Veggies
 

Does anyone have any ideas for the 2 cups of veggies. I have been having the steamfresh garlic cauliflower twice a day for my cups of veggies and I am not really diggin them anymore. Is there anyone that would help me come up with some more ideas?
Thank you!

Once a week I buy a variety of veggies I like that are approved, cut them all up and measure 2C. Put them in ziplock baggies so I can just grab and go in the morning. I usually add these to my lunch salad or I add to a omlete for supper. I am a total grab and go type gal so I need to premeasure and have it ready or I won't do it. All it takes is one night a week so it's not too bad. I also love the mocktato salad, it makes a lot and usually lasts a few days. :)

[QUOTE=harleygirl22;3665728]Does anyone have any ideas for the 2 cups of veggies. I have been having the steamfresh garlic cauliflower twice a day for my cups of veggies and I am not really diggin them anymore. Is there anyone that would help me come up with some more ideas?
Thank you![/QU

Check out the recipe thread there are leterally 100's of recipes there for veggies. YUM!!

Thank you so much!!

We bought a steamer at Walmart for about $20 and use it daily. Things we like to fix are:
slices of zucchini and yellow squash
radishes (taste a bit like new potatoes when steamed)
asparagus
broccoli (presoak in water that contains minced garlic and sea salt)
cabbage and snow peas
brussel sprouts

We also fix foil packets that contain zucchini, mushrooms and green onions, seasoned with Mrs. Dash, 2 tsp. EVOO and sea salt. Fold aluminum to seal in moisture and bake in 350 degree oven for approx. 15 minutes.

Use fresh or frozen brussel sprouts, slice in half, saute in 2 Tbs. EVOO for 10 minutes, then place in baking dish with 1/4 fat-free chicken broth, sprinkle with minced garlic and cover with foil. Bake for 10-15 minutes.

Saute fresh green beans in 2 Tbsp. EVOO over hot heat until turning brown at the tips. Add 1/4 cup lite soy sauce, garlic, onion powder, and mineral salt. Cover and let simmer over low heat until tender.

I hope this helps. Keeping a variety in your diet goes a long way to helping you stay on protocol. Good luck!

For those that are new. (according to the sheet my coach gave me) Peas are not allowed, too carby. Green beans and brussel sprouts are occasional veggies. Can't wait until I can eat alllll the veggies!!

I made veggie soup last night, I'm pretty excited to try it today - something new ... something that isn't salad! :P Although I will still have my salad with the soup I just won't add as many veggies to it. I just worry a bit about trying new foods, it seems like I'm doing good just sticking to salad for lunch I'd hate to add soup and stall out!? :( Hopefully it doesn't effect me.

I have been bored with my salad and 2 cups of cucumber so I mixed it up today. I roasted 2 cups of fresh asparagus that was tossed in EVOO and sea salt. (400 degrees, 12 min) It was sooo yummy. My tummy is full and satisfied.

I do a saute of spinach, mushroom, zuchinni. I season it with some garlic, sea salt, pepper. Then toss with a fresh spritz of lemon juice.

I also roast a big pan of 1c. broccoli, 1c. cauliflower, 10-12 spears asparagus, 1c. mushroom, 1 bulb fennel cut in wedges, 2 or 3 of baby turnip or baby rutabaga (you can use any size/age though as long as it is about 1c chopped)and about 4 cloves of garlic (whole in skin). (altogether it is about 8 cups of veggies so, I plan for 4 servings of the mix when done. I roast them at about 450 for 25 - 30 min; just til the veggies are soft and browned the asparagus is sometimes darker. Then remove the garlic from the skins, mash it, toss it with the veggies, sea salt, and pepper. You can also add a bit of finely chopped thyme, oregano, or rosemary to the veggies when cooking. I have used a lemon dijon dressing to top this with too. It is yummy. Because you get so many servings it is something I can put away and rewarm later.

I've only been on the program for two weeks now so I'm still learning. But everyweek after WI I go get my veggies for the week, come home and clean and cut them all that way they are ready to grab and use. This is one of my favorite parts of the program, trying new veggies.

Almost everynight I have a stir fry. I play around with the veggies I combine and seasonings I put in to make a differnt taste each night. Sometimes there are leftovers, as I'm cooking for my B/F as well so I don't measure the veggies, I take the left over for Lunch.

Right now I have an addiction to the Kale chips!

Keep experimenting, there are lots of ideas on the Receipes thread.

