Stumped for Sides (Veggies)?

[ceeveg]

I am sort of in a rut when it comes to healthy vegetable side dishes.

We do a lot of things like lentil tacos, curries, and soups/stews. I try to incorporate veggies where I can, but the main dishes are often bean-centric.

Here are my usuals:

Spinach cooked with a little lemon juice, zucchini or yellow squash sauteed in olive oil with lemon pepper, green beans cooked until tender or roasted.

I do sometimes do kale with tomatoes or roasted brussels sprouts (DH and DD don't like them) or a simple side salad, but good greens tend to be pretty expensive for us.

Any suggestions to widen my repertoire? They can be vegan or vegetarian -- we have both in our house

Thank you!!

[rainyday]

We've been roasting a lot of veggies lately. You name it, we roast it: green beans, broccoli, kale, squash, parsnips. Note that we do those separately, not thrown together in some bizarre side-dish concoction! Green beans that are roasted are our favorite way to eat them. Parsnips have also become a real favorite around here. We roast by tossing with a small amount of olive oil, sprinkling with kosher salt (I like the big salt flecks for the flavor) and roast at 425 or so.

Sauteed cabbage - saute cabbage and onion (and salt) with a tad bit of oil for a long time over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. (If I'm in a hurry I'll do it over medium-high heat and cook for only about 15 minutes or so, but that requires more stirring.) I cook this until the cabbage is almost melting. It makes it really nice and sweet-ish. And it's cheap!

Italian peppers - saute strips of bell peppers, onion, and garlic (maybe 1 clove per bell pepper or more, to taste; onion is optional) in olive oil. I use a tablespoon or so of oil to start, and add more if needed. Medium heat. As peppers start to melt down, I add some tomato paste (sauce, chopped-up tomato, whatever I have handy). Continue cooking until peppers are very, very soft, and everything has kind of melted together. Salt to taste,

[mumkimum]

Ditto on roasted veggies - broccoli is also awesome roasted.

There are a few grated carrot salads we like here that I'll throw together for a side last minute. (indian-style and minty-carroty that's pretty similar).

A waldorf-style salad tends to go over pretty well too.

[scarlettrose]

raw veggies with hummus is a good side

salads can go MANY different ways

[somegirl99]

Another vote for roasted veggies, I do broccoli, parsnips, sweet potatoes, squash, brussel sprouts, mushrooms, and eggplant fairly often (not all mixed together).

We also are big on raw veggies to munch on, either alone or with hummus, including carrots, green beans, radishes, cucumber, bell pepper, English peas, sugar snap peas, etc.

[ceeveg]

Thank you! I will try some roasted veggies tonight -- I'm going to do a sweet potato and black bean stew, and I think I'll serve it over some roasted greens and rice. Such great ideas! Thank you again!!

[Addy's Mom]

I roast parsnips, carrots, pearl onions, celery, and butternut squash together with some balsamic vinegar and pomegranite juice mixed together. Plus some salt and pepper.

[Doodlebugsmom]

One of my favorites is mashed sweet potatoes. I boil them in a little water with a little Earth Balance, a bit of brown sugar, a pinch of cumin and a dash of cayenne. I season with salt and pepper after mashing.