Need Ideas for New and Different Vegetable Recipes

We grill a lot of veggies this time of year. Pretty much whatever you have, carrots, potatoes, zukes, broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, sweet potatoes, asparagus tossed in a bit of olive oil seasoned with what you like and grilled in a grill basket. Sometimes drizzled with balsamic vinegar when they are done. They are really good, sometimes I don't even eat anything other than these.

I'm so glad you asked this question because I feel the same way. My favorite vegatable that my son scarfs up is - asparagus dipped in egg and then rolled in panko bread crumbs. Spread all of them on a baking sheet and then bake at 350F for 10 minutes. My son eats these in droves.

Good luck!
L.

Some of my favorites are veggie fries. Take a sweet potato, or any kind of squash and cut them into french fry shapes. Sprinkle sea salt and a little chilli powder on them and then spray with olive oil (or put them in a bowl, put some olive oil & toss) and bake at 400 for about 15 minutes (you have to just check for them to be done b/c it depends on how thick your slices are). I LOVE them and the kids like them too. I also like to grill veggies, especially colored peppers sliced into strips, mushrooms, and onions. Get a wok grill with holes (they usually sell them at Home Depot/Lowes by the grills this time of year.) Cut the veggies, spray with olive oil, sprinkle with a little sea salt, and grill for 10-15 minues...again, you have to check for done. I like them a little crispy still. Next, I love carrot souffle (sp?). Boil or steam your carrots, put them in a food processor add a little butter and brown sugar (or agave nectar) and puree them. Yum! That's all I can think of for now...oh, and we LOVE steamed edemame (soybeans). You can usually get them in the frozen food section ready to steam. Steam, sprinkle a little sea salt, and my kids fight over them. Good luck!

Forgot about asparagus...just snap the ends, put in a pot of boiling water (just enough to cover them) for literally 1 minute. Take them out and sprinkle a little sea salt...do you see a theme with the sea salt?? Ha, ha!

Cauliflower, steam it, and either make it just like mashed potatoes - steam them, mash them, add butter, salt & pepper or mix cauliflower and true mashed potaoes.

Bake broccoli and cauliflower with olive oil an sprinkled with equal parts garlic powder, tumeric and black pepper. ( the spices are Dr. Oz's prescription for fighting cancer. I actually hate pepper and tumeric alone, but can't taste them in this mixture.)
My favorite is to saute a coarsely chopped onion, add 2 sliced zucchini, reduce heat and cook for about 3 minutes, then turn off heat and add 2 chopped tomatoes and 2 cloves of pressed garlic. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.
For quick and easy, I make a green smoothie.

cauliflower and broccoli cheese. Yum! Zucchini and carrot slice. honey carrots, whole roast garlic cloves, steamed vegies drizzled with sesame oil (just a touch), and sprinkled with sesame seeds. chinese-style vegies. Yum yum yum.

This time of year I like to saute zucchini with mushrooms. Sometimes I will add corn or onions. Then when everything is softened I will top it with mozzarella cheese.

I also like to take zucchini, mushrooms, onions and a can of diced tomatoes and saute them all together. It goes very well over pasta.

I'm looking forward to reading your answers because I'm always look for quick and easy ways to prepare vegetables that are not calorie laden.

Cauliflower is so good when it is brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with curry powder and salt, and then roasted in the oven.
We love corn on the cob that has been grilled. Leave the husks on, soak the cobs in water 30 minutes, then grill 30 min or so over medium heat, turning every so often. Remove the husks after they have cooled a bit. The corn will have a wonderful smoky flavor and tastes wonderful even without butter.
corn and cucumber salsa is also a favorite. Mix corn, black beans, chopped cucumber, chopped onion, chopped tomato and add some Catalina dressing or minced garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and a bit of sugar. It is good on its own, with chips or on salad.

Hi S.---A couple of great sources of recipes, both of these have magazines. I recommend you go pick one up just to see the beautiful pictures of recipes...yummy.
www.vegetariantimes.com
www.eatingwell.com

One of the things that we like to do to get lots of different fruits and veggies in one meal is to oven roast or grill a big selection. You can eat them as a side dish at your first meal. The leftovers can be used on a salad, in a wrap or in an omlete at another meal.

