Recipes
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Low calorie vegetable recipes?


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Does anyone have any good, low calorie vegetable recipes?  I was thinking primarily side dishes or soups.  

Thank you for your help.

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I don't know how helpful this will be to you, since I don't have any exact recipes, but prepare my veggies following a few different "methods" that always work well. 

I like to stir fry fresh vegetables of any variety and experiment with adding different oils to the wok - I have tried olive oil, sesame, walnut, almond... all have turned out delicious.  I find adding different herbs (fresh and/or dried) and spices (chinese five spice, curry powder, cumin & chili, crushed red pepper...) keeps it from getting boring and is still low-cal.  Also, squeezing lemon or lime juice, even some orange juice depending on the veggie, really brightens up the flavors and eliminates the need for adding more sodium.  Or you can mix salsa, grainy mustard, right as it comes off the pan, for low cal flavoring.

For making soups, I just add all my favorite veggies to the pot then cover with water (or low sodium broth), add some herbs and either canned (unsalted!) or fresh tomatoes, and simmer for about 20-30 minutes depending on the consistency you like your veggies.  You can leave the soup chunky, or you can use an immersion blender (or a regular blender, just be really careful not to overfill with hot liquids) to whiz it up and make it into a "creamy" soup.  I sometimes add nonfat dry milk before blending to make it taste creamy, or stir lowfat greek yogurt or sour cream after it is blended...

Some veggies that are round and can be hollowed work well as carriers of different ingredients - for example, stuffed tomatoes, peppers, squashes, eggplants... you can use a mix of cooked whole grain, the hollowed veggie parts (those without seeds), other veggies of your choice (onions, peppers, mushrooms, corn), and cooked protein if you like it and make it a meal with a side salad.  Stuffed tomatoes work excellent as a summer salad-type side dish.  The others are usually cooked (baked).  When baking them, just prepare your filling and stuff it into the veggie (I don't even pre-cook the veggie before stuffing since I like my veggies crunchy) then place into a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until warm. 

Of course, you can always chop any variety of fresh veggies, top them with herbs and flavorings, and steam them ...  but I assume that isn't what you're  looking for. 

I don't know if this is helpful to you at all, since there isn't an actual recipe... just know that with veggies, as long as you have methods for cooking them, your imagination (and taste) is the limit! 

edited to add: WOW that was a lengthy post!  Sorry!!  Embarassed

Sauteed veggies:
http://caloriecount.about.com/heather-leighs- sauteed-veggies-recipe-r32283

Roasted veggies:
http://caloriecount.about.com/heather-leighs- roasted-veggies-recipe-r18206

Stuffed zuchinni boats:
http://caloriecount.about.com/heather-leighs- stuffed-zucchini-recipe-r104253

Butternut squash soup:
http://caloriecount.about.com/heather-leighs- velvety-butternut-squash-recipe-r69393

Asian slaw:
http://caloriecount.about.com/heather-leighs- asian-slaw-recipe-r50446

But mostly, I just eat raw veggies on the side. Carrots, sugar snap peas, tomato, sweet bell peppers, cucumbers, celery - or with hummus.

I just recently discovered that you can blend up yellow squash and it's kind of like mashed potato - only with a sweeter smell and taste.

Or I steam veggies - green beans, carrots, etc.

Trader Joe's has great veggie sides in the frozen food section. The seasonings are great. They have a balsamic butter mix that's amazing, and a soy ginger carrot mix that makes me so happy.

Oh, this weekend, I spread out some asparagus on a pan, sprinkled with pepper and shredded parm, and roasted it until the cheese got brown and crispy. That was amazing.

Oh, and blended soups are pretty easy. Throw in whatever veggie you want it to taste like, add broth, blend away.

Braised Rutabaga  Rutabagas are those big, yellow turnips.  This recipe has bacon in it, which really makes it yummy, but you could substitute 3 tablespoons of olive oil and caramelized onions for flavor instead.

Eggplant Pizzaiola  Pizza style eggplant

French Peas  The classic way to serve fresh peas in France

Green Beans with Garlic and Almonds

Tiella  A baked casserole of sliced vegetables from Italy

Simple Vegetarian Chili

   

SWIMFAN-mmm, i hope not for u??  what ru doing??

swimfan- i'm ThisClose to PMing you. You shouldnt be looking for lowcal anything and you know this. Stop. and Think. Be very careful.

No worries--my mom wanted me to find some (for her, not for me).  

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