Eating more greens and veggies and getting out of my carrot, pea and broccoli as a side dish rut.

[momee]

I reviewed this list and realized although I'm doing really well (almost nazi-ish) on the no prepackaged or chemical laden foods.  However, I am not doing so well replacing them with a high veggie, high green selection of veggies.

 

How did/do you incorporate more healthy things in your diet when your crew has been used to meat, potato and bread each meal. My dh is a BIG Eat to Live proponent and when I fully support this way of eating, he's thinner and feels much better.  I should say we've come a long way and they eat fairly well, chickpeas, salads, occasional quinoa, green smoothies if they're sweet enough.  My in-laws moved in however and are used to canned tamales, vienna sausage, canned gravy and biscuits with Jimmy Dean sausage, etc.  Now in the summer they're high veggie eaters but that's a diet of corn, potatoes, fried okra, and iceburg lettuce with thousand island dressing.

 

I read through this list from a composting forum I was reading about how if foods are good for you they're good for compost.  It got me to realize though that I am in a rut and eat the same lettuce, the same veggies, week after week.  BORING - and I am confused on what to even feed everyone.  I have two ends of the spectrum here plus three kids in the middle who are HUNGRY :)

 

I would love any advice you can give...you all (well the ones who click on this) are the only ones who care to talk about this in my life.  Sorry it is so long.  Maybe I need to hire a nutritionist.

 

 

1. Dandelion: use young leaves. 
2. Arugula: Slight mustard green flavor. 
3. Kale: Use young leaves. (I found this is smoother than spinach in smoothies)
4. Parsley: Helps bring out the flavor of others. (I buy a bunch for one recipe, use 2 tbsp and the rest rots - embarrassing)
5. Romaine: Somewhat strong taste. (We're fine with this, use too much probably)
6. Spinach: High in nutrients but contains oxalates. (could do better than a handful in a smoothie)
7. Beet: Best if you use young and small leaves. 
8. Butter: Lettuce (too expensive around here!)
9. Endive: Contains oxalates. May affect calcium absorption. 
 

The top ten fruits and vegetables in overall nutritional content:

1. Broccoli - Broccoli is a vegetable very much like spinach. Broccoli is the superhero of the vegetable kingdom! (I should eat this much! more often.  Kids like it and so do inlaws.  We eat it in a stir fry with red cabbage, carrots, broccoli and chicken.)
2. Cantaloupe - The orange color of cantaloupe's flesh relfects its extremely high beta-carotene content, which converts to vitamin A in the body. 
3. Carrots - Carrots are nutritional heroes, they store a gold mine of nutrients. (I realized we only eat these in soups or occasionally with a veggie plate and hummus)
4. Kale - Unusually rich in the minerals and vitamins provided by green leafy foods. (my primary usage of this is the following Olive Garden copycat soup but has a bit of cream in it - sooo good

http://www.plantoeat.com/recipes/182777
5. Mango - Cholesterol 
free. High in vitamin A and vitamin C. 
6. Papaya - Papaya contains the digestive enzyme papain, which helps your body break down and digest proteins. 
7. Pumpkin - The bright orange color of pumpkin is a dead giveaway that pumpkin is loaded with an important antioxidant, beta-carotene. 
8. Red bell Peppers - Peppers are full of vitamins C and A, as well as folate. They are also high in fiber. 
9. Spinach - This lovely, leafy green is not only flavorful, it is a nutritional powerhouse. 
10. Sweet Potato - The sweet potato 
deserves to be on the highest perch because it is a nutritional powerhouse supplying many nutrients.

(I was thinking this is a "bad starch" and was lumping it in the bracket of white potatoes, maybe I should rethink that.  I make this awesome stew that dh loves...

http://www.plantoeat.com/recipes/385248

[FaithManor]

One of the things I do since the eldest boy is a bit picky is simmer the veggies he thinks he doesn't like (peas and green beans) in broth, then run it through the blender. I add in potatoes, carrots, leeks and celery (which he does like), and whatever meat such as shredded chicken or stew beef and finish cooking the stew. He eats it right down and never knows he ate the added veggies.

 

I do a saute of red pepper, yellow or green pepper, finely chopped leeks, cubed potatoes with the skins on them, a little shredded cabbage and spinach (have to finely shred the spinach and keep the amount low because the boys do not like that flavor to be strong), and mushrooms in a pan, get them cooked through well, add a lot of eggs (three teen boys are hard to fill, LOL), and scramble then add cheddar or parmesan cheese. They love this for breakfast and for added filling, will sometimes warm a tortilla, fill it with the egg and veggies, then top with sour cream. When they do that, it really sticks to their bones. Starting the day with a serving or two of vegetables does help us get more in them.

 

One of my side salads is chopped broccoli and celery, cold snow peas or pea pods, diced red pepper, and dried grape tomatoes tossed with feta cheese and a good zesty Caesar dressing plus some cooked and cooled brown rice pasta. They especially love this side in the summer.

