    Cucumber
    Broccoli
    Carrots
    Beets
    Cabbage
    Lettuce
    Spinach
    Celery

    I mostly juice my veggies with Granny Smith apples and lemons (Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead). Usually don't cook the veggies, it makes them dead. Steamed or raw when I eat them. Make a sweet mustard out of yellow mustard, balsamic vinegar and a touch of real maple syrup. This is a great tasting alternative to fat and sugar laden dips.
  • KimAggie04
    KimAggie04 Posts: 165 Member
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    Another of my favorites is strawberry spinach salad. I cut up the strawberries and mash them a little with a fork. I throw them over baby spinach and sometimes add sliced almonds. The smashed strawberries act as a dressing, so it's a very heathly side or snack.
  • tathrel
    tathrel Posts: 3
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    I also have learned to enjoy veggies, two things to add that are wonderful is tumeric. I get it at vitacost its an organic seasoning and I sprinkle it and garlic. little salt & pepper on my veggies before baking in the oven. Wow it gives them a wonderful flavor. It is not
    spicy but just adds a great tatste. I use alot on sliced squash yum. Also I have found lachoy orange ginger sauce. I dip my carrotts,celery etc in it and I love it. If you like ginger and oranges you will love this sauce. Also sometimes if Im craving something sweet, I drizzle YS raw cinnamon honey over veggies. I also get it at vitacost, it is organic and has alot!! more flavor than honey
    over the counter. I hope this helps you enjoy your veggies
  • shannonkk
    shannonkk Posts: 192 Member
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    try blending cooked in a blender and adding them to sauces. Mashed cauliflower in mashed potatoes.
  • duchatelier
    duchatelier Posts: 1
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    A good way to incorporate vegetables into your meals is salad. I 'sneak' them into salads so that I can also get my son to eat them. A good example is spinach-I chop them up the same way I do lettuce and he has no clue he's eating spinach. Good luck!
  • PlunderBunneh
    PlunderBunneh Posts: 1,705 Member
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    I adore vegetables. So much love.
    I just ate a plate of stirfry, which was amazing. I made a huge pan of it on Monday, using 1 cup of mushrooms, 1 cup of chopped red pepper, 1 cup of chopped green pepper, 1 cup of show peas, 1/2 cup of diced onion, 1 cup of chopped napa cabbage, and 1 cup of carrot matchsticks. 1 tablespoon of olive oil on high and just keep stirring until everything is the tenderness you prefer, I like mine with a bit of crunch still. For flavor, I added in a tablespoon of thai peanut sauce and a couple teaspoons of minced ginger, and added a whole block of extra firm tofu to up the protein. I've been reheating it for lunch by just tossing some of it in a pan until it's warm again. Great way to get in veggies and tasty.

    Another great way is to make a plate of raw veggies with hummus to dip in. I prefer carrots, celery, broccoli, and cauliflower for that.

    For sure try the oven roasted. It was the best thing that happened to my family for veggies.

    Do you have a steamer? If so, try steamed carrots. I could easily eat half a bag of baby carrots freshly steamed.

    Try sauteing up some zucchini and adding it to your next spaghetti night. Use spaghetti squash for an extra veggie kick :)

    I've always underestimated bell peppers. There is just so much you can do with a variety of bell peppers, I usually buy two dozen every two weeks and just throw them in everything.

    Try making a veggie fritatta. Pick out a variety of veggies, I like mushroom, onions, peppers, and spinach, and cook them up in a pan. When they get to the desired firmness, pour two scrambled eggs over top (more if it's a bigger batch) and let it cook on medium heat. Flip it when the top is no longer fully liquid, cook a few more minutes.

    Good luck, and sorry for writing a novel!
  • littlelily613
    littlelily613 Posts: 769 Member
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    Barbecuing vegetables is a great way to caramelize them and bring out a delicious, sweet flavour which could make them more palatable for you. (Other cooking methods can do this as well, I just happened to lose vegetables on the BBQ). You don't put them on whole, but rather slice them, then put on flat sheet designed for BBQs for foods that are likely to fall easily through the rack. Onions, sweet potatoes, green peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, etc are delicious like this. Though corn on the cob is not a vegetable, it too is also good on the BBQ (and healthy too!)

    I also second the idea of hiding them. I do this with my niece and nephew who both do not like vegetables. Once I made a casserole for them (not a recipe...I just invented as I went), where I used macaroni noodles, mushroom soup, and grated cheese as the main ingredients. I pureed cooked sweet potato, squash, carrot and stirred it into the mushroom soup and cheese which just gave it a beautiful orangey colour. Then I added VERY finely chopped broccoli, onions, and very finely chopped red pepper. They never would have eaten it had I told them what was in it before they ate it. Afterwards, they asked what it was and I said "hidden vegetable casserole". They had nooooo idea I had all those veggies mixed in. I suppose you could puree all of the vegetables rather than adding some finely chopped. I don't know what that would do to the colour, but I can't imagine it would affect it too much unless you use too much green. Anyway, it was really good, and for REALLY picky eaters, they loved it. You could also put chicken in it or something like that if you eat meat, but I don't cook with meat.
  • littlelily613
    littlelily613 Posts: 769 Member
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    Oh, and if you have a smoothie (I make mine with mixed berries, banana, and pineapple---the colour comes out quite dark purplish) you can easily puree grated carrot or spinach leaves into it. If you use dark mixed berries, these things won't impact the colour and with the strong flavours of the fruit, they won't impact the taste either.) Don't go overboard with the spinach as I don't know what this will do to the colour, but a small handful will be fine. Of course, if colour doesn't bother you, it doesn't really matter but for me if something is really gross in colour I can't enjoy it no matter what it tastes like.

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