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akw94

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Hi everyone,
I''m making a concerted effort to have more vegetables during the day for myself and my son. Given that, can you suggest any recipes? The easier the better but I''d like to try some new things.

Btw, I tried someone''s grean been recipe from another thread.. it was simple w/a little garlic and olive oil and it turned out great. Both my son and I loved them.

Thanks!
 

firebirdgold

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Well, we''re pretty fond of asparagus. This is how DH makes it:
Wash and trim ends off asparagus.
Put shortened asparagus into microwaveable bowl or container. (flatter and wider the bottom the better).
Add olive oil, a good amount of white wine vinegar (and/or lemon juice), minced dried onion, and optionally some dried basil.
Mix (or shake) until asparagus is coated.
Cover with plastic wrap
Microwave 3-4 minutes depending on how much and how thick the asparagus was.
Fish asparagus out of mixture and serve.
 

Skippy123

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Amen!!! I am doing the same. I throw peas into pasta! I try and eat a salad everyday too.
 

monarch64

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Dixie, good for you for trying to incorporate more veggies into your daily menu.

Have you ever made a veggie lasagna, and would your son maybe like it? Here''s my easy recipe:

Ingredients:

no boil lasagna noodles
1 jar italian baking sauce or your fave spaghetti sauce
1 15 oz container ricotta
1 bag shredded part skim mozzarella
one package frozen chopped spinach
chopped veggies like onions, mushrooms, zuccini, red sweet peppers, green peppers, etc.

Thaw spinach in microwave, mix it with the ricotta and whatever veggies you decide to use.
Layer noodles, sauce, ricotta mixture, noodles in a 9x13 pyrex dish, top with mozzarella.
Bake at 375 covered for 35-40 minutes, bake uncovered for 5 additional minutes.


Also, I love those birdseye steamfresh frozen bags of veggies for sides, or sometimes i will just eat a couple servings by themselves for a snack! I just add salt and pepper, usually to sweat peas or green beans, no butter or oil.

Another favorite of mine is just a package of frozen spinach thawed/heated in the microwave, and a few unmarinated artichoke hearts stirred in with a little lemon juice and coarse sea salt, mmm so good. It''s a lot healthier than a mayo based dip!

I like new red potatoes quartered and heated in a skillet with a little olive oil, lemon juice and chives, that one is always a big hit with DH.

If you like to grill you can do some great veggie kabobs on either bamboo or metal skewers, it''s super easy and fast. I usually use sliced (slice them about 1/4" so they cook faster) zuccini and yellow squash, sweet yellow onion, red sweet pepper, green bell pepper, white mushroom caps, then spray the kabob with olive oil and add some salt and pepper before grilling. After they''re done you can serve them over whole grain rice.
 

Mara

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dixie you should check out cooking light...they have a ton of recipes and i'm sure you can find some fab veggie recipes.

one of the ones i love to make is super simple...it's glazed carrots. i think i might have posted it in the healthy recipe thread. basically just steam some baby cutup carrots until tender, then melt a little butter into them, squeeze some lemon juice, zest a lemon, and put a little sugar, heat it all up for about a minute or so and let everything melt up and mix it all together, then serve. the carrots taste like lemony butter, so yummy. this has been a big hit at a lot of family gatherings for me.

also i love sauteeing asparagus in some balsamic vinegar and a bit of evoo in a skillet. you can do asparagus on the grill too in a veggie basket.

i've done sliced veggies like asaparagus, mushrooms, and zucchini with some garlic powder and salt and pepper and evoo in a dish and broil it in the oven for like 15 minutes. you can squeeze some lemon juice on it then serve.

for potatoes, there are so many ways...but one of our faves is cutup into squares and then put into a baking dish with a bunch of fresh squeezed lemon juice, some evoo, fresh salt and pepper, and then a bunch of cutup fresh garlic. bake them at about 450 for about 45 minutes, it's sooo yummy, lemon garlic roasted potatoes. love them.

veggies are so easy...i love them as a side. oh and i have this salt from williams sonoma which is a herb mix with salt and i sprinkle it on fresh corn on the cob then wrap them in aluminum foil and we grill them...the herbs and salt get baked into the corn and it's so yummy. literally when friends come over for BBQ's they ask if we are having this corn, hehe.

anyway good luck and happy veggy'ing.
 

monarch64

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I forgot another couple of my favorites, lol!