Variety is just about as important and the number of fruit and veg each day. Each color represents a different nutrient. We are supposed to eat 7-13 servings of fruit and veg each day and ideally all different colors.

I have charts, both indicating the number of servings for different ages of children, and a shopping list divided into colors, giving suggestions for what goes into what color group. I'd be happy to share those if you'd like.
And, if you can put even more fruit and veg on your plate, you'd be healthier still. Based on long term research, a Naturopath that I work with, who also has her PhD in Nutrition, recommends 90% of daily calories from plants. So we eat several vegetarian and vegan meals, saving animal protein for special occasions. I should apologize as it seems I am sharing a bit more than what you've asked. I'll just end with a couple of resources to go to if interested.
www.pcrm.org (look for the vegetarian starter kit)
www.thechinastudy.com

Good luck...have fun. Let me know if you need anything else. D.

Roast them! Tomatoes, squash, eggplant, fennel, carrots - whatever you have. Spray them with olive oil, sprinkle salt, and roast at 450 for about 20 minutes (depending on how thick you cut them).

Fresh tomatoes cut with salt and pepper.

Cucumbers sliced, (also a little sliced onion, if you want) put in white or cider vinegar and sugar and let them sit for @ 30 minutes.

Ditto on Stacey's veggie fries. YUM. Do acorn squash the way she described, or sweet potatoes. Delicious. Also, with the sweet potato, you can make fries and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar and its a special treat.

Finally - head to the Dallas Farmers Market on weekend mornings. We load the kids up and walk down the aisles - everyone gives samples and its fun picking out your fruits and veggies there.

I love this one: http://www.food.com/recipe/moosewood-homespun-pot-pie-148918

Chopped onions red peppers sauteed with olive oil and a bit of butter then add corn and edemame, dash of pepper. stir in skillet for a moment ill corn and edemame is warm.. . Delish

Baby bok choy. Pull the leaves apart. rinse. In a skillet heat up Tablespoon peanut oil or olive oil, when hot add bok choy, dash of salt. Stir for a few minutes. Add 2 TBLs, water, cover with lid and lower heat, cook for about 2 minutes. Take off heat add 1 TBLs. soy sauce.. Yummy..

Spinach cooked as above and you can add some cooked chopped Turkey Bacon.

I agree about grilled vegetables. I place them in foil with a little olive oil , salt, pepper and garlic pods.

Easy one here!
3 Squash, 3 Zucchini, and a small onion.

Chop the squash and zucchini into bigger chunks, dice the onion.

Use olive oil and a little salt/pepper to taste. About 5 minutes on the stovetop stirring regularly. Yum!

I'm a roasting mama, myself. Actually, just last night we had roasted pork chops w/ veggies. Easy peasy, one-dish dinner that everyone loves. I throw a couple of tablespoons of butter in a roasting pan & put it in the over while it heats up to 425. In a small bowl I mix salt, pepper, garlic & onion powder. I use 3-4 medium potatoes, cut into chunks, a pkg fresh mushrooms quartered, 2 red bell peppers cut in chunks, 3-6 whole cloves garlic, 2 medium sweet onions, quartered &2-3 zucchini or yellow squash chunked. When the butter is melted I toss in a handful of fresh sage leaves, lay the chops on top & sprinkle with seasoning. Toss all veggies in a huge bowl with a drop of vegetable oil & most of the remaining seasoning & pour over the chops. Cover the whole thing & bake for 45 minutes. In a separate bowl, slice 2-4 medium vine tomatoes & sprinkle with the remaining seasoning. After the 45 minutes, uncover, flip the chops over, toss the veggies around & top the whole thing with the tomato slices. Pop it back in for 10-15 more minutes & you're all set. Just the smell alone will get everyone's mouth watering & if you cut everything big enough, kids can avoid whatever veggies they don't like & just take the stuff that they do.

