I am struggling with getting enough veggies in my diet. I get some raw vegetables in salad but don’t love salad, so get tired of it quickly. I cook green beans but love them best cooked the southern way with too much oil. My mainstay vegetable right now is frozen broccoli that I steam in the microwave using those steaming bags. I am afraid that I will burn myself out with them as I have that most nights. I have started bring a bag of carrots to work with me for the munchies - still don’t love it but am trying.
What vegetables do you eat and how do you prepare them?
wowza, i eat loads of veggies, my favourite are courgettes (zuchini) brocolli, red cabbage, spinach and peppers.
i just put veggies into everything, i make random stir frys, random oven roasting of veggies is always good.. no oil needed carrots are amazing when roasted with some cumin.
I have a "green shake" made with frozen spinach and other stuff for breakfast every morning.
At lunch I eat baby carrots, a couple handfuls of fresh spinach, half an avocado, and whatever veggies are in my lunch entree (generally a stir-fry type of thing with meat and veggies leftover from the previous night's dinner).
At snack I drink some vegetable juice.
At dinner usually we eat some kind of meat and a big green salad or stir-fried veggies--broccoli, peppers, mushrooms, onions, other.
Pretty frequently we like to make sweet-potato "fries." (Check the South Beach recipes forum for the recipe.) Soooo yummy and everyone in the family enjoys them.
Generally I get 6 to 9 servings of veggies in per day.
How about cauliflower? It can be cooked and mashed as a lower calorie (and carb) alternative to potatoes. Or, one of my faves at the moment: the outer leaves of Brussels sprouts baked in the oven until crisp.
I also make big pans of soup with whatever veggies are in season. Just add whatever herbs and spices float your boat, along with stock or water, and Bob's your uncle! If you take out a quarter to a third, blend it, and return to the pan, it thickens it up quite nicely.
I go through phases with veggies. I love most all of them, but I tend to get hooked on one particular thing and stick with it for a while.
Right now it's roasted broccoli, roasted asparagus, roasted or mashed cauliflower, and cabbage in just about any form.
I've also been kinda hooked on butternut squash and eggplant recently.
But on any given day I might eat any of the following:
zucchini
yellow (crookneck) squash
winter squash (including but not limited to butternut, acorn, and spaghetti)
asparagus
broccoli
cauliflower
carrots and celery (my standby for dipping in hummus)
radishes (I love radishes, they're just so fiddly to prepare)
cabbage (red and green)
kale
eggplant
baby spinach
frozen chopped spinach
snow peas
edamame
baby peas (usually frozen 'cause they're hard to find fresh)
beets (fresh, not pickled)
canned diced tomatoes
I'm with the person above who makes veggie soup and just throws in whatever. I start with a stock base (whatever I have in the freezer) and chop up whatever veggies I have in the crisper, toss in a can of diced tomatoes (juice and all), and simmer until done. Mmmm. Yummy and usually really low cal.
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Last edited by PhotoChick; 12-04-2008 at 01:50 PM.
Is roasted the same as grilled? On the Forman grill, I will do asparagus drizzled with olive oil. Seasoned with sea salt for added crunch.
For Thanksgiving, our host made a pan fried, fresh greenbeans with garlic and olive oil. In the last minute of cooking, added fresh basil and tomatos. Took about 8minutes total cooking time. Delicious!
Mushrooms, raw or cooked, another absolute favorite.
I have a microwave steamer that is good for cooking fresh veggies. For frozen veggies, I find they have enough water that they can steam in the microwave without any help. Although I used to put a wet papertowel on the veggies to steam them in the microwave.
I'm addicted to winter squash lately
Pumpkin puree - I add this to bean/lentil dishes to make them creamier. I also will add it to oatmeal/hot cereal and most recently yogurt. For the hot cereal/yogurt, I add cinnamon, ginger and cloves along with a bit of sweetener (stevia).
Butternut squash - I bought some cut up squash at Costco and steamed it in my microwave steamer. I can eat it just plain or with my lentils/bean dishes.
Other winter squashes - Cut in half/quarters and roast in the oven, scoop out flesh and eat. May sprinkle with salt/pepper.
Sweet potatoes - I will often roast sweet potatoes. My new favorite are japanese sweet potatoes.
Canned tomatoes - I go through tons of can tomatoes. I add them to various recipes. I generally add them to lentils/beans that I make.
Greens - I love greens. I will usually braise greens or steam them. I will use frozen or fresh.
Eggplant (japanese or chinese) - I will either roast slices in the toaster oven or cut into chunks and cook with some diced tomatoes, a bit of water and some spices.
Summer squash - I love summer squash like zucchini. I will either roast slices in my toaster oven or will braise with some onions on the stove. Sometimes I'll also add hominy to the mixture and maybe some diced tomatoes.
Brussel sprouts - I love brussel sprouts and especially fresh. I steam it in my microwave steamer. For frozen, I'll just microwave.
Green beans - Fresh I will either roast in my toaster oven or steam in microwave steamer. For frozen, I'll just microwave. I often use these as a base to put saucy dishes on like curried lentils.
Cauliflower - Fresh, I will cut it up and either steam it in microwave or roast in toaster oven. Frozen, I will microwave.
Frozen veggie mixes - I will buy various frozen veggie mixes and just microwave them.
Other - I love veggies so generally I will just pick up whatever that looks interesting at the grocery store. There really isn't a veggie I don't like.
I saute in some vegetable broth zuchini, brocoli, shredded carrot, celery, onion, garlic (anything really that tickles my fancy or that I have laying around the fridge). Then I add it to some plain tomato sauce and simmer for awhile. Don't forget to add what ever seasoning you like. Just before serving I blend it all up in a blender so that none of the vegetables are recognizable...lol. I started doing this with the kids so that I could sneak in extra veggies without them noticing. But it is very yummy.
I make a big pot at a time and freeze leftovers.
Obviosly I use it as spaghetti sauce, I also mix in some cooked ground turkey breast and serve on whole wheat buns for Turkey Joe's. I use it as a base for a tomato based soup. It is very versatile and vegetable dense.
Nope. Just willing to try things with an open mind.
If you go into trying something thinking "I won't like this" then most likely you won't.
If you go into trying something saying "I wonder what this tastes like" or "I wonder how I can fix this" you're more likely to enjoy it.
Much of not liking a certain food or a certain food type is mental. You can psych yourself out of just about anything with very little effort.
That's not to say there aren't foods I don't like either. I'm not a big fan of brussels sprouts - they just taste bitter to me - although I'm willing to try them again at some point. And I personally don't like milk, not because of the taste, but because of the way it feels in my mouth.
But in general when approached with a new food, I try it open mindedly and with the attitude that .. hey this is something I might like.
I never cared much for veggies until I decided to like them. I started with veggies that I liked and just kept introducing veggies and experimenting with them.
Photochick - Brussel sprouts are bitter if you don't cook them thoroughly.
^ I defiantly agree with what your saying photochick.
Just in the past year I have been more receipting to other foods, but just still cant seem to let myself enjoy a tomato, eggplant, squash, zucchini etc.. I have defiantly given them their chance, but still the same. Who knows maybe down the line when I try them again things might be different....
But, ultimately I know that I have to try harder to 'teach' my tastebuds....
Last edited by mudskippersgrl; 12-04-2008 at 02:50 PM.
What veggies do you eat?
