Veggie Tales----Need some input!

Fruit is bearable. It's sweet and sour and refreshing. I LOVE fruit and I can always fit them into my meal plan, but what about those pesky veggies? It seems to me that whenever I do get vegetables into my menu, I end up eating them raw, which, for me, isn't enjoyable. I need some tasty recipes that are low cal and are loaded with veggie goodness! Please help! Thanks:)

I love to stir fry...sweet onions, red and green peppers, shredded carrots, snap peas...I really think you can throw just about any veggie in a hot, nonstick pan with just a touch of EVOO and low sodium soy sauce, sprinkle of ginger, and a little honey (if you like) and it come out great. If I need extra cal's, I'll add in chicken and/or serve it over brown rice.  In one sitting I can down a whole bell pepper, half an onion, and a whole carrot...what's that, like 3-4 servings of veggies?

Also, when I'm making anything with red sauce (pizza, spaghetti, lasagna, etc) I through 3-4 carrots in a food processor and create a pulp. Mix that with the sauce. No one ever knows =)

Try a nice stir fry. It's simple and oh so healthy.

Cube and cook your meat in a pan with some onion, and as little oil as you can get away with (chicken breast might need a little more than say, beef). You can either chop up some veggies and toss in, or you can buy the frozen mix. The broccoli, carrot, cauliflower mix tastes great! Season with a sprinkle of powdered Ginger, and a tablespoon or less of soy sauce.  Continue cooking until veggies are done. That's it.

BTW Celery is a great additon.

Green Giant Brand and maybe Byrd's Eye has some nice single serve steamers that are good to take to work for lunch.  I will usually purchase oven roasted chicken packets (Perdue has one) that I add for an additional protein. 

I also like roasted veggies on the grill.  I even have an electric mini George Forman I have used at work.  I will spritz them with a salad dressing or the butter spritz prior to grilling.  Some times (when grilling veggies while camping), I will dice them up in semi-large chunks, lightly coat them with olive oil, grill them up, and sprinkle some of that McCormick's Salad Seasoning on them a few minutes prior to serving.

My grilling combo usually consist of asparagus, peppers, onion, potatoes (soak them first to remove some of the starch), mushrooms, and squash (usually zuchinni and yellow crooked neck).

Thank you!

Chicken cacciatore is a great dish.  You brown off some chicken then put it in a baking dish with whole baby carrots (or sliced big carrots), sliced mushrooms, diced onion, chopped green bell pepper (or sliced celery) and cover the whole business wiht tomato sauce.  Then you bake it (350 for ??min...I'd go by your nose on that one and poking the chicken to see if it's done).  It is delicious!

Have you tried making vegetable soups?  Chicken broth + celery, carrots, and onion + chicken/noodles = good chicken soup

Here are my favorites

End of the Garden Stewed Vegetables

Tiella Vegetable Casserole

Roasted Carrots

Spiced Cauliflower

Roasted veggies have a really nice flavor.  Simply chop up whatever veggies you have on hand (onions, root veggies, squashes, eggplant, mushrooms, etc.), spray them with Pam to keep them from sticking, and sprinkle on your favorite spices, then roast at 400 for 30-40 minutes till they are browned.  Turn 2-3 times during roasting.

They can used as a side dish, or the star of the meal.  I like to serve them over rice, pasta, or couscous with a sauce.  They are also great on top of salad greens with a little balsamic.

You can't go wrong sauteeing in olive oil and garlic. It gives any vegetable a delicious flavor. Try it with zucchini, broccoli, eggplant, kale, mushrooms, spinach, green beans, etc. Add some diced chicken breast and/or serve it over brown rice/whole wheat pasta to make it a meal. You won't be disappointed!

prinzessin_naseimbuch: I tried your recipe and it was delicious... THANK YOU!!! As for everyone else, I'll be using your recipes through-out the week. Thank you so much. I actually have more energy and I don't feel like giving up anymore because my meal was so filling and low-cal. Thanks a BUNCH!

There is an awesome recipe of Betty Crocker Ratattouli(sp) on here that has a ton of veggies in it.  I use yellow and green squash, eggplant, onions, garlic and red pepper.  I serve it over a sm amt of pasta or as a side dish.