My husband likes okra (yuck!), so I'm cooking up some frozen cut okra with a bit of Rotel, onions, and shrimp for him tonight.

I love okra! It is great if you add it to a stew. The goo that comes from the okra makes a great thickener for the gravy of the stew!

Besides pickled, I also like it Indian style all spiced up as a curry.

Just a cross post of something I shared on the topic in today's daily chat.

I actually got to a point I was tired of cooking every meal. I started making a big bowl of lettuce and a smaller bowl of mixed chopped veggies. I would just grab some from each, toss it and make my salads. It was faster.

I also roasted a large pan or two of veggies, then I would just re heat them.

Then, I prechopped and measured bags 2 cup mixed (or of one type):
broccoli, cauliflower, mushroom,
celery, snow pea, red pepper, onion,
asparagus,
bracollini, mushroom, onion,
bracolli rabe, rapini, mixed greens (dandelion/turnip/kale/mustard/collard/beet),
fresh spinach, red pepper, mushroom, onion
zucchini/yellow summer squash
cabbage, celery, onion, turnip, orange pepper
green beans, sometimes with red pepper and/or onion
shelled edamame, black soy beans, mushroom, celery, bean sprout, snow pea
bok choy, mushroom, onion

(any mixture that sounds appealing to you is good)

Then I could just reach in and grab a bag or 2 and make what I wanted in a steamer or saute. Not thinking about it for every meal, of every day was helpful.

I also would grill a bunch of veggies when I made chicken or meat and use those for a few days.

I also made use of pickled asparagus, pickled okra, pickled celery, pickled mushroom, or pickles. They were a nice change to munch on or have in salads.

I would roast radishes and asparagus too. That was a nice new thing.

I did grilled or broiled romaine and cabbage. I could season it with a bit of oil, sea salt, pepper and it was YUM. And, it was warm.

I made sauted cucumbers with dill. Also cucumber, tomato, onion salad with a Herbs/vinegar/oil/splenda type dressing.

If you haven't tried the turnip fries or rutabaga fries, they are worth doing for most people. The same goes for the kale. Others like zucchini chips.

I also made a pot of mixed vegetable soup. I would get my large stock pot out, put in my homemade chicken broth or low sodium broth and water. Then I added any mix of veggies including onion, tomatoes, garlic, celery, greens, summer squashes, zucchini, etc. I made sure I knew how many cups of veggies went in and figured each portion as 1c cup. If I wanted a cup it was 1 portion. If I wanted a bowl it was 2 portions. I then could have a meal with soup, salad, meat and vegetables. It was interesting and filling on days I was feeling more hungry.

I made rice and spanish rice, risotto, cous cous, and "mashed potatoes" from cauliflower.

I made "mashed potatoes" from turnip, rutabaga, a blend of both or a blend with cauliflower.

I made vegetable loaf, like meat loaf, with shredded, pulses or finely processed veggies, egg white, seasoning, and IP soup. Baked, sliced, and ate.

I made shredded zuchinni hash browns/pancakes.

I made stuffed veggies: cabbage, mushroom, tomato, eggplant

A modified ratatouille can be done.

I made a layered veggie dish, lasagna style, with strips of zucchini, eggplant, peppers, asparagus, portobello mushrooms, all layered together with olive oil, salt and pepper and baked.

I used lettuce (2 or 3 leaves each side) to make sandwiches, to wrap hamburger or chicken.

I grilled thick slices of egg plant or zucchini to make panini

I used mushroom caps to hold hamburger or turkey burger (small caps for sliders)


Get creative! There are lots of ways to work in veggies. I hope you find what works for you!

Hey Carla what do you use in your lemon dijon dressing to make it or is it a premade.

Not premade. I made it from scratch. Just a recipe somewhere on the internet I suppose. I constantly am finding them.

Ingredients

* 1/4 cup water
* 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 2 teaspoons olive oil
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 2 garlic cloves, minced

Combine first 7 ingredients in a small bowl, and stir with a whisk until well-blended.


It is for a romaine salad actually. But, I use it lots of other places.

I have another recipe that uses mustard, lemon and, thyme.

And a third recipe that uses lemon, mustard and, garlic.

PS... found it! This was a cooking light recipe from Oct 1997. It is for a romaine salad with croutons and cheese. I leave those off of course.

