[CandyKisses0204]

Yep thats me. Now i am not opossed to eating veggies. Actually i need your help. I dont know how to prepare them. I also find if i buy a lot they just go bad. The only veggies i have been eating is frozen brocolli & califlour. Sometimes i eat celery w/laughing cow cheese. If i make fajitas i obviously cook peppers and onions. Or if i have a salad. But the salad usually consists of lettuce and thats about it. So i need help. Many days i only get 1 serving of veggies. I know i know thats bad, but thats why i have turned to you ladies (and gents) for some help. I need some ideas. How to cook them. What i should just eat raw. Whats most nutritous. Do you see my dilemma? I want to eat them i really do i just need help.

Oh yea p.s i despise lima beans and cooked carrots (raw is okay). I think its a texture thing. THANKS!

[SoulBliss]

Have you checked out the "veggie challenged" area? Lots of good ideas there. Superfoods area is great too!

As far as the most nutritious vegetables go, all the experts I have read, met with, consulted etc., agree that kale, collards and broccoli are at the top. I like them all cooked, not raw. Lightly steamed is great, then tossed with an acid (lemon, vinegar etc.) and a dash of a good oil, some salt and pepper.

Eating a variety of colors, textures and in season is a good way to approach it.

[Tomato]

Try kohlrabi (raw) with Laughing Cow cheese - my favourite combo!

[Ija]

My favorite way to make asparagus is roasted for 8-10 minutes (12 if using thicker spears) at 400 degrees on some foil, lightly covered with olive oil and sprinkled with chopped garlic and salt/pepper. I have this a couple of times every week!

[ddc]

I usually steam vegetables, but sometimes I'll saute in a little canola/butter blend (Land O' Lakes), with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
I use yellow squach, zucchini, onions, carrots, green beans.
My kids won't eat it though
They like the boil bag Green Giant veggies that have buttery sauce mixed in.

Stir frying in a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic is good too.
There are several frozen vegetable medleys that are great for stir fry.

Good luck

[judipurple]

Grillin' is a killin' way to do up the veggies!

If you like asparagus, toss whole spears with a bit of olive oil, garlic powder (or crushed fresh garlic), and some S&P. Preheat the grill, and lay them crosswise across the grates. Roll them periodically, until you see grill marks and they deepen in color - taste one every so often 'til they are done! I sometimes make a sauce (light) to go with them, but even a low fat salad dressing is yummy with the spears.

The above recipe works very well with slices of green and yellow squash, mushrooms, vidalia onions (thick slices), or chunks of cauliflower. Experiment!

In the veggie section, there are bags of coleslaw mix - one of them (put out by Mann's company) is made of broccoli, and is fantastic for eating raw (tossed with a light sesame dressing) or stir-fried with a bit of garlic and ginger, splash on a wee bit of soy sauce. Good stuff! In that same section of the store, there are many choices of pre-prepared veggies to "play" with - good luck and great eating!

[yoyoma]

I love soup from home-made chicken stock with veggies, but it's summer where I live so I don't want to add the heat & humidity to the house from making it .

I am a big fan of frozen veggies bc they dont go bad and prep time is minimized. A lot of times I'll just nuke them and throw some herbs & spices on them (but I'm a hard core veggie lover, so I don't really recommend that for the challenged).

If you want to keep veggies fresh (for grilling, roasting, salads, or whatever) you might buy some of those green produce bags -- I find they really do work.

Here's one idea... if you like tuna salad, you could make some with tuna (or canned salmon or crabmeat) with FF mayo and add chopped celery, fresh herbs, and possibly onion. Spread it on a slab of red pepper instead of a piece of bread. Make tuna melts by putting these in a toaster oven topped with a piece of FF cheese or a sprinkle of parmesan.


Good luck!

[Glory87]

I would definitely recommend roasting - it brings out a great, natural sweetness in the vegetables.

Since you're a veggie newbie, I'll tell you exactly how I do it.

