How Do you Cook your Veggies?

[roses_92123]

Just looking for some good ideas on what and HOW to prepare more veggies. I simply don't get enough in my diet and I would love some ideas (steam, broil, bake...???)

Also, any good vegetable-based recipes would be much appreciated.

As always...thanks for the input!!!

 

[janiejoey]

I eat my vegies raw as often as I can. I love tomatoes, green onions, bell peppers and a 1/4 of an avocado. Once your taste buds have a chance to get use to the idea, you won't believe how good it tastes. If I want something on it, I use seasoned vinegar and egg less mayo, or mayo whatever I prefer. Stir it and put on vegies or use it as a dip. Or wrap it in a tortilla with lettuce. Oh my is it good! :9

Another quicky is open a can of beans, any kind, Add 1/2 to 1 lemon, with a little minced garlic and blend. You have a terrific bean dip. This is good with carrots slices and celery. YUM! Sometimes Add lettuce to the makings, wrap a tortilla around it and eat. I'm getting hungry.:7

Janie

The idea is to die young as late as possible

www.picturetrail.com/janiejoey

 

[Ronne]

Stir fried veg with tofu and rice. Just soy, chilli, oil.

Veg with pasta, e.g. in a tomato sauce, or just tossed in chilli and oil with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Veg in sauces with cumin, coriander, curry powder, etc. with rice/noodles. (Can also include tofu).

Stir fried veg with peanut sauce and rice.

Broccoli/cauliflower in cheese sauce with pasta.

Hope that gives you some ideas!

Ronne

 

[mommacody]

i love to saute some asparagus and fresh tomato in a teeny bit of olive oil with minced garlic. toss with whole grain pasta - yummy!

i also tend to eat veggies raw often - i buy the organic bags of broccoli and carrots and just eat them out of the bag or toss in a salad.

i will also buy the bags of frozen japanese veggies and saute with some onion and garlic and mix with brown rice.

i've become completely hooked on the "sweet potato risotto" recipe from tosca's eat clean diet book. i usually use an extra 1/2 sweet potato, though. this has become a staple in my house. as a healthy vegetarian meal, you can add any other veggies you want to this recipe - it's very filling.

i like to cut sweet potatoes into fries and bake them. first i put them in a plastic baggie that i spritzed with olive oil and sprinkle some cinnamon in there. close the bag and toss around to coat, bake on a stone or a baking sheet at 425 until the edges get crispy - about 40 minutes.

 

[silbow]

Cauliflower, broccoli, carrtos, brussel spouts, cabbage, I use cooking spray, garlic powder, onion powder (any type of seasoning you like even red peper flakes) on them & roast in the oven or toaster oven uncovered for about 15 minutes at 425, I then sprinkle a little parmesain cheese & some corn flake crumbs & wrap them in foil & cook for another 15 minutes. You can use any solid type vegetable (no lettuce) to roast Karen

 

[L Sass]

This time of year - GRILLED!!!! I put a teeny bit of olive oil on pieces that are cut big enough so they don't fall through the slats (broccoli, peppers, carrots, mushrooms, asparagus, onions, you name it). Salt and pepper a bit and grill away. This is actually the only time I'm glad my kids don't really like veggies, because I could eat them all myself! I will sometimes throw in a little bit of pineapple, mango, apple or pears if I have a sweet tooth. Grilled fruit mixed in with the veggies can't be beat!

Lorrie

www.picturetrail.com/lsass

I'll be walking the Komen 3-day (60 miles) the week after Cathe's RT. To view my webpage go to: https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=202302&supid=166016627

 

[Gayle]

I'm with Karen and Lorrie. I like mine roasted or grilled. Cooking most veggies this way brings out a lot of the natural sweetness and requires little additional flavoring, except maybe salt and pepper.

Beets and other root veggies are fabulous roasted.

 

[RunnerGirl]

I really like them grilled! They have such a great flavor that way.
LD

 

[kathryn]

I eat them raw, steam them, bake them, sauté them (in a bit of mirin--japanse cooking saki--or cooking sherry or a combo of olive oil and some other liquid).

A big mixed salad at both lunch and dinner will help up your veggie intake.

You can also add veggies to many other dishes (like throwing a handful of frozen veggies into any soup, pasta sauce or chili recipe: the other day, I made spaghetti using shredded zucchini, lightly steamed, as noodles, and adding some soaked dried mushrooms and spinach to the prepared jarred spaghetti sauce).

I went to a potluck the other day, and decided to bring potato salad, but I don't think potatoes are the best veggies, so I like to make "red and green potato salad": cook potatoes as usual (I used red potatoes, and kept the skins on), and to them, add chopped red pepper, red onion, peas (frozen, thawed by running hot water on them), and chopped spinach (LOTS of it). Then add a dressing made from mayo (I use vegannaise, a vegan mayo), mustard and some zesty italian dressing, add some salt (I use celtic sea salt) and ground pepper to taste. The salad ends up having at least as much green/red veggies as potatoes, and was a big hit.

Keep some snack-size slices or sticks of carrots, celery, jicama, red/yellow/green pepper, zucchini, cucumber on hand and dip in hummus. Make guacamole. Make an avocado sandwich, spreading mashed avocado on bread.

 

[kathryn]

>Another quicky is open a can of beans, any kind, Add 1/2 to 1
>lemon, with a little minced garlic and blend. You have a
>terrific bean dip. This is good with carrots slices and
>celery. YUM! Sometimes Add lettuce to the makings, wrap a
>tortilla around it and eat. I'm getting hungry.:7
You're making me hungry, Janie!

Another idea to add more veggies to your diet: to make 'wraps,' instead of using a grain-based tortilla, use collard leaves or kale or lettuce.

I've made collard wraps marinating thin-sliced onions and mushrooms in soy sauce (then drain off) and wrapping this in a collard leaf (cut off the stem, and make the leaf easier to wrap by thinning out the 'spine' of the stem that goes through the leaf, being careful not to cut the leaf itself) with some grated carrot, sliced cucumber, and sliced avocado. Yum! I'd never tried collard greens before, but this recipe impressed me.

 

[roses_92123]

THANK YOU to everyone for the wonderful and tasty-sounding recipes!!!

I appreciate the ideas and will definetely try them out!:9

 

[Manmohini]

I'm a vegan and years ago I used to chaunce my vegetables (hot oil with chili peppers, tumeric, coriander, cumin etc. tossed in). It's a delicious method for preparing veggies, but now I do it only for special occasions because of the trans fat created by the hot oil (i.e., unhealthy). A lot of great Indian food is chaunced.

For the most part, I steam everything lightly and then I toss it in a bowl with cold pressed olive oil and various ground spices, mostly Indian spices (depending on my mood). The heat of the chaunce, of course, brings out the succulence of the spices particularly the seeds, but I find that ground spices and cold olive oil provide a pleasing and satisfying flavor. Plus it's much more healthy. Oftentimes, I'll broil tempeh or tofu and toss those into the vegetable mix as well. As a staple dish, these steamed mixes have helped me to maintain my ideal weight. I have noticed that when I deviate from this staple for a period of time, I start to gain.

Spicing is the key. I have been blessed with a husband who is a Hindu priest and consequently a gourmet cook of East Indian cuisine. In fact, I think that for anyone trying to go vegetarian, vegan, or just include more plants in her diet, that Indian cuisine is some of the best in the world for tasty dishes. You might have to tweak some of the traditional recipes which call for ghee, sugar, deep frying etc., but we've managed to do it and created a hybrid health conscious Western/Indian meal. I keep trying to get my busy husband to wrie a cookbook.
Manmohini