[CinnamonGirl]

Originally Posted by azmom

Cinnamon girl-

I have not baked with Stevia. I really try to stay away from "sweet" baked items, even with Stevia because I am afraid they may trigger me wanting to eat too much and want sweetie things more. I also use it with unsweetened Kool-Aid...I love the watermelon-cherry flavor!!

Have you tried the flavored liquid stevias made by Sweetleaf? The french vanilla is my favorite. Sooo good in my coffee. They make other flavors like lemon drop, mandarin orange, grape, and a bunch of others. They sell them at Sprouts or Wild Oats markets. I live in Arizona I don't know if they have them where you live. Another thing I mix with the french vanilla flavor is plain yogurt and Kashi Go Lean cereal. I really like it and it keeps me full for hours.

azmom

I totally get the trigger thing so can understand if that's not for you. I make homemade scones for breakfast usually on the weekends. It's really the only baked good I make or eat. It took about a year to perfect the recipe so they weren't too sweet so I'm a bit nervous to try the switch to Stevia. I think I will try it though and see how they turn out. If they're horrible then I'll just toss them out and try again.

I'm not really a big fan of sweet drinks or cereal but that liquid flavored french vanilla sounds good in yogurt. I usually eat plain yogurt but sometimes it is too sour and tastes more like sour cream than yogurt. Might be good with tart berries. Thanks for the suggestion. We have Whole Foods and Trader Joe's here. I'll also look at our local co-op, they might carry it.

Beth

[CinnamonGirl]

Originally Posted by WaterRat

Has anyone tried roasting frozen veggies? I have lots of frozen green beans, which I'm not crazy about (texture mainly), so I'd like to try roasting them. Oh well, I should just try. If it doesn't work, I'm not out much but time.

And while you all are on the subject of roasting veggies...

How do you oven roast veggies? What temp and for how long? Do you hover over the oven with the broiler on?

Beth

[sugarlove]

The only trouble I can see with frozen veggies (I've never tried them myself), is the higher water content - they will expel a lot of water in the oven that might need draining off, otherwise they won't properly roast and get all caramelized.

Here's how I roast my veggies - I preheat the oven to about 425-450, line a pan with foil and peel/chop whatever I'm going to cook. I toss the veggies with a little bit of extra-virgin olive oil, any seasonings, then spread them out on the pan. Place in the oven and roast until done to your liking - in my case, that's when the edges are deep golden and caramelized, and the veggies are fully cooked. The timing will vary - beans and asparagus don't tend to take too long, but something like sweet potatoes (my other love) take a good 30-40 minutes.

[CinnamonGirl]

Oh, OK so if you were going to do a bunch of different veggies (peppers, beans, carrots, potatoes, yams, corn, onion) you'd have to keep adding veggies as they roasted so say the peppers and beans wouldn't get over done, right?

Have you done this on a BBQ grill? Is it a similar thing or can you do those all together for the same amount of time?

Beth

[grammpaula]

We just had a nice veggie stir-fry for dinner. I used green and red peppers, onion, carrots, garlic, bok choy, peapods, broccoli and cauliflower. I added a little soy sauce and served over brown rice. YUM.

I made roasted asparagus the other day. I also just tossed with EVOO and a little salt and pepper. It made a nice side dish.

I've become a lot more inventive since I've found you ladies.

[sugarlove]

It kind of depends - you can roast mixed veggies in a couple of ways. One, you can keep similar veggies together (carrots, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, turnip, squash, etc.) so the "blend" all cooks at the same rate. Two, you can cut the longer cooking veggies into much smaller pieces than the faster cooking ones, so they should all be ready at roughly the same time. Three, you can do as you've suggested....start the potatoes, beets, etc. earlier, then add the asparagus, beans, etc. closer to the end of the cooking time. If I'm mixing them, I tend to just throw in the faster cooking stuff at the end - it just seems easier to me

I did do veggies on the BBQ a couple of times last summer - like in the oven, things will cook at different times so you kind of have to apply the same ideas. If I'm doing brochettes, I typically use things like peppers, onions, mushrooms....things that don't take too long anyways, so it's alright that they're all on the same skewer.

