Veggies - Any ways to "disguise" them???

Hey there!!  I am desperately trying to get my veggies in, but I am at that BURN OUT phase.  I don't think I can choke down one more stalk of steamed broccoli or one more bowl of bland salad!!!  Does ANYBODY have some succulent ways to prepare veggies that's still considered healthy???  Fat free dressings suck, and most sauces are full of fat!!!  Can you help a girl out???

Soup...its the best way I have found.  I made a bean soup yesterday with zucchini, summer squash, onion, celery and carrot.  It was awesome, super low fat, full of fiber and tasty to boot. 

Make a vegetable lasagna using eggplant and zucchini strips as the "noodles." 

Try these two, perfect for summer

Claire's Classic Gazpacho

Claire's End of the Garden Stewed Vegetables

Read these two articles by CC Nutritionist, Mary Hartley

Ideas for Eating More Vegetables
You know veggies are good for you, but you just don't get enough. Convenience is the key to eating more. Learn how.

Ideas for Eating More Fruits
We know that they are good for us. We know that they are full of vitamins, minerals and fiber. They are even full of substances called phytonutrients, which help to fight diseases, like heart disease, diabetes, cancers and blood pressure.

Thought of a few more...

Grillled veggie kabobs with balsamic vinegar (grape/cherry tomatoes, summer squash, zucchini, onions, bell peppers...mmm, making myself hungry)

Veggie chili, canned tomatoes with black/red beans, onions, bell peppers.

Veggie stir fry.  On this one, you can go wild & use whatever you like.  I like chopped cabbage, mung bean sprouts, onions, peppers, mushrooms, stir fried in a little veggie broth.  Add chicken if you like, or tofu, and a little teriyaki perhaps.  Serve over brown rice if you wish, or with noodles, or just plain.

You girls are live savers!!!  Thanks a million!!!  (And keep them coming!!)  I am excited to try all of these suggestions.  And veggie lasagna - that's brilliant!!!

For your salads, use Red wine vinager, and lite olive oil,(the ratio of oil to vinager should be 2 parts vinager:1part olive oil) add garlic powder, oregano, tyme, basil and parsley, a dash of salt and pepper in a small canister, and shake it up to mix it, This makes a great tasting and healthy Italian dressing. Chop up some ramono lettuce, with tomatoes, and half of a onion sliced and you have a great healthy salad. You could also add some bell peppers and carrots if you like, pour your dressing over it, and let it set for 10-15 minutes in the frig. and enjoy.

I eat raw vegetables all the time all I do is add lemon juice and a little bit of salt.

You might also want to try different kinds of veggies cooked different ways.  I love broccoli but I can't eat it since I'm breastfeeding and it doesn't agree with the little one.  I've had to branch out alot, here's some of what I eat (maybe you'll like it too)!

Roasted Carrots (with olive oil, salt & pepper) at 400deg in the oven for 20-40 minutes (depending on the size of the carrot and the texture you desire.  - This way of cooking carrots makes them incredibly sweet - YUM

Sauted peppers, onions & mushrooms - This is great with eggs or any kind of meat!

Zucchini and Yellow Squash - You can bake / roast these in the oven with some herbs and spices and a little Pam / Olive oil, or you can boil them and mash them up with some "I can't believe it's not butter spray" and a little salt and pepper, or even saute them in some pam or olive oil.

Spinach and mushrooms - I like to saute them together with a little olive oil and garlic salt, great by itself, with pasta or inside an omelet!

I have others, but I don't want to go on all day.  Heh.  Good luck doll hope you find something that works for you!

You should check out Jerry Seinfeld's wife's cook book Deceptively Delicious. The whole thing is recipes that have vegetables mixed in things & you'd never know they were there. There are even chocolate chip cookies that you use chick peas. Sounds gross, but they work.

Hi,

First of all, make spices your friend!  Even my kids are eating veggies now because of the spices I add.  Use olive oil to sautee' them and use garlic, parsley, some chives, basil or tarragon to give them a great taste.  It blends well with the olive oil and olive oil provides your healthy fat for your good cholesterol and heart health.  Secondly, I add onion to almost every veggies I eat.  Gives it a great taste and now my guy and kids love onions too.  In your salads, use Hidden Valley lite ranch as it has a wonderful taste and doesn't taste lite.  The spray butters are free basically and use those to spray taste on.  Use reduced fat cheeses to add flavor on veggies.  In my salads, I put cashews or sunflower seeds which also provide your healthy fats.  Add chick peas and regular peas, mushrooms and instead of pouring your dressing over the salad, put it in a little dish and dip your fork before each bite.  You'll taste the dressing and not feel cheated like you're not getting enough.  Plus, eat fresh fruit.  I cut up fruit and make a big fruit salad.  I've even put raspberries or strawberries in my green salads and used a strawberry vinegrette over it which is low in calories.  Add cashews to the salad and yummy!  There are so many ways to make veggies taste good that are virtually fat free. 

THIS IS THE BEST WAY HANDS DOWN....got it off the Oprah website' "Jessica's cookbook, Deceptively DeliciousSM, was inspired by her own family's veggie wars. Before discovering the secret to delicious, nutritious meals, she says she dreaded dinnertime. "The last thing you want to do is come home and make dinner and have people spit it out or say, "Ew! This is disgusting,'" she says.  Here is a recipe..   

Scrambled Eggs (with Cauliflower)

Created by Jessica Seinfeld From the book Deceptively DeliciousSM
Serves 2
Hidden cauliflower puree provides kids with half the daily value for vitamin C. With more than 19 grams of protein per serving, these scrambled eggs pack a powerful protein punch! tags following this comment-->

INGREDIENTS

 

• 2 large eggs
• 4 large egg whites
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/2 cup cauliflower puree
• 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan
• Pinch of salt
• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1 tsp. olive oil

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg whites, sour cream, cauliflower puree, Parmesan and salt.

