I am so not a vegetable eater-why can't cookies be zero points?!?!?!?!
I try to cook balanced meals for my family. Tell me how you cook your veggies to compliment your dinners. Thanks
We eat veggies as sides, such as asparagus, artichokes, sauteed greens and grated squash and incorporated within our meals. I sometimes add
frozen chopped spinach to enchiladas or lasagne or
just mixed up veggies in pasta dishes.
Tomatoes are veggies, so if you make a nice chunky pasta sauce you are getting at least one if not two
servings of vegetables.
We are definitely taking advantage of the fresh stuff available to us right now- artichokes, asparagus, arugula and greens. Soon it will be lettuce and squash.
If you are cooking something asian, like stir fry, try and incorporate all sorts of greens into your dishes. Curries and indian foods are great foils for cauliflower, carrots and potatoes. Mexican food is great with a lemon/lime coleslaw and salsa.
I am by far NOT a veggie person either!!! To say that I need to eat veggies as a side would gross me out!!! What I do is grind things up and put them in meat....for example, add some carrots (diced really fine) to hamburgers, meatloaf, etc. I also try to put onions and green peppers in as much as possible, since those are two veggies I will eat. I am a startchy veggie kind of girl....a side of peas, corn, green beans with dinner is what I like, but I knowt hey have to be eaten in smaller quantities so I try to get my requirements from the other places. I'm not really much of a salad person either so that doesn't really work for me. I do like brocolli though so try to encorporate that a couple times a week. Hope this helps a little.
I admit it. I am a veggie person. The thing I have noticed with my non-veggie friends is that they like their food seperate. A pile of protiem, a pile of starch, a peice of bread and at most a salad or some limply cooked veggie with no flavor.
Here is how I cook. I get home and toss some olive oil, an onion, and some garlic in a wok. Then I throw in some meat (chicken or steak or tofu cut up small). Then I throw in some veggies. Try a combo of 3-5 ones you like, although not all of these at once (peppers, carrots, chinese cabbage, asparagus, broccoli, zuccini, sun dried tomatoes, eggplant, snow peas, mushrooms, fresh green beans, corn sliced off the cob, kale, chard, .....) Then put of lots of salt and pepper and find a fresh herb that is yummy to throw in.
Now-- if you are in the mood for
italian food: top with grated parmasan and sour cream -- this tends to be good with carrots, sundried tomatoes, mushrooms and zuccini and serve over spinach or garlic fettucini
mexican food: top with cilantro, cumin, salsa, chedder cheese and roll it up in a tortilla -- this tends to be good with carrots, peppers, and zuccini
greek food: top with balsamic viniger and feta cheese and serve with warm french bread to smear into the vinager
thai food: top with a glop of peanut butter, some lime juice, cilantro, rice wine vinigar and hot peppper sauce and server over pad thai noodles
chinese: pour over some teriaki sauce and sesame oil and serve over rice.
Any of the above meals takes me under 1/2 hour to cook. I use at most 2 pans (if I make rice or pasta) and only one if I use just the wok or a big nonstick skillet. When we have friends over they freak out and act like it is a gourmet meal.
And best of all. It takes no special shopping trips. I just keep my veggie drawer full and work with what I have. I would say in an average meal we get 2-3 cups of veggies with dinner.
If you are even in more of a hurry (or to lazy to chop things), then buy a frozen stir fry veggie packet in the freezer section of your grocery store and follow the directions on the back.
Stick just about anything (not cucumbers) on the grill with a bit of olive oil, basil, and garlic brushed on. Serve as finger food with some ranch or some other flavor of dressing.
I have lost 50 lbs eating this way since last August. Just don't go overboard at first. Two much fiber on a system that isn't used to it can cause discomfort. Work your way up to it.
Thank you all!! These ideas of how to hide veggies in foods that my daughter wouldn't really notice are just great. I especially like the stir fry and the lasagna ideas!! If there are any more great ideas out there, let us know....I need all the help I can get! Thanks in advance.
googies
By the way, Diamondwife , green beans are free. Unless you meant to write green peas.
Roasted veggies are also delicious. In a roasting pan, chunks of zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, onions, whole garlic cloves, spray with olive oil or other oil spray, salt & pepper. Roast in oven at 400 degrees for about an hour. Turn them occasionally. Delicious. Of course, you can also roast potatoes and sweet potatoes that way.
I'm also a veggie lover. I do all of the things that others have suggested.
One other thing I do that's a little different solved an additional problem I had. When I went through the booklets we got from WW, I discovered that I need to do mini meals. That means really small portions of food so I don't run out of points. What I did to increase my satiety was to add a 0-2 point per serving veggie-filled soup and a salad to every lunch and dinner. (I also eat one side dish veggie or put veggies in the main dish.) The soup and salad fills me up and keeps the total points within my allotment. I also eat soup and salad as my mid-afternoon mini meal and often have that for lunch, too. I add beans and rice or pasta to the soup when I eat it as the main dish.
BTW--The mini meals worked out great. I love eating that way. I don't get hungry anymore and I feel healtier and have more energy. I don't recommend everyone eat that way, but I do recommend doing the quizzes in the "Meal Time" booklet to find out what is likely to be the best eating pattern for you.
My kids really like the soup. They think I should open a soup and bread restaurant. It's the only way (aside from hiding grated veggies in other foods) that I can get my ypungest son to eat any kind of veggies.
Morrigan -
It sounds like you and I cook very similarly - like you, I prefer my veggies and protein cooked all together, sort of stir-fry style, rather than using veggies as side dishes. I love your "ethnic variation" ideas - thanks!
Another way that I use veggies in main dishes is by baking them with fish or chicken in foil packages. This method has lots of advantages - it's foolproof, it maintains moisture beautifully, it requires no fat at all (the veggies exude juices which prevent the meat from sticking), and there's no clean-up. Good deal!
My current favorites:
Scallops, mushrooms, onions, and zucchini, with a little ginger, garlic, and soy or teriyaki sauce, in the wok.
Catfish, with tomatoes, garlic, asparagus, lemon slices, and capers baked in foil (in the oven or on the grill!)
Oh, I really feel for you people who don't like veggies. I adore them and have no idea how I could stay full and happy without handfuls of veggies every day.
Anyone want to share ideas on making 0- or 1-point veggie soup? I use the WW recipe as a base, but omit the zucchini (its texture rubs me the wrong way), increase the cabbage, and add cubed turnips and sliced mushrooms. I also usually throw in one cupful of mixed frozen corn and peas--my standard potful includes six servings, so the added points are negligible.
But I'm getting tired of this combo, and I always like to have frozen containers of this stuff around for when I'm lazy/in a hurry/out of points. What do you guys put in your soup--besides beans and pasta and cheese and starchy vegetables--to keep it interesting?
I am almost embarrassed to chime in here because I am the queen of lazy. I read all the neat stuff you guys do and then think HMM.....
I buy a lot of frozen veggies in bags, one of my favorite is the California blend of carrots, cauliflower and broc and then heat in microwave with just a little water. We spray them with butter spray or melt a little lite cheese over them.
I read one time several months ago in Prevention magazine, I believe, that veggies eaten with just a little fat are absorbed more quickly nutrition wise. Have no idea if that is true!!!!
because I am the queen of lazy. I read all the neat stuff you guys do and then think HMM.....