I like to roast the following:

1 medium Sweet potato - I cube them into very small pieces, like smaller than dice (I wash them carefully, but I leave the skin on, you could take the skin off if you wanted - with a peeler). I do this because some vegetables (beets, carrots, sweet potatoes) take longer to roast/get tender than others and I want all my vegetables to be ready at the same time. Sometimes, I chop these "firmer" veggies first and then put them in the oven while I'm chopping the rest of the vegetables so they get to cook a little longer.

1 medium Onion - I like to chop them into thick wedges, they tend to separate a bit when cooking. I usually use purple/red onions because they are prettier (to me).

2 medium Zucchini - cubed, these are "soft" and cook pretty fast

1 beet - very tough, hard to cut, and MESSY. Turns all the other vegetables kinda purply, but worth it. Be careful with your clothes - beets will stain.

1 pepper (red, yellow or orange) - cut into big chunks

a few plum tomatoes - chopped into big chunks

1 can of drained chickpeas (or cut up fresh green beans)

Baby carrots - sliced in half

I put all the vegetables into a metal baking pan with high sides. I add a little olive oil and garlic and then shake everything up. I don't add spices, because I tend to use the roasted vegetables for different things and I like them to be plain so they can be versatile.

I put them in the oven at 400 degrees for around 45 minutes (shaking/stirring them several times).

I like to use them:

With a little pesto over whole wheat pasta.

In a wrap sandwich with hummus.

In an omelet, topped with lots of salsa.

Over whole wheat couscous with a little spicy stir fry sauce drizzled on top.

[EZMONEY]

COURTNEY Angie roasts veggies all the time...just do what Glory said...

but between me and you...leave the beets out...wink

[CandyKisses0204]

Thanks everyone for all the help. I grilled veggies this weekend. Sqush and Zucchini. It was very yummy. LoL gary i might be with you on that. Maybe i will buy just one. And cook it seperate as not to contaminate the other veggies and see how i like it. Hopefully i will become a veggie expert soon. Will be trying all these ways this week. Thanks again everyone

[settie]

I do just what Glory said but I find I have to pre-boil the beets a bit or they just don't cook. I also often add squash and parsnips. Love them and even my kids are starting to eat them.

[JayEll]

Try pickled beets! They are yummy, I think! No need to cook them...

Jay

[luckymommy]

I like to munch on baby carrots and always have them around...along w/ grape tomatoes. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE baked eggplant. I buy the hard eggplants and then, cut it into 1/2 inch circles (keep the cricumference the same). I bake it in an oven until they are very soft and then, drizzle some evoo and salt to taste. I'm going to make some today!

[Miltrez]

I am a veggie lover and so is my son but my husband hates them. However he is in not so great health and is now having to learn to like them. Here are some ideas on ways to get you started on veggies and in a way sneak them in.

1. Since you like fajitas try adding long strips of zucchini in with your onions & peppers.

2. With your salads add a dry spinach leaves. Most resturants do this so people are more used to this than they think. Also they are full of good stuff.

3. Add fresh tomatos chopped or pureed into your tuna along with anything else you add.

4. Add a lowfat sauce to them. The easiest sauce that I know of that can be done in hundreds of ways is low fat yorgut. Just take one package of plain low fat yogrut add your favorite spices like basil (almost any will work). Then you can change it up by adding other things like onions, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, or even lemon juice. Just combine the ones that work togather there are 1000's of possibilities.


5. When ALL ELSE FAILS! If you are trying to learn to like veggies you HATE here is what you do. Cook them any way you like grill, steam, raost but first add your favorite spice, even if it is only pepper, then add Sweet & Low. Yes SUGAR or the fake stuff anyway. As you get more used to the veggies you HATE you will can add less and less Sweet & Low.

[thistoo]

My very favorite is green beans roasted in the oven with some garlic. Just cook them until they start to shrivel and they're perfect. Also wonderful roasted in the oven with a little drizzle of olive oil and some garlic or thyme: asparagus. If you've got a grill, any veggies are good grilled, including asparagus and all squashes.