Thank you so much for all of your ideas with veggies! It is so nice to have this and to get others info and ideas. I'm on the last 1/2 of this diet. I have 12/13pds left to loose and I feel like someone put it on slow motion! It is glued on I know it! Haha!! I have found some sliced yellow frozen squash at Walmart and I would fry that up in a couple cap fulls of olive oil. When I looked at the nutritional facts it has 3 or 4 gram of carbs and 2 or 3 grams of sugar, but I asked my coach and she said no squash and I was wondering if anyone knew why? I can't wait to bring back cheese! Oh how I miss you! Haha!!

Thank you again!

WOW!!

I purchased a silicone steam case from Costco and it is my 'new' favourite way to cook veggies using either the microwave or oven. Did a fantastic job with asparagus the other day.

What is Okra? I have seen it mentioned a few times now...

I just got one of those too but I haven't used it yet... I will have to take a look at the little recipe book it came with to get some ideas!

Another dumb question - what is fennel? I don't get out much.......

I'm glad you asked what fennel and okra are, I've seen it mentioned lots too but I have never cooked with either of them!?

After reading so many rave reviews on the kale chips I bought a bunch of kale last night and plan to make them tonight!?!? :o Hopefully my taste buds are similar to everyone elses!? ;)

I'm not an okra afficionado and there are many, believe it or not. [OK, I was joking, sorta.]

But I LOVE fennel. Here's the best and simpleist recipe I've ever found: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/26/dining/26mini.html And If you haven't run into Mark Bittman before, you're in for a treat. Try watching the video (under Related) after you read the short article which will, I think, answer the question better than I can.

Oh - that salad recipe looks yummy and super easy!! I'll def try that!! :) Thanks for sharing!

OKRA.. a vegetable used in Southern, African, and Indian/Asian dishes. Known in many English-speaking countries as lady's fingers or gumbo. The products of the plant are mucilaginous, resulting in the characteristic "goo" or slime when the seed pods are cooked; the mucilage contains a usable form of soluble fiber. While many people enjoy okra cooked this way, others prefer to minimise sliminess; keeping the pods intact and cooking quickly help to achieve this. To avoid sliminess, okra pods are often briefly stir-fried, or cooked with acidic ingredients such as citrus, tomatoes, or vinegar. A few drops of lemon juice will usually suffice. Alternatively the pods can be sliced thinly and cooked for a long time, so that the mucilage dissolves, as in gumbo. (borrowed from wikipedia)

I find I like the pods that are 4" or smaller. The texture and flavor are better.

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z.../baby_okra.jpg

This is what Fennel looks like. It is also called anise in USA supermarkets (although it is not). It adds a mild sweet, licorice flavor. I find it is common to Mediterranean cooking. You can use the seeds, the leaves, and the bulb. It makes a great little salad.
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...mie/Fennel.jpg

Thanks Carla ... think I'll pass on the Okra !?? I don't do well with slimmy veggies?!? :s LOL

Look also for pickled okra. This is a good treat right out of the jar. Just like pickles. Tastes great! Be sure to look at the lables, not all are the same and some contain sugars.

We grow okra, and it is amazing if you can find it fresh. Slice lengthwise up to the stem, spray with olive oil Pam, season with Cajun seasonings, and throw on the grill. Broiler works, too!

Also, try ground meat (any works, but my favorite is deer), a can of Rotel, and sliced okra. Cook in a sautee pan, then transfer to a baking dish, add cheese (phase 2-4), and bake until cheese is melted. SO good!

OH NO!! That wasn't what I was hoping for! You really should try it, several ways in fact. When it is properly cooked, it isn't slimy. AND, when making a stew the slime factor is a great low carb thickener.

Fried or baked okra is very good. Pickled okra is fantastic! Crisp, with lots of texture! It is fantastic in an Indian curry (bhindi or bindi would be in the name or ingredients of the recipe). Added to stews or gumbos, something like Jolie suggests, is a great thing too!

Try it! You may find something your really enjoy.

That sounds GOOD! I have done somethings similar but that sounds quick and easy! I think, you could still do a cheese on phase 1. I just wouldn't have any milk that day and make sure the cheese was lightly applied at about 1oz per serving and of a zero or 1 carb variety.

It is out of season right now but, I enjoyed so much of it this year when the farmers market had it fresh!

I like to throw a hand full of spinach and half of a pepper into my ninja. I am sure a blender would do :) Then mix it with 5 oz hamburger and fry in a pan. Yummm.....it is so good. I love it! Anytime I have hamburger I take a paper towel and pat it when I put it on my plate. I usually have hardly any grease but I still like to get that little bit out. Oh yeah and I sprinkle with sea salt while it is frying.

Here is another older thread with veggie ideas!!!