I'm stuck in a vegetable rut
 

I need some ideas for variety. I'm in a rut, I pretty much eat salads, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, green beans, cucumbers, green peppers and onions all the time. I like pretty much every veggie I've ever had so that's not the issue. When I go to the grocery store I just don't really know what else I can get. Please don't mention summer squash. I love it but I have had it nearly every day for 2 months since it grew like crazy in my garden this year.

It would be nice if you could mention a vegetable and maybe how you like to prepare it. Thanks!

I love to roast brussel sprouts - and luckily, they are a fall product so they are nearly in season.

First, I preheat the oven to 400.

Spray a large baking pan with a little PAM.

Trim the ends off, cut them in half.

Lay them cut side up. Sprinkle generously with salt, drizzle with olive oil.

In the oven for 20 minutes, then flip.

Back in for another 20 minutes (not sure how strong your oven is, you might want to give a few pokes the last 10 minutes).

Crispy and delicious, wish I had some right now.

My favourite vegetable is beets! I roast them with other vegetables in a little olive oil and oregano or boil or roast them on their own and then add a little butter or I make borscht or I make potato salad (potato, beets, lemon juice, salt and a little mayo).

You might want to take a trip to the library and see if they have any good veggie cookbooks. Whenever I get bored of what I am eating I take a trip to the library. Cheapest way to get awesome new ideas. Also there are lots of ways that you could recombine your current roster of veg in new ways just by adding some different spices/ingredients.

Some of my favorites:

Roasted Broccoli
Roasted Cauliflower
Sauteed Kale
Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Sauteed Cabbage
Pan Roasted Green Beans
Sauteed Onions/Peppers/Mushrooms
Tomato "pizzas" (Tomato slices with pesto and mozzarella cheese)
Greek Salad
Cucumber Salad w/ tomatoes
Sauteed zucchini and onions
Beans of any sort
Zucchini and Cheese Bake (from Kalyn's kitchen)

And when I'm in a hurry, the steamfresh veggies will do. :)

Love the Crack Slaw recipe too!

I love the matchstick carrots in a bowl with Ken's light sweet vidalia salad dressing - just the carrots, no lettuce :)

or a lettuceless salad - carrots, diced peppers (all colors), onions, tomatoes, sundried tomatoes for extra flavor, a little mozzarella cheese, cukes, - whatever I have that seems to "go" in there... Sometimes I make this and we are full before our bowls are half empty - so the rest gets saved for the next night. I add warm black beans for protein, too ...

I'm enjoying reading the suggestions, too! OOPS - just saw it was a SBD thread posting - sorry - i have no idea what's on that particular diet.

I like asparagus - either done similarly to how Glory87 prepares her brussel sprouts or plain steamed. You can also do them in a pan with some olive oil and seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic, etc) which gives a similar effect to pan roasting in the oven.

I'm all excited, b/c evenings are getting cool enough to justify making soups. Salads are getting old, aren't they? I made black bean soup for the week at work, and we had chili a few days ago. I can't wait to make the moroccan tagine (http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/soup...an-tagine.html) and the forum's famous black bean and sweet potato soup with lime (http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2010/12...-bean-and.html). OMG - I'm drooling just thinking about them!!

Thanks for all the suggestions and an extra special thanks for taking the extra time to mention how you prepare your veggies. I'm still on P1 so I need to be creative.

I like kabobs, so I'm always trying to figure out how to stick something on a bamboo skewer, I really like a balsamic glaze on my grilled veggies.

The latest thing I've made that I thought was out of this world was "sauteed cheesesteak", just saute all the ingredients you'd normally put on a cheesesteak but leave the bread out & top with cheese.

Something I made with all the squash I had this summer was squash fritters. Grated squash, bread crumbs, egg, salt & pepper, cheese (I don't actually have a real recipe with measurements). Fry in a little olive oil.

Another squash recipe... Turkey sausage, squash, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, cayenne, salt & pepper all cut into bite sized pieces & sauteed in olive oil.

Oh those roasted brussel sprouts sound so good. And so easy! Thank you!

I mix veggies with chiken and turkey.
I marinate chicken breast with lemon juice, plain yogurt, cilantro, ginger garlick paste and,salt Keep it for 1/2 an hour. then I put onion, tomato cubes in it and cook it for 10 minutes and allow it to simmer for another 35 minutes. While simmering I put brussel sprouts ,red green peppers etc
Some times I put 1-2 table spoon of peanutbutter.
In case of ground turkey the process is similar, but cooking time is less and I do not put peanutbutter.

I heart grilled brussel sprouts. I marinate them in a mix of balsamic vinegar with a little touch of olive oil and dijon mustard. Then I cut them in half, skewer them, and grill until done.

I can't wait until we get more brussel sprouts at the farmers market.

Artichokes! Cut the sharp tips of the leaves off, then steam them until the leaves peel off easy (~20 minutes) - I normally put some garlic and lemon in the steaming water. Delicious and you get to feel fancy. I make this for at-home dinner dates with my fiancee.

Zucchini hashbrowns - http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/misc...ashbrowns.html

Eggplant lasagna - http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/entr...ll-phases.html

Portobello mushroom pizza - http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/entr...mushrooms.html

Mushroom bites - http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/side...mushrooms.html

This is a great thread!

Like others have said, I love brussel sprouts even steamed with light salt and smart balance.

Eggplant we often do a baked dish with tomatoes. Asparagus is really good wrapped in very thin bacon. We'd of course sub turkey bacon now for SBD.

Other veggies to try grilling -- eggplant and zucchini -- your balsamic glaze would be fabulous on these. Just be sure to cut them at least half an inch thick so they hold their shape.

Another idea for zucchini is to peel it layer by layer until you have a plate full of paper thin strips, then just sautee them quickly in a hot pan with olive oil (or whatever fat you are allowed) and a little garlic. This is a great pasta substitute.

Spaghetti squash is great too, but i don't know if it's allowed on SB -- if it is, you just cut it in half and put it on a plate with a little bit of water, then stick it in the microwave for 5-10 minutes. It's ready when you can pull the flesh out with a fork and it looks stringy like spaghetti.

I haven't tried it yet, but a friend of mine mentioned ricing cauliflower...sometimes changing the way you serve a veggie can be like reinventing it. You could then have a stirfry served over yoru riced cauliflower.

:)