How do you eat veggies?

[SundayCrepes]

I was raised in a family that ate canned corn, canned green beans, canned peas, canned hominy. We also ate corn on the cob and tomatoes. A really big treat for me and my mom was canned mushrooms fried with onions in margarine.

I've come a long way since then. I love broccoli, artichokes, and eggplant, but I just don't do enough veggies. I am a vegetarian that isn't fond of vegetables. I'm looking for interesting ways to include them with meals. I serve fresh fruit with dinner every night. Dinners can be enchiladas made with black bean patties, canned artichokes in cream sauce over whole wheat pasta, or fresh mozzarella sandwiches with basil and tomatoes.

I read the Sneaky Chef book, but we have different goals. I'm not trying to get my family to eat mainstream bland foods, I just want more vegetables. So, I liked the idea of the macaroni and cheese with pureed cauliflower, but we found it bland. The next time I made it, I added tomatoes, mushrooms, onions and garlic--much better.

Here's a great soup recipe I got from my MIL. I don't know where she got it. I'd acknowledge the author if I knew who it was. I'd like more recipes like this, lots of vegetables that don't seem like vegetables.

Thanks

Curried Broccoli and Cheddar Soup

About 1 ½ # broccoli

¼ cup butter

1 tbsp. curry powder

1 med. size onion, chopped

6 cups regular-strength veg. broth

2 large thin-skinned potatoes, cubed

4 slender carrots, thinly sliced

1 cup milk

3-4 cups (about 12-16 oz.) sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded

Trim flowerets from broccoli. Peel stems and slice thinly. In a 6-8 quart kettle melt butter over med. heat. Add curry powder and chopped onion and stir for about 5 min.

Add broth, potatoes, broccoli stems and carrots. Cover and simmer until potatoes mash very easily, about 30 min. Whirl about half the broth and vegetables, a portion at a time, in a blender. Return to the kettle. Heat soup to boiling, and add milk. Stir in shredded cheese, a handful at a time. Add blanched and drained broccoli flowerets. Add salt if necessary. Makes 8-10 servings.

[courtenay_e]

Well, we belong to two CSA's...one during the winter, that brings us food from other states that is still organic, though not local (my husband has a history of tumors, so I unfortunately add to the carbon footprint to keep his body free of pesticides for the fresh stuff he'll eat anyway!), and one during the summer (also organic, but local, too), that gives us HUGE quantities of fresh veggies and fruits. We eat everything we CAN fresh, but end up blanching and freezing, and canning, LOTS of stuff, too, to use over the winter. Becuase we get immense amounts of greens, we have taken to simply eating a salad with lunch and dinner each day. The greens we get vary from week to week, as do the complimentary veggies and fruits, so we eat alllllll KINDS of salads, from butterhead to spinach, to swiss chard, to regular old romaine or red edged leaf lettuce. Changing it up helps a lot! Too, we tend to take one of the heads we get and chop it up IMMEDIATELY into a gallon sized ziplock bag with it's complimentary fruits or veggies. That way, the salad is already MADE, all we have to do is grab a handful and throw it in a bowl. That was half the battle to eating more green stuff for me! And getting it fresh and organic? Well, it just plain tastes better. *shrug*

We have a dish that saute's bacon or sausage (you could use vegetarian versions), then cooks up the brown bits with onions and garlic, adds rice and then broth, and cooks up the rice. Then you add some veggies (whatever you have...we like fresh or frozen peas a lot, esp if we have fresh or frozen carrots, too...broccoli is great, as well...), some chicken (I use turkey, as I'm allergic to chicken, but you could also use Soy), and then steam greens on the top for a minute or two. Oh, is it easy and good. All in one pan, and it is just good...and the veggies are just "part of it" so not a chore to eat.


Hmmmmm. We simply eat a lot of things out of hand or steamed fresh. There is nothing like broccoli picked at the farm that day cut up and steamed for dinner, with butter, salt, and pepper, and a little fresh parsley from the garden tossed on the top. Oh, it's just like candy in our house! Just make sure to steam it till it's JUST peirceable with a fork...I think six minutes is what we do?...we like a tiny bit of crunch in our veggies!

I always use onions, garlic, carrots, celery,and kale in my fresh spaghetti sauce...I saute the onions garlic carrots, and celery, then toss in the tomatoes, let them cook awhile, toss in a little red wine, let THAT cook a while, then add the kale, let it just steam, and toss in my immersion blender, as my kids WILL eat tomaotes in SAUCE, but NOT chunky sauce. It's not even to hide the kale (!!) just the chunks of toms. SOmetimes I'll add in browned ground meat (you could use TVP) for protein...but the kale and alllll the veggies is really a few servings of veggies in one meal.

I'll try to think of more...

[straighthaircurly]

I have a friend that was raised like you. She only had canned veggies and American style cheese (even though she grew up in Wisconsin, the land of cheese). I so glad you are finding your way to the world of fresh veggies.

We eat a lot of veggies in crockpot meals (here is a good thread http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=237665 although it is a mix of vegetarian and meat recipes). I cook in the crockpot a ton because it frees up my time in the afternoon when my son most wants to snuggle and play with me. We use a lot of carrots, broccoli, celery, squash, peas, mushrooms, bell peppers of all colors, summer squashes, lettuce, etc. I make salads that use veggies and fruits (a favorite is lettuce, shredded carrots, fresh mushrooms, and either raspberries or strawberries with a raspberry vineagrette or blue cheese dressing). I love to get big portabella mushroom, soak them in a marinade of oil/red wine vinegar/seasonings and then grill them (yummy : ).

[SundayCrepes]

Thank you for the ideas. I think it's a good idea to try and plan a salad each day. Sometimes the basic ideas are the easiest.

I also hadn't considered crockpot recipes. That could also help with simplifying dinner time.

Thanks again,

However, does this mean I have to eat vegetables to increase my daily veggie intake? (LOL)

[Mamatolea]

Sorry, I am all about sneaky chef..lol..I just made a batch of purees. DH and I are both picky and it is better for us to "sneak" it in than to not get it at all..

DD is a good eater, but she is just a year, so we will see. I keep introducing new stuff so she is used to it, but at least I have the SC in case she starts doing the aversion toddler thing.

And I LOVE wacky mac pasta, it is a veggie pasta that we all love! Yeah for more veggies!

And we are going to grow some of our own(albeit small amounts since I will be HUGE preggo during the summer) and do a farm patron(like CSA) for the rest of the stuff.

I like the idea of cutting it all ready to go so it is grab and eat, since prep is a huge part of not eating something here. Too much work=not eaten!

[SundayCrepes]

My problem with fresh veggies is they often go to waste (actually, to the chickens, but they still don't get eaten by us.)

In the past I used to just make whatever came to mind, but I'm finding that's not working with a toddler in the house. It's a lot harder to run to the store for the missing ingredients, cook, and spend time with 2 year old.

So, I'm starting to menu plan. I actually have something in mind for the next three nights plus tonight. Now if only my menus included more veggies.

I guess I shouldn't get too down on myself. Tonight is fresh mozarrella sandwiches made with tomatoes and fresh basil with sauteed mushrooms on the side. Tomorrow is garden burgers with tomato, avocado, and onion. Tuesday is fried brown rice--that actually has quite a few veggies in it. And Wednesday is homemade pizza.

I guess we eat veggies at dinner, the problem is introducing a wider variety. We serve a lot of tomato and mushrooms, but ds doesn't like tomatoes. I'd love it if anyone would post recipes.

Thanks