I grill or saute squash too.  I also use the slow cooker for chicken with veggies. Just chop up garlic, onions, celery or celery root, potatoes or parsnips, carrots, green beans or asparagus, add fat free chicken stock and season to taste, add a couple of chicken breasts(i brown them in chicken stock first to shorten cook time) then set in on high before you leave in the am, will be done in 4-5h, or on low for about 8h.  I have several meals from this since I split up the chicken for other things too.

Tonight I think I will steam some broccoli, asparagus and have it over a spinach salad with balsamic...maybe some protein too.

I just made some really good stir-fry type food:

1 cup brocolli

1/2 zuchinni

1/4 pepper

30 medium-sized shrimp

1/4 tsp. sea salt

spices like pepper or oregano or dill... w/e u want

fry with canola or pam

Original Post by violet18:

prinzessin_naseimbuch: I tried your recipe and it was delicious... THANK YOU!!! As for everyone else, I'll be using your recipes through-out the week. Thank you so much. I actually have more energy and I don't feel like giving up anymore because my meal was so filling and low-cal. Thanks a BUNCH!

You are most welcome violet.   I assume you mean the chicken cacciatore.  I think I might have saved another recipe that is vegetable heavy called Allerlei (it's german).  Here's the link: http://caloriecount.about.com/familie-fritzsc he-leipziger-allerlei-recipe-r228995

Now this also has some fat in it (from butter, milk and egg yolks) and it is a double recipe.  You are supposed to eat it warm (right after it finishes cooking) and as a whole meal I think, but it is equally good cold.  I normally don't eat fresh peas, but in this Allerlei they were palatable.  Try it if you want something new and German in nature.

Good luck with other veggie dishes.

Danke! prinzessin_naseimbuch:) (I'm assuming you're German) I will try your recipes, and since I love variety and "foreign" foods, I'm sure that I will love it! Thank you once again!

LOL...Violet I'm not german as in from Germany, but my ethnic background is heavily german.  I live in Baltimore, MD, USA.  My family is pretty much all german with some polish and ukranian thrown in.  We very much enjoy the food of our heritage :).  Bitte sehr.  Es gefaehlt mir sehr dass Sie fremde Kueche moegen. (Your welcome.  I'm glad that you like foreign cuisine.)  I think I'm gonna friend you ;).  We can trade recipes and whatnot.

Edit: German was technically incorrect...and I am a perfectionist.

I'll friend you too:) my background is purely Russian, with some Ukranian and Jewish. Actually, I was born in Russia and I came to live here when I was six... I will definitely love to trade recipes....Спаси ;бо, мне будет очень приятн
086; с тобой общатс
103;- Thank you, I will be very happy to talk to you. :)

Grilled Veggies are great, and need no additional flavorings (oil, butter, salt, etc). They're great, because the dry heat doesn't remove nutrients like boiling them does. And if you can add some soaked wood chips to your grill (for smoking) you can add some great flavor without adding calories. A grilling basket can prevent the veggies from falling thru the rack, but it's not necessary.

If you like, you can use Mrs. Dash seasonings on the veggies before puting them on the grill (no salt, but great flavor to make things interesting). The smallest amount of EVOO will help prevent the veggies from sticking (wipe the grill down with the oil, rather than putting the oil directly on the veggies)

We've tried all kinds of grilled veggies:

- asparagus (throw it on the grill till its tender. You can skewer them into "boats" on toothpicks if they're thick enough to help with the fall-thru. But place them cross-wise the grill rack and they shouldn't fall)

- summer squash, eggplant  (slice into 1/4" to 1/2" slices, grill like a steak, maybe 15 minutes or so)

- onion, shallot, tomato, bell peppers, jalapenos, garlic, etc (cut in half or quarters, grill for about 20 minutes. onions can take a little longer due to their density)

- corn (do not remove the husk, soak 20 minutes in the sink, throw on the grill for about 20-30 minutes, once done husk the corn, eat on the cob, or cut it off)

- broccoli (cut into spears, place on the grill or in a grill basket, 20-30 minutes)

- artichoke (Steam or boil until semi-tender. Cut in half, remove fuzzy stuff, grill for about 30-45 minutes, until tender. Balsamic vinegar makes a great "dip" for the leaves as opposed to butter/mayo)

I am sure others would work, too. These are our favorites, so we've never tried anything else. Grilled fruit is great too!  Enjoy!!