Acorn squash (the green one that is shaped like an acorn): slice in half, scoop out the seeds, score with a fork and sprinkle with salt. Wrap the green bottom part in tin foil and bake at 400 degrees for about 25-20 minutes, remove from oven and add 1/2 tbsp butter or margarine, and ground black pepper if you like.

grilled portabella mushrooms: We get the huge ones that come two to a package. I marinate them in a large zip lock baggie with EVOO, worcestire (sp?), fresh or jarred minced garlic, dried minced onion and a little salt and pepper...shake it all around for a couple minutes and then throw on the grill or broil. MMM. So good! you can also make sandwiches out of them on a whole wheat hamburger bun and top with provolone cheese, I like to throw some A-1 steak sauce on as a condiment as well!
 

lumpkin

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My favorite is just steamed broccolli. If I''m lazy or short on time I buy it already cut up and washed. I don''t use any butter or oil or anything, and I steam them just until they are hot and bright green -- I hate mushy vegetables. I do salt them, and if you don''t like them dry you can spritz them with some olive oil, which will actually help your body to metabolize the vitamins in it.

I''m going to get into the habit of a salad every day, too. And I like the dark green letuces, baby spinache and red peppers. Yummm, going to have to go to the store this morning and this is giving me ideas!
 

eks6426

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Oven-Roasted Vegetables
· 1 med zucchini, cut into bite-size pieces
· 1 med summer squash, cut into bite-size pieces
· 1 med red bell pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
· 1 med yellow bell pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
· 1 lb fresh asparagus, cut into bite-size pieces
· 1 red onion, chopped
· 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
· 1 tsp salt
· ½ tsp black pepper
1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place the zucchini, squash, bell peppers, asparagus, and onion in a large roasting pan, and toss with the oil, salt, and black pepper. Spread in a single layer.
2. Roast for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are lightly browned and tender.
Makes 4 servings
Per Serving: 170 cal, 5 g pro, 15 g carb, 11 g fat, 2 g sat. fat, 0 mg chol, 5 g fiber, 586 mg sodium
 

scarlet16

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Mar 14, 2006
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We love asparagus w/ some garlic, balsamic and evoo! It''s so yummy and very quick.

Our latest favorite is spaghetti squash. You basically bake it and when it comes out of the oven you use a fork to pull out the insides and it REALLY looks like spaghetti. I add a little bit of butter and salt, and its YUMMY.
 

Independent Gal

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Quick and healthy veggie recipes! You''ll need a veg steamer basket thingy.. hsouldn''t be more than $8 or so. I mean one of those metal things that sits in the pot and folds up like a flower... what are they called?

Steam cauliflower and broccoli until juuuust cooked (broc should be ''glowing''...like an emerald?)
Sprinkle salt, pepper and just a bit of grated cheese (parmesan?)

Steam brussels sprouts until cooked (5-8 mins?)
Brush with a tiny bit of butter
Sprinkle carraway seeds.

5 minutes! Delicious! Healthy!

I also like to steam green beans in water that has a healthy dollop of soy sauce in it. The beans take on the flavour of the soy sauce.

Another fave is to get some really tasty hummous and cut up some carrots, celery, etc. to dip in it. Makes a great crunchy snack, with protein from the hummous to fill you up.
 

lumpkin

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Our Hen House (grocery store) has all kinds of salads at their deli. I really like their "Health Salad" which has broccolli, cauliflower, carrots, celery, cucumers (without the seeds), roma tomatoes, and red peppers. They toss it with basil and house Italian dressing. It is so yummy. I have tried repeatedly to make this salad and I''ve even asked them to tell me how they make it (which they did), and I don''t know what secret ingredient they use, but I can''t make it taste like theirs. And actually, by the time I buy all the ingreadients, it costs almost as much to make it as to buy it at the counter. It is sooooooo good though.
18.gif
 

canuk-gal

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HI:

Some of our favs:

Fresh green beans, cherry tomato's and fresh rosemary. Clean green beans and tom's. Put a small amount of olive oil (EVOO) in saute pan, add fresh rosemary, heat until fragrant. Add green beans and tomatoes and saute for two minutes or so, med heat. Veggies should be firm and still crunchy. Serve with almond slivers if you like.