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray, then set the pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the oil. Add the egg mixture, reduce the heat to low, and cook, stirring frequently with a silicone spatula, until the eggs are scrambled—firm but nice and moist—2 to 3 minutes.

PS. on the show it showed her steaming vegs on sunday, puree, and baging them. They can be left in the refrig.   Here is the website to find more recipes.. http://www2.oprah.com/foodhome/food/jseinfeld /recipes/jseinfeld_recipes_main.jhtml

 

I do a few things to get more fruits and veggies in:

I make breakfast smoothies that include 2 or 3 servings of fruit in them. If you play around with recipes you could throw in vegetables as well. Some practice would make perfect.

Roasted vegetables:

I use baby carrots, green pepper, red pepper, onion, cucumber (could use zuchinni here instead) and mushrooms. I chop them into bite size pieces. Then put them into a large yogourt container (or tupperware). Add some low fat balsamic dressing (could use any flavour you like) and a bit of olive oil. Add spices and shakes. The spices I like to use are oregano, basil, garlic, black pepper, italian seasoning and thyme. I like to bake it at 450 for 5 minutes then turn on the broiler at full for 5 minutes so that the vegetables get a nice roasted look and taste (needs to be near the top rack). It tastes delicious and can accompany many dishes as long as you make sure to change the dressings you use when you're mixing.

Salads that have flavour! Look up online how to make your own vinagrettes. It is basically 2 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. You can use any type of vinegar that you enjoy the taste of. Add some spices to the mix as well. A little pepper and such. Experiment and learn your own tastes. Add roasted nuts, meat (if you eat it) and fruit as well. It can really liven up a salad. Also work on the presentation. I like to theme salads based on colour (I'll give you a recipe I like). The more attractive it looks the more you'll want to eat those veggies. Add new flavours to your salads by adding extra ingredients that are strong like onions and garlic. It gives a LOT of zing. You'll know quickly whether or not you used too much garlic. Also I like lemon on salads.

Red salad -

The base is baby spinach cut into strips cause I like the taste. You can use romaine or any nutrient filled lettuce you like. Then cut up some cucumbers in quarters (portions depend on how many people you're planning on feeding with the salad). The red ingredients are cherries cut into halves (or quarters if you have a small mouth. Mine's huge!), red peppers and tomatoes cut bite size. When you use dark green spinach it makes a startling contrast with the red pepper and tomato and the cherry is an unexpected taste treat alongside the rest. Throw in some onion and garlic to taste (I like green onions, or chives as some people say). It adds zing and makes for a nice contrast with the sweet cherries. I would also roast some sliced almonds and place them on top of the salad. Then mix and add your favour dressing to top.

Enjoy!

Edit: Upon further thought - when it comes to mixing your own salad dressing 1:1 oil:vinegar is fine, and 1:2 ought to work. It all depends on your own tastes. I haven't mixed my own in a while since I can't find balsamic vinegar but the 2:1 oil:vin was what I've seen on websites and heard from friends. Experiment to reduce cals and increase deliciousness!

there are severel ways ;) i´m vegeterian so....

you can basically make everything with veggies

try couscous with veggies

or some curry with a lot of veggies...just try not to use too much fat while cooking, but basically you don´t need a lot of fat

i think that most people don´t spice the veggies right...you wouldn´t eat a unsalted unseasoned piece of meat, it wouldn´t taste right...so use chilli,pepper, redpepper and i love covin...but you can try everything you like

Wow!!  Thank you SO much for the wide variety of tempting recipes!!  I will be trying them ALL!!!  My mouth is watering just reading them!!

I have never been a big veggie lover but I am turning into one.  I have learned so many great tips on this site and I like to try different ingredients so that I don't get bored.  As someone suggested, I now add a handful of fresh spinach to my fruit smoothie and I don't even realize it's there.  I also add chopped fresh spinach to my soups and I love roasted veggies.  I now eat salad every day and try different dressings.  My favorite bottled dressing is Ken's Lite Northern Italian w/basil and Romano.  I like fruit in my salad so I will usually use 1 to 2 cups green leafy veg like romaine or spinach or combination of both and add whatever fruit I have on hand (nectarines, strawberries, apples, craisins, etc) and sometimes I add a few toasted almonds or pecans.  I love Marzetti's bottled poppyseed dressing but it is high in fat so I use this recipe instead:

Poppy Seed Dressing

1/2 cup reduced fat mayonnaise
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
2 tablespoons fat-free sour cream
3 tablespoons sugar (or use spenda)
1/3 cup skim milk
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Combine ingredients in jar and shake.  To make thinner, add a little more milk. serves 8 to 10

There are like 100 different kinds of yummy low fat dressing they have out there in the grocery store! Try some different ones out to add to salads!  Don't forget fruit and different kinds of nuts add a new flavor, as well as added nutrients!

this is the best idea ever.

Every time you cook something tomatoe based (such as spag sauce). Add a couple of jars of organic vegetable baby food. It's a cheap way to get healthy organic vegetables without accually having to taste them.

frosted zucchini cookies.  yum. x ) 

 www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Frosted-Zucchini- Cookies - 76k -

I get a bag of sugar snap peas, take them out of the bag and place in a quart ziplock bag. Add 2 tsp of Kernel Seasons Chedder cheese seasoning and close the bag, shake and eat. 116 calories total! Yummy too. Sometimes I put some jalepeno powder in with the cheese seasoning. I am about to try a bunch of different popcorn seasonings from the spicebarn because you can buy them in bulk :)