Vegetable Help

[LoveLife]

I posted a while ago that since starting school I was stuggling to find the time to cook healthy, we were eating a lot of fast food and junky stuff. And asked a question about prepping on the weekends. Since then we've gotten back on track and are doing SO MUCH better. Thanks to a lot of the suggestions I got here.

But I've noticed that we're in a vegetabe rut. I'm getting tired of steamed broccoli, green beans, peas, the occassional asparagus, etc. Each meal we usually we do one veggie, a potato or rice and a meat (except for about 1x per week we do a vegetarian meal).

I'd love to do 2 veggies with a starch & meat, but we'd end up eating the same veggie mulitple times thoughout the week and become even more bored! I'm sure it will improve some when the farmers market opens in May, but I was wondering...


What veggies do you all eat? How do you prepare them? Any advice would be appreciated!

[Alyantavid]

We eat alot of potatoes. Fries, mashed, fried with onions, roasted or baked.

I love roasting veggies, cauliflower, green beans, asparagus, carrots, onions and potatoes are the usuals around here.

Cucumber and tomato salad, only when those are in season though.

Cabbage is pretty versatile. I'ved fried it, roasted it or just had it raw or in coleslaw.

I do a stir fry type thing too with whatever frozen veggies I've got. Just topped with some honey and ginger.

[ollyoxenfree]

Some days I'm stuck in the same rut! It's filled with broccoli, red/orange/yellow peppers, asparagus, peas, corn and carrots. Somedays, there is some cauliflower too, although I'll get some protests about it.

I really like roasted squash or roasted beets or roast sweet potato, but no one else here loves them. So if I prepare them, I have to make sure there's something else on offer, or else the vegetable intake at that meal is pretty pitiful.

Leafy greens (spinach, swiss chard/sliverbeet, kale) are really nice. They're easy to cook with a quick saute.

I really like baby bok choy. I stir fry it with some hoisin sauce, sometimes with a little red pepper for accent colour and flavour.

A nice side dish or vegetarian main meal, if you want to "disguise" the veggies a little, is corn or zucchini or cauliflower fritters. I dice red pepper in with the corn or other veg. and fresh basil or parsley to increase the veg. content.

Lentil soup/stew or risotto with handfuls of spinach tossed in is yummy.

[Magelet]

let's see, we're eating a lot of greens right now (chard, kale, collards, a bit of spinach though it's more expensive...) the chard, kale, and collards can be tossed in soup, generally we have been just sauting them until tender in some oil and adding a little salt, maybe sauting some garlic with them, and a little white wine vinegar (just a spoonful or so)

we like cabbage, often stir-fried. it's also good in a slaw (like a pp said). sometimes with mayo, or cesar or green goddess, other times with yogurt cream and vinegar and salt and a few other things to taste, or even with a vinegrette. (usually throw in raisins, grated carrots etc)

in the summer, of course we love fresh corn, tomatoes, cucumbers peppers, so many ways. we like tomatoes cucumbers and peppers with feta in cold lentil salad (french green lentils). we like cucumbers chopped or grated in yogurt with salt and cumiin or dill for a raita/tzaziki side sauce. we like raw corn, tomatoes, peppers and sourkraut on fried flat breads with pulled mexican chicken and guacamole.

brocolli is probably my fave ever when roasted (toss it with some fat, optionally a little acid (lemon juice or vinegar), some coarse salt, and roast til done. SOO good.) we also love steamed brocolli with aoili. I think I'd just about eat an entire meal of brocolli either way.

lots of steamed veggies are delicious with aoili.

asparagus, sauted in olive oil with lots of garlic. or thinly sliced, and tossed with a lemon vinegrette and shavings of parm and sometimes some shaved raw fennel. yummy!

steamed artichokes.

cauliflower, the main way we make it is chop garlic, slice onions, and chop a couple anchovies, cook them in oil til the garlic and onions are cooked and the anchovies melt into sauce (it doesn't taste fishy, just rich), and add cauliflower. cook until a little browned. then we add some parm. (we usually then add a little pasta cooking water and penne pasta, but it would good without as a side too, probably with or without the parm.)

