I'm on a mission to eat more vegetables. There is a gucci fragrance that I just fell in love with that I think I make make into a mini goal. I'll get the fragrance ultimately but it will depend on how long it takes. I said when I reach 61 days of eating green vegetables with my dinner that I will buy myself the fragrance. A dollar a day.
Anywho, I need some suggestions. I would have posted this in the food forum but I wanted to ask here because it seem like I might find more relevant answers.
Here's a staple in our house - grew up on it from my Italian Grandmother a true taste of the old world. It's a nutritional powerhouse.
It takes a little over an hour start to finish including cooking time, but the actual prep is about 10 minutes:
BEANS AND GREENS
In a large stock pot put 3 Cups of Chicken or Vegi Stock (no fat)
Toss in 1 Cup each of diced Onions and Carrots
Toss in 2 chopped cloves of garlic
Simmer for 45 min so the vegis get soft and the stock reduces a bit
Add 2 lb or so of fresh Chopped Swiss Chard (or spinach, or collard greens)
This will look huge, but will cook way down
Once the greens have cooked down add 1-2 cans of drained and rinsed Cannellini Beans or other white beans
Heat for a few minutes, salt and pepper to taste.
OPTIONAL AUTHENTIC PREP (a few more calories, but I think it's worth it, so this is what I do and it's still a very light meal)
Saute the onions and garlic and carrots in 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil before adding the stock
When serving you can drizzle top of your bowl w/ tiny bit of Olive Oil and sprinkle with a bit of freshly grated Parmigiana or Romano Cheese
You can also add a can of whole peeled tomatoes, that you've broken up with your hands. Just for a change.
Often we will cook our own beans from scratch, but this is certainly not necessary and frankly I think I'm the only one in the house who can tell the difference.
Double the recipe and have it for lunch or dinner throughout the week.
A couple of days ago I bought a rotesserie chicken. After we had a couple of meals from it, I put into a pot and boiled it for about two hours gently. I removed it and cooled it in fridge over night. I scooped all the fat off the next morning and then deboned the carcass leaving only meat in the pot and discarding bones and skin. I added every veggie in the house to the pot--diced of course. I added some salt and pepper. Wow. Serious YUM!
If you like soup, make a big pot of homemade vegetable soup! I usually put carrots, peas, corn, onions, celery, potatoes, tomatoes, rutabaga, barley, small pasta, lean stewing beef, and low sodium V8. I always keep a lot of frozen veggies on hand for easy side dishes so I just take a handful from each type and throw it in the pot. Just put whatever you like in it though!
Another idea for packing in lots of variety of veggies is making stir fry. Snow peas, carrots, peppers, onions, garlic, water chestnuts, etc etc. The stir fry combinations are endless!
I also try to serve a side dish of veggies with almost every dinner I make. Simmering green beans with a little bit of low sodium chicken is yummy! Sometimes I add onions to the beans too. Other times I mix a bunch of frozen veggies together and add a bit of salt and pepper or Ms Dash.
Dishes like low cal fake alfredo with chicken, onions, and broccoli are yummy too. Some veggies, like squash and cauliflower, can be substituted for high fat foods like mashed cauliflower in place of mashed potatoes or cauliflower "mac and cheese" etc. People have gotten really creative with hiding veggies in all sorts of dishes. Try looking up Ellie Krieger's recipes on Food Network website.
Good luck! You'll get that lovely fragrance in no time!
Pasta Fagioli, Definitely!
Take out the greens, add the tomatoes and the pasta, and there you have it. On my post I did forget the Italian seasonings. I use whatever I have, but always parsley. In the summer fresh basil. Italian cuisine is an "add what you love to the recipe" type of cooking. That's why it's associated with love.
For vegi dishes, I recommend most Italian cookbooks, you may need to adjust the amount of olive oil a bit, but you'd be surprised that it is not as carbo/pasta oriented as we think. Yummy!
I don't know why I'm online so much today. I'm pretending I shouldn't be working.
They aren't green veggies, but they are a veggie! I LOVE garbanzo beans!
They are super cheap too!
I buy the canned ones (get the lowest sodium you can find) and rinse and drain them.
Then I put them on a foil-lined cookie sheet and rub with a bit of olive oil, some seasonings (garlic powder, lemon pepper, italian herbs) and roast them at 425 for 8-10 minutes. They get golden brown and yummy.
I love green giants frozen veggis and birdseye brand when on sale you can get them for a dollar each. I love them they have so many different varieties. I love the cream spinich. You should def check them out.
Cheapest Vegetable Meal you'd liked
Deliciousness.