Root beggie bake. I like to use anise (fennel), parsnips, leek, carrots, garlic, and sometimes I'll add potatoes. Slice the veggies into strips and put into caserole dish. Toss with EVOO and a tsp of butter if you like. Salt and pepper. Bake in 350 oven or 325 on convection bake, for half an hour (longer if addding potatoes), stirring occasionally to mix oil/veggies. Veggies should be firm and crunchy.

Acorn squash chips. Made in the same fashion as baked french fries, but using acorn squash. Cut squash into strips(fries), season with salt and pepper and toss with EVOO. Bake in oven at 400 turning after 10 minutes or so. I often mix these with potatoes for a variety.

cheers--Sharon
 

partgypsy

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You guys are making me hungry! Going to try some of those dishes.

The main thing about making vegetables for kids is not to make anything with too many spices or flavors.
Thinking about vegetables my little girl eats, some suggestions
Steam a variety of frozen beans (peas, lima, soy) then combine them in a bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper. Also try canned beans of all types, alot of kids love the butter beans, lima beans kidney beans. Experiment!
Steamed brocolli with a little butter
steamed califlower with homemade melted cheese sauce
green beans.
baked yams: peel, cut up into chunks, toss with butter and molassess and and bake.
raw carrots with dip
Hummus with bread
Surpisingly potatos do have some nutritional value (vit c). Just make baked potatoes (rub outside with olive oil and salt, pierced), cut it up and butter it for them.

Most kids like dried fruit (not just raisins but also dried apple, pineapple, etc), keep on hand for snacks.
Now we are getting into the season for fresh fruit it is really easy to make a tossed fruit salad (we love combination of strawberries, cantelope, and blueberries) toss with a little sugar and some mint and you are done!
 

Cehrabehra

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Everyone here likes carrots pretty much every way, but I think everyone likes them best when I put some dried basil and a little salt in the water while they cook. After you drain them some of the basil sticks around and a little drizle of EVOO (::chuckle
5.gif
or melted butter over it.... you don''t need very much of it or any really.
 

Cehrabehra

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Date: 4/20/2007 1:12:57 PM
Author: Independent Gal
Quick and healthy veggie recipes! You''ll need a veg steamer basket thingy.. hsouldn''t be more than $8 or so. I mean one of those metal things that sits in the pot and folds up like a flower... what are they called?

Steam cauliflower and broccoli until juuuust cooked (broc should be ''glowing''...like an emerald?)
Sprinkle salt, pepper and just a bit of grated cheese (parmesan?)

Steam brussels sprouts until cooked (5-8 mins?)
Brush with a tiny bit of butter
Sprinkle carraway seeds.

5 minutes! Delicious! Healthy!

I also like to steam green beans in water that has a healthy dollop of soy sauce in it. The beans take on the flavour of the soy sauce.

Another fave is to get some really tasty hummous and cut up some carrots, celery, etc. to dip in it. Makes a great crunchy snack, with protein from the hummous to fill you up.
another good cheese is mizithra http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizithra
 

firebirdgold

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Nov 30, 2005
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Well here''s tonight''s dinner which is reasonably veggie heavy:
1 packet refrigerated asian noodles
1/2 package extra-firm tofu
1 package California broccoli-wokly (or whatever it''s called. it''s a bag of pre-washed pre-cut stirfry veggies with broccoli, carrots, and snow peas.)
1/4 bottle of Trader Joe''s General Tsao''s stir fry sauce
light drizzle of Sriracha hot chilli sauce (the one with the green top and the chicken) - you might want to add judiciously to your own portion if you have kids.

Boil noodles in seperate pot, wash with cold water after being cooked. keep going back to noodles and stirring to make sure they don''t clump.

Cut up tofu into 1" x 1/2" rectangles. Heat wok on high with good oil like canola oil, some powdered or fresh ginger and a little powdered garlic. Add tofu and stirfry until browned. (optional: remove tofu) Add veggies and stir-fry one minutes, add a little water and put cover on wok until veggies are tender (5 mins). (Add tofu back in.) Add cooked noodles, heat until everything is hot, add stir fry sauce (and a little hot sauce) and mix.
Serve!

My DH dislikes veggies and tofu, and he just scarfs this down in a flash! Plus it''s very easy and quick to make on a weekday night. I hate mondays!
 

diamondfan

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oven roasted asparagus from barefoot contessa cookbook

asparagus, thicker is better, trim the ends

pre heat oven to 400 degrees, put the asparagus on a cookie sheet in a single layer.

