I learned this trick from an elderly woman I was renting a room from during my college days...
Use a hammer and a large knife (I now use one knife strictly for cutting my rutabagas).
1. Pierce the rutabaga with the point of the knife
2. Now place the blade perpendicular to the surface of the rutabaga in the spot you just pierced.
3. Take your hammer and hit the top of the blade. Keeping hitting along the top blade. For very large rutabagas, you'll need to pull the knife out after going down about half way, and rotate the rutabaga , and repeat process. I will quarter it and then peel it..easier for me to handle.

Forgive me for sounding dumb...but to figure out how much veggie you are getting per blended portion...do you
1. Add up the total cups of raw veggies you're putting into the blender
2. Divide this number by 2 (2c veggie per meal)= number of portions made =[b]
2. Now puree and measure the blended amount = [c]
3. Divide this number [c] by the number of portions [b] = d
4. d is the amount of puree you can have at one meal

Exactly. I would make my puree and split it immediately into 1 cup portions, because i have 1c spinach in breakfast smoothie, and 1c veggie in my lunch soup. So 5 cup raw chopped veggies, after roasting and pureeing would immediately get parsed into 5 pyrex bowls. It kept the right amount and i had lunch ready to grab and go for the week. All i needed was to remember my packet!

WOW! You just made the rest of my week so much easier!! I keep doing 2 days at a time...hmmm....I think I'll go with your method for the future!

Thanks

Zucchini
Mushrooms
Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Sauce
Ground Turkey or Lean Ground Beef
Fresh Basil
Italian Spices (oregano, thyme, S&P)
Minced Garlic
EVOO

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
1. Brown your meat, drain, and set aside
2. Heat a fry pan and add 1 tsp. EVOO.
3. Lightly sauté the garlic until translucent.
4. Slice the zucchini into long 'pasta strips'.
5. Add the thyme, oregano, salt and pepper.
6. Grill the strips of zucchini and mushroom slices for a few minutes.
7. Arrange on a lightly EVOO sprayed lasagna dish:
1/3 zucchini, 1/3 of ground turkey, 1/3 of mushroom slices, 1/3 basil leaves, 1/3 puree
Repeat layering twice more, topping with the puree
8. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.

*Fun with zucchini AND purees!
*IF you have cleared it with your coach - an option is to top with some veggie cheese before placing it in the oven. I know some folks use this sparingly.

bump

1 Cucumber
2 Limes - Juice & Zest (Lemons work great too!)
2-4 tbsp Sweetener (to taste)
Fresh Mint (or infusion of choice, if desired)
1/2 cup Water
1/2 packet Knox Unflavored Gelatin (~10 calories, all collagen/protein)
Optional: 1-2 Egg Whites

1. In the blender add Water and optional liquid Egg Whites, sprinkle in Gelatin and allow it to dissolve ~1-2 minutes. You want the collagen to dissolve in liquid so it gets incorporated in your ingredients evenly
2. Meanwhile, slice Cucumber lengthwise, deseed with a spoon, and rough chop the Cucumber.
3. Place Cucumber in the blender with Zest, Juice, Sweetener, and Mint.
4. Purée until smooth.
5. Pour in an ice cream maker or freeze in a tray and puree when solid.

*This is simply delicious - reminds me of a margarita!
*Something light and refreshing in these hot summer months - frozen puree!
*The gelatin and optional egg white turn it from a 'sorbet' into a creamier 'sherbet', for more on ice cream: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/4450130-post94.html

Cucumber
1-2 stalks Celery
1 cup Chicken Broth
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp chopped fresh dill

1. Bring the Chicken Stock, Salt, & Pepper to a boil in a small saucepan and reduce the heat slightly; boil until reduced to 1/2 cup.
2. Split the Cucumbers lengthwise and remove the seeds with a spoon.
3. Puree Cucumbers and Celery stalks in a food processor along with 2 teaspoons fresh dill until smooth, allow to settle ~1 minute and drain excess liquid.
4. Add the puree to the chicken stock, whisk well.

*This would work GREAT over a nice 8oz piece of salmon!
*I tried this recipe and after pureeing the cucumbers had a good deal of liquid - it turned out more like 'soup' than 'sauce'. I will try this again, draining some of the water and adding some celery stalks for structure and update the recipe appropriately.

Oh my gosh this sounds SO GOOD. Do you think it would work with lime juice and cilantro in place of vinegar and dill? Wasn't sure if the vinegar was just for acid levels or another reason...

Lime or lemon juice would probably work even better - I am editing it now! Oops - and I think the dill was a C&P from the dill sauce puree I brought over - editing that now too!

Sundays are my 'puree days' for my weekday lunches. It just makes the hectic Mon-Fri routine go so much smoother to have things 'grab & go' ready. I think that's one of the keys to this, you can just make a gigantic batch and not have to worry about it the rest of the week. I'm pretty lazy, or as I like to think of it "efficient", with my cooking methods so I want to get the biggest bang out of my time in the kitchen. That's one of the reasons my menus usually look exactly the same during the week. But at first it's probably a good idea to make small batches and figure out what you like and what works - don't want to be stuck with a gigantic bowl of something you don't like (although you could always puree it with something else you do like).

I made a batch of the cauliflower/celery/garlic puree this morning and added some to my IP broccoli and cheese soup packet at lunch today, along with another cup of broccoli and cauliflower. OMG, it was sooo good! It really thickened up the soup and the garlic gave it an awesome flavor! I felt like I was eating a super fattening broccoli and cheese soup from a restaurant. LizRR, thanks so much for posting these recipes. I'll definitely be trying many more of these!

HOLY COW this was amazing!! I was getting sick of the same old way I've been eating my veggies, but broccoli and cauliflower are always on sale. Tried this one for tonight's dinner, and it was amazing!! The key is definitely the roasted garlic - I used 5 cloves. And the celery - it adds a lightness, like Liz said. The depth of flavor in this was incredible, and something I've been looking for with IP veggies. I will definitely be trying the other recipes. Thanks Liz!!!

Thanks for the suggestions!

Oh my, i've got to make this, THANK YOU SO MUCH LIZRR!!!