Fresh grilled corn on the cob is DELICIOUS, and can be cut from the cob to make a great corn salad. Zucchini slices are also awesome done on the grill - once they're cooked, you can add a little olive oil, lemon juice, mint, and garlic....awesome served warm or even at room temperature. And I love roasted peppers done on the grill - I only have an electric oven and so can't get that great smokey flavor using the stove. I slice them into strips after they've roasted, add some grilled onions and (again!) a little olive oil - delicious on top of anything from chicken to pasta.

[ennay]

I honestly dont worry about the cooking time too much, or the temp. If I am making something else in the oven I use whatever temp the oven is already set to. Evoo, s &p. Line the pan with foil, stir occasionally. I've never tried with frozen though.

[rockinrobin]

I recently made a bunch of different vegetables roasted. I find the cauliflower and brussel sprouts take a lot longer then the asparagus and the green beans. What I did was par-boiled the cauliflower and brussel sprouts and then added it to the other veggies so they would all be ready at the same time. It was an extra step, but it all came out really good.

[CinnamonGirl]

Originally Posted by rockinrobin

...What I did was par-boiled the cauliflower and brussel sprouts and then added it to the other veggies so they would all be ready at the same time. It was an extra step, but it all came out really good.

Ooh, great idea!

Beth

[Glory87]

Originally Posted by sweet_talker

#2. We have lots of different types of bread available, I know to ignore the white breads, but when it comes down to breads that are more "whole" I am at a loss. Which is best: whole grain, whole wheat, 7 grain...? Do you see my conundrum?

Any whole grain bread is fine - whole grain, whole wheat. 7 grain probably isn't whole grain. When in doubt, look at the ingredients...the first ingredient should be "whole grain or whole wheat."

Here are a couple of good sites:

http://www.cspinet.org/nah/wwheat.html
http://www.wholegrainscouncil.org/ConsumerGuide.html (especially scroll down to read the "Identifying Whole Grains" section

[sweet_talker]

thanks so much for all the answers and opinions!! I think I know what my best options are now. And I wish I had a place to cook *grr* because I want to make some roasted veggies...The cafeteria's veggies are never very good if they've been cooked, they've usually been boiled and they're usually overcooked. Bleh.

[joyofsix]

You guys inspired me, I made roast cauliflower and sweet potatoes last night for supper. When I went for some more cauliflower dd had eaten it all, lol. I can't wait until spring though, when some in season veggies and fruits show up. Winter has seemed very long.

[alinnell]

I'll be buying some fresh veggies and am going to try the roasting thing this weekend when the in-laws come for dinner. That will be a nice change of pace for all of us.

[rockinrobin]

Allison that reminds me of when my parents over a few weeks ago for dinner. We were eating the first course, soup and we were talking about veggies. My mother, who almost never made veggies for us when we growing up, unless you count canned creamed corn, all of a sudden says "I can eat any vegetable except asapargus". I promptly said, "Well then you might want seconds on that soup, cause that's exactly what I'm serving". I was sitting next to one of my daughters and she knew what I was making and practically spit up her soup. It was funny. Anyway, I went on to serve the roasted asparagus and she and my dad ate tons of it and didn't stop raving about it. Mom wanted to know how I made it, dad wanted to know all about the nutritional value. In short, they absolutely loved it.

[alinnell]

Robin, that's too funny!
I have a few problems cooking with my in-laws. FIL doesn't like "healthy" food and he told me yesterday he still can't eat wheat bread! Imagine that! He says he doesn't like the taste.
MIL has developed several food allergies in her adult years. So I cannot cook the following for them: broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, or avacado. She really likes broccoli and adores avacado, but they cause her intense stomach cramping. So, when they are around we tend to stick to green beans or salads.
My own father refused to eat the zucchini that I grilled one time.