I love making a mild tomato sauce for pasta, adding cream, and wilting spinach into it. Soooo good!!!!

I've been really digging on carrot sticks in homemade green goddess dressing. seriously, I could eat so much of that, and do lately.

we roast all sorts of seasonal veggies. toss in olive oil and salt and roast. (less in the summer, when we don't really want to fire up the oven.) broccolli, sweet potatoes (in chunks or whole like a baked potato), cauliflower, spring onions, butternut squash, summer squash, beets, brussel sprouts (make sure they're fresh, and have plenty of oil), carrots

I also love veggies cooked low and slow with butter and a pinch of salt until they're practically melting (or caramelized). onions, mushrooms (throw a little acid in when they're almost done to get rid of off flavors), leeks (oh I'm loveing on leeks atm.). I know these don't always come to mind as "sides" in and of themselves, but they're so good, I'll happily eat them by themselves.

[DevaMajka]

How are you on beans?

As far as veggies, we like:
spinach (salads, on sandwiches, cooked into pasta sauce, or in spinach feta turnovers, etc- we eat lots of spinach!)
carrots
kale
butternut squash (usually in calzones or pizza)
tomatoes
sweet potato fries (baked)
bell peppers in stirfries or roasted veggies
frozen mixed veggies in soup or casseroles

I usually add spinach and mushrooms to spaghetti sauce.

I'm sure there's more, but I'm drawing a blank!

[cristeen]

Right at this time of year, our veggies are:
Carrots - mostly eaten raw, occasionally glazed or roasted
Celery - for flavoring in other dishes
Leeks - for flavoring in other dishes
Green Garlic - flavoring
Greens (chard, kale, collard, beet, dandelion) - we love braised greens, we can eat 3 bunches in a single meal
Beets - usually roasted
Asparagus is just entering the market - roasted is great, but I also slice it and sautee it with cauliflower
Broccoli - usually sauteed or raw
Cauliflower - roasted, mashed or sauteed
Cabbage - sauteed until it melts or raw
Winter Squash - roasted or mashed
Sweet potato - roasted, baked or mashed
Mushrooms - usually sauteed to add flavor to another dish

Neither green beans nor peas are in season, so they're not on our menu except for rare occasions - I'm not a big fan of frozen veg. But to be honest, both are legumes and not really veggies anyway.

And steaming is not a method I use for any veg. If I'm going to cook something, I want to be adding flavor - and steaming doesn't do that. Even if it's just tossing it in a pan with some melted butter.

[inky leeuhhh]

we love parsnips. for us to get into veggies, i had to go into the produce isle and just start grabbing things that i hadnt tried before. we have tried many new veggies and added many to our regular rotation of veggies because of this! right after i had dd, i would roast a huge pan of veggies (carrots, mushrooms, potatos, whatever) with olive oil, salt, and pepper and munch on that throughout the day. mmmm. for snacks, sugar snap peas and carrots with either hummus or guac are great! i love whoever posted the idea of dipping veggies in guacamole last week. it has me snacking on veggies waaay more! i love avocados. sorry got off topic there lol.

[JessicaS]

I love a green salad with beets and prosciutto (my dh does NOT like beets!)

roasted root vegetables

Spinach salad with strawberries and raspberry vinaigrette

mashed sweet potatoes

I just recently made these YUM YUM YUM. I use a lot more rosemary

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2...-hot-potatoes/

glazed carrots

risotto with random veggies

pasta salad


We like this sweet potato recipe but we use pears instead of apples since we have a pear tree

http://mothering.com/recipes/roasted...oes-and-apples

[berry987]

We definitely get in a rut, too - but I'm sure all our ruts are different, so maybe I'll have some new ideas.