Sprinkle with kosher salt and drizzle with olive oil.

roast for 15 min, remove, sprinkle on some shredded parm, put back in oven for one or two minutes. When done, you can squeeze on lemon juice and a bit of freshly ground pepper...

Yum and easy!
 

So_happy

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 12, 2006
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I realize this isn''t a recipe etc but it''s certainly EASY and FI and I use it to get our veggies any way we can.

For us, the theme is EASY = 90% liklihood we''ll keep it up!!!

1)We buy Green Giant frozen veggies...this brand usually combines the veggie in some yummy way that you may not want.....like with cheese for example........but as a side dish it is fantastic. We totally omit the mashed potatoes or other more fattening side in lieu of these yummy veggie sides. And they''re frozen which eliminates our problem with buying fresh produce and watching it go rotten alot of the time
7.gif
I realize cheese may be something you''d prefer to cut out of you and your family''s diet but for us, if we didn''t have these....well, we''d have the rice or mashed potatoes or some other REALLY worse side instead.

2)More expensive, but we buy salads-in-a-bag. It just makes us guaranteed to have a salad if we have the lettuce/greens already cut/washed like that! We add some cherry tomatoes (cuz you don''t have to cut them!!), some feta cheese, some kalamati olives and we are happy campers. It''s so yummy and easy. No cutting board needed!

In general, though, you have to realize these tips of mine come from two (advanced) college students who have not yet embraced the art of shopping for appropriate fresh produce 3 x''s a week!!! It works for us tho and gets us some amount of nutrition that we actually love on a daily basis! Perhaps when we have more time (like when I finally get my phd........) we''ll really go all the way and shop FRESH FRESH FRESH :)


OH, and I REALLY love to have my bowl of already-washed green grapes in a covered bowl in the fridge at all times!!!! For some reason, this snack ranks above chips or chocolate for me.........if it''s in there!!
 

Independent Gal

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Here''s another favourite of mine... I pop them like potato chips when I want a salty snack. The texture is great and they''re SO healthy. And because they''re pure protein and fiber, they fill you up, too.

Salty lima (or fava) beans.

Get ''em fresh at the grocery store or farmer''s market

Boil up some VERY salty water

Put your veggie steamer basket in with the beanies.

Steam for 10-12 minutes.

SO GOOD! You can serve them hot as a side dish, or chill them in the fridge for snacks. They last about a week.
 

biblobaggins23

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Nov 25, 2006
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omlets with veggies! i buy frozen veggies then heat them up and put them in my omlet. i will also put a dash of lawry''s seasoned salt on top.
 

Cehrabehra

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Date: 4/26/2007 5:40:15 PM
Author: Independent Gal
Here''s another favourite of mine... I pop them like potato chips when I want a salty snack. The texture is great and they''re SO healthy. And because they''re pure protein and fiber, they fill you up, too.

Salty lima (or fava) beans.

Get ''em fresh at the grocery store or farmer''s market

Boil up some VERY salty water

Put your veggie steamer basket in with the beanies.

Steam for 10-12 minutes.

SO GOOD! You can serve them hot as a side dish, or chill them in the fridge for snacks. They last about a week.
we do this with soy beans... just get the precooked ones at costco, put them in a bowl with some saran and steam them for a few and salt them!
 

firebirdgold

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Date: 4/27/2007 12:39:40 PM
Author: Cehrabehra
Date: 4/26/2007 5:40:15 PM

Author: Independent Gal

Here''s another favourite of mine... I pop them like potato chips when I want a salty snack. The texture is great and they''re SO healthy. And because they''re pure protein and fiber, they fill you up, too.


Salty lima (or fava) beans.


Get ''em fresh at the grocery store or farmer''s market


Boil up some VERY salty water


Put your veggie steamer basket in with the beanies.


Steam for 10-12 minutes.


SO GOOD! You can serve them hot as a side dish, or chill them in the fridge for snacks. They last about a week.
we do this with soy beans... just get the precooked ones at costco, put them in a bowl with some saran and steam them for a few and salt them!

Saran? What''s that?
I love the soybeans as well. I like to get the ones still in the shell, pop em in the microwave, and then sprinkle expensive fleur de mer on them. I just adore the expensive salt. (you know the greyish slightly damp stuff?) It just makes everything taste sooo much better!
 

crown1

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saran wrap. clear plastic wrap.
 
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