Yep, roasted veggies.
You can roast anything.
Even pineapple.

Toss with EVOO and then sprinkle with salt.
Put in oven.
About 400 degrees.
Watch it and its done when it is a tad browned (the way I like it), and it gets caramelized and tastes great.

Or: Stir Fry veggies

Or: Sauteed veggies

Try using various bottled sauces/marinades. This makes it more interesting and you can try so many different ethnic sauces too.
You can use the marinades as a 'dip' too.

Cauliflower Gratin - Parboil, then blend with 4 oz creme freche and 4 oz guereyer cheese, sprinkle with a little more cheese and breadcrumbs, Bake 375 for 20 to 25 mins. Green beans and carrots, parboil 5 mins, blend in casserole with 3-4 T mayo, tsp horseradish, 3 T minced onion, 2 T water. Melt 4 T butter in microwave, add 1/3 c grated parmesan and 1/3 cub breadcrumbs. Mix half into casserole, sprinkle half on top. bake 375 for 20 to 25 min. Sweet baby carrots - Mix with 2 T butter in skillet, add 1/2 cup OJ and 1 to 2 T brown sugar, cook till tender, Zucchini chips - slice thin, dip in lowfat milk, dip in mixture of parm cheese and breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, garlic powder. Bake on aerated pizza tray at 400 for 15 to 20 mins., Asparagus - marinate in vidalia onion dressing and roast at 400 for 15 min., Zucchini fritters - grate zucchini, add chopped red onion, red and green pepper, bread crumbs, parm cheese and 1 to 2 eggs until it's a thick batter consistency and fry. Green beans steamed, then mixed with clove of garlic, and grape tomato halves, then sprinkled with crunched taco chips. Almost any vegetable roasted with parm cheese and breadcrumbs or marinated in different salad dressings and roasted or grilled, or added crunch from nuts or chips - just experiment.

I was amazed how much kids like Cauliflower. Just steamed with some butter. My younger son is a picky eater and he will eat it all if we don't keep an eye on him. By eat it all I mean we get none. :(

Couple of things to get extra veggies without them being just another side item. First, I blend a mixture of tomato, peppers (red, green, yellow), onions, parsley,garlic, cilantro, and anything else that you have with a little water and Worcestershire sauce to help it blend. This mixture is mostly all veggie and I cook my ground turkey/beef/chicken or chicken breasts in it and serve it with rice or pasta. The rice is another way I add extra veggies plus I serve another veggie on the side. I started to cook my rice (2 c) with a TB of oil and 2 tsp of chicken bullion powder to brown it and flavor it before adding the water (4 c) and veggies (2 c) of your choice. The consistency is still really good and the flavor is delicious. Frozen veggies are fast and easy and the mixed are great to add color. If you are in a rush you can microwave the veggies so the rice cooks faster.

Broccoli Raab w/ evoo, garlic, salt, pepper ; sauteed

Radiches sliced in half next to a dish of kosher or sea salt (dip and eat)

Caprese Salad (cherry tomatoes, basil, small mozzarella... add arugula for peppery kick)

On the grill or under the broiler after drizzling over olive oil:
- Crooknecked squash
- Zucchini
- Portobello mushrooms
- asparagus
- fennel bulb
- red/ yellow/ green peppers

Stuffed Peppers

Cauliflour Au Gratin

Asparagus, Mushrooms, Purple Onion, EVOO, sauteed

Roasted Veggies in Balsamic Butter

Freshly shelled peas sprinkled with kosher salt

Corn grilled in the husk (dehusk after cooking)

Saag Paneer

Green Rice (1 cup cillantro, 1 cup swiss chard, 1 cup chicken stock)

Artichokes (steamed, roman style, in a dip)

Bruschetta

Curries

We get the kids involved and make veggie kabobs with red,yellow & green peppers, mushrooms, onions, cherry tomatoes, squash/zuccini, and even chuncks of pineapple! I do the same cut them, throw them in a bowl with olive oil and toss w/your favorite seasoning. Kabob them and grill! They are beautiful and delish! Kids loove making them and eating them!!