Roasted broccoli (Toss with olive oil, salt, garlic powder, pepper; roast at 475 for about 15-20 minutes, until it is browned on the edges. Top with parmesan cheese)

Broiled asparagus (Toss with the same stuff as roasted broccoli, broil on high for 4-5 minutes, until browned on edges)

Salads with YUMMY dressings (I've converted to eating more fats (and have lost 6 pounds just adding fat), so I'm all about high fat ranch and blue cheese dressings (the organic kind). Salads are SO much better with a creamy dressing. Sometimes I just do spring greens and tomatoes with ranch.

Mushrooms and onions sauteed with bacon. Two or three strips of bacon (for two servings), sauteed a few minutes, then add onion, cook until translucent, then add mushrooms. Yum.

Green beans/sugar-snap peas/snow peas (any of those work) sauteed with butter, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Use butter and garlic liberally and they are delicious.

[Astraia]

I've gotten some really good ideas off MDC on vegetables to make as side dishes, but when I Spend all my time prepping the meat / starch the last thing I have energy for is a tasty veggie side dish. What I'm really finding to be working for us is to make the veggie the main part of the meal. Like, "hm, I have broccoli, what meal can I build around THAT?" (quiche, broccoli soup, pasta with alfredo sauce, etc). SO mixed veggies and potatoes turn into shepherds pie with the ground beef I just happen to have in the freezer. I got a recipe for a nice vegetable pie so I'm trying to think up a meat that I can pair that with.

Does that make sense? So instead of looking at your meat as the main and the veg as a side, make the veg the main part of the meal and try to match stuff with it. Then the meat seems like an after thought and the vegetables really shine :P

[sellendie]

Originally Posted by Astraia

I've gotten some really good ideas off MDC on vegetables to make as side dishes, but when I Spend all my time prepping the meat / starch the last thing I have energy for is a tasty veggie side dish. What I'm really finding to be working for us is to make the veggie the main part of the meal. Like, "hm, I have broccoli, what meal can I build around THAT?" (quiche, broccoli soup, pasta with alfredo sauce, etc). SO mixed veggies and potatoes turn into shepherds pie with the ground beef I just happen to have in the freezer. I got a recipe for a nice vegetable pie so I'm trying to think up a meat that I can pair that with.

Does that make sense? So instead of looking at your meat as the main and the veg as a side, make the veg the main part of the meal and try to match stuff with it. Then the meat seems like an after thought and the vegetables really shine :P

We do something very similar. We tend not to do veggie side items but incorporate them into the overall meal. I find a lot more veggie options when I break out of the "meat and three" mentality. We do a lot of one pot meals..often times picking an ethic spice profile and going from there depending on what is in the fridge. Last night, for instance, we had leftover grilled chicken that had an Indian style spice rub on it that we cut into pieces and threw in a pot with a can of diced tomatoes, chickpeas and some shredded carrot and spinach and then served jacket potato style on top of baked potatoes with a dollop of plain yogurt on top, delish and very filling!

[LoveLife]

You ladies rock!

This is exactly why I posted here. Now I've got several ideas and I'm all motivated to try them. Oh, we do make sweet potatoes quite a bit.

Magelet- forgive me for sounding ignorant, but what is aoili?

DevaMajka- We don't do much in the way of beans, just usually in soups or texmex dishes.

Inky leeuhhh- How do you prepare your parsnips? And I love the idea of snacking on veggies with guac. I LOVE me some homemade guac.

Abimommy- I am making those potatoes! Mmmm- they look delish!

I think that I definitely do need to look at making the side dishes more the main part of the meal, then adding the meat. That way I look at making tasty veggies instead of just throwing them in the steamer or whatever.

Keep the suggestions coming! I need all the help I can get. I might come back with more questions about your recipes/methods once I write it all down.

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by LoveLife

Inky leeuhhh- How do you prepare your parsnips?

I'm not the pp, but my fave way to prepare parsnips is this: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/roasted_parsnips/

Oh, and one veggie I left off my list for this time of year - Brussel Sprouts!! Excellent roasted, or if you feel like taking the time, you can peel the outer leaves off and sautee them like spinach. Then you can cook the centers the next night - it's a nice little 2 for 1.

[inky leeuhhh]

Originally Posted by cristeen

I'm not the pp, but my fave way to prepare parsnips is this: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/roasted_parsnips/

Oh, and one veggie I left off my list for this time of year - Brussel Sprouts!! Excellent roasted, or if you feel like taking the time, you can peel the outer leaves off and sautee them like spinach. Then you can cook the centers the next night - it's a nice little 2 for 1.

we roast them, too! we use them a lot of the same ways you can use carrots. they were dd2s first food! you sometimes need to peel off the outer skin, it can get tough in older/ bigger parsnips.

[redvlagrl]

You've had some awesome ideas in this thread, but I thought I'd just toss in the idea of steaming more than one veg in your pot.

Eg, the other night I was steaming some broccoli. After it had been going for a while I threw in some zucchini. I could have used snap peas or carrot etc etc etc.

My goal is to have at least 3 different coloured veg at each dinner. We often acheive this - you don't have to make 3 different side dishes! If you're roasting potatoes, throw in some squash, beets, parsnips for example.

Or add a green salad to every meal - darker green leafy things are better than romaine. You can get a big box of Spring Greens salad mix that is a nice mixture. Throw in some tomoatoes (or not if yo're short on time). Keep a homemade dressing in the fridge in a jar so you can chuck it together in 10 secs (grab lettuce out of box and put in bowl, drizzle on dressing, toss, eat!).

Hope this helps.

[LoveLife]

Christeen & Inky Leeuhhh- Those parsnips look lovely! I'm so exctied to try roasting them. The only thing I've ever done with parsnips is to put them in the crockpot with a roast- and they didn't have much flavor.

Redvlagrl-I think that adding more than one veggie to a dish is a great idea. Also, we definitely need to add more salads to our regular meal plan... But I need to change it up. They always taste the same to me, so we tire of them quickly and as a result we don't eat salads very often.

[Owen'nZoe]

My kids are very picky about their cooked veggies, but they love raw veggies. I try to keep baby carrots, celery sticks, snap peas, sliced summer squash, broccoli and cauliflower florets and green beans (as many as possible, depending on what is in season, or at least isn't too expensive) and dip in the fridge all the time. That way it is always easy to add a veggie to a meal. For dip, we sometimes use a sour cream based dip, but more often use salad dressing, hummus, or whipped cream cheese.

For parsnips, I love the roasted, but I also like them the way my mom made them - steamed, with melted butter and a couple tablespoons of seasoned breadcrumbs sprinkled over. So delicious and easy!

Stir fry is another great way to get your veggies in, and if you already have veggies prepared in the fridge for eating raw, all of your prep is already done for you. My kids will eat so many veggies this way, especially if we have lots of condiments they can add (bowls of sliced green onions, sprouts, toasted sesame seeds and crushed peanuts, premade asian sauces, etc.)

Which reminds me - make-your-own taco or burrito night is also easy and usually leads to the kids eating tons of veggies. If they get to choose what goes in their tortilla, they'll eat it, even if it is something they normally claim not to like.

[425lisamarie]

DO you like salads? I often make some kind of salad, and a single veg. I dont' feel the need to make 2 veggie dishes every day. Potatoes and sweet potatoes count for us, and I like to roast them with chili powder, brown sugar and salt for a sweet/spicy thing lately.

Or gratins are good. Cauliflower gratin is especially yummy.

[Magelet]

aoili is mayo with garlic, essentially. I ususally blend a garlic clove in with the egg yolk, mustard, salt and lemon juice before I add the oil to make mayo. I know some people use storebought mayo, and mix stuff in, I think garlic, lemon juice, and maybe salt? to taste. I'm not sure what. there's probably recipes online. Once I figured mayo out, it's so easy(I was scared of it for a long time), and healthier homemade so I always make it.