 

Sweet potatoes we eat baked with a little butter and salt. Pumpkin is not liked here at all, except that all of the men folk love to snack on roasted pumpkin seeds so I keep them handy.

 

Bitter flavors just are not consumed well here. Beet greens, dandelion, kale....I can choke them down, the others absolutely will not touch them. They've tried to like them, but the flavor really gets them so I don't force it. We get plenty of nutrients elsewhere. They are all good fruit eaters as well.

 

The men eat carrots fresh nearly every single day with lunch. I do not eat sweet potatoes or carrots, nor fruit except green apples or citrus. My mom is type 2 so I am extremely careful with simple carbs, and with starchy or high glycemic level fruits and veggies though I still eat a lot of legumes and part of the reason for that is I am chronically anemic due to major absorption issues and without beans I can hardly keep my iron count up to a paltry number much less a good one. But, I aim for A1C's that are low so most fruit is out.

 

Red pepper is probably one of the most loved veggies here. The whole family tends to clamor for my stuffed, baked peppers.

[Jane in NC]

As a seasonal eater and CSA subscriber, we have expanded our palates to include lots of interesting things.  I'll recommend trying a local CSA and then figuring out what to do with the stuff in the box.  My classic line concerning meals is "you get what you get".

 

My refrigerator is literally bursting with greens at the moment.  For lunch I am going to make Cabbage Masala (using an Asian cabbage called Michili) with the plan of having some leftovers for a quick side dish.  For dinner I am making calzones with greens and shiitake mushrooms.  I will not be using dandelion greens but will substitute a mixture from the CSA.  I have escarole, turnip greens, kale, arugula.  Since I love arugula in salads, I will probably not use it in the calzones.

 

We enjoy sauteed greens but I also add them to whatever else I am preparing. Soup?  Add greens.  Meatballs or meatloaf?  Add some chopped greens.  Pesto can be made from arugula or kale. 

 

Autumn is root season.  Roast sweet potatoes with parsnips, carrots, turnips, rutabagas, whatever you have.  And roast some Brussell sprouts while you are at it! Hated boiled sprouts as a kid but roasted they are heavenly.

 

Google is your friend.  But something seasonal and then google to discover what to do with it!

 

ETA:  Make the famous WTM baked oatmeal with pumpkin!

[Laurel]

If you want to get out of your rut of the same veggies over and over, I echo the suggestion of signing up for a CSA share. You have to have plenty of flexibility, but it will expose you to new veggies and force you to prepare them. And don't think you have to wait until next spring/summer. There are lots of farms that do winter shares. Root vegetables are very plentiful now and very easy to substitute for one another. I will be any roots I have (carrot, potato, rutabaga, parsnip, daikon) into beef stew. Roast them up mixed and they're delicious. You can mash them together with a variety of seasonings.

 

There was also a wonderful thread a while back about eating more veggies at breakfast. It had such great ideas. I'll see if I can find it and link it.

[Amira]

One simple thing you could try is to buy a new-to-you vegetable each week, or every time you go to the grocery store, or whatever, in place of one of your usual vegetables.  If that's your only choice, you'll likely eat it and you can find recipes on the internet.  I think a CSA is a great idea, but it can be a little overwhelming to get an entire basket of vegetables that are unfamiliar. One at a time might be easier.

 

The thing that made the biggest difference for me with vegetables was learning how they're prepared all over the world.  I never liked vegetables as a child, but when I learned how they're prepared in other places, they became my favorite and we eat a huge variety of vegetables now.

[Cinder]

Probably the most popular veg here is baby spinach--it goes in so many dishes. We just chop it up and add it to scrambled eggs, spaghetti, stew, etc. Other add-ins include sauteed peppers, onions, zucchini. Sometimes steamed cabbage. We're pretty boring for sides: steamed broccoli, sauteed asparagus (lots of garlic!), cole slaw (with homemade dressing because bottled dressing is usually too sweet), salad made mostly with romaine.

 

Not too adventurous on veggies here and my dc aren't veggie lovers so I've let myself get in a rut. I hope to glean some great ideas from this thread too!

[ScoutTN]

I have it easier than some as DH has never met a vegetable he didn't like! My kids are not picky, though they don't love all veggies.

 

We eat lots of dark, leafy greens. Kale, chard, spinach, beet, turnip. Loads in our CSA box lately. I usually saute them in EVOO with onions and garlic and add a splash of cider or balsamic vinegar. Sometimes add bacon or spicy sausage. We love kale chips. I make kale salads, always marinated and always with fruit. We eat loads of salad and a couple times a year I sit down with a pile of magazines at the library to hunt for some new ones. I put parsley and chopped fresh herbs on everything, just about. Soup, stew, salads. They are easy to grow and most (not basil) will grow through the winter here, with a bit of pretection. I have a fenced back yard with a SW exposure. Parsley, chives, cilantro, mint, thyme, sage, rosemary, oregano, dill - all yummy. I also cook greens from broc, cauliflower and brussels sprouts! These are sweet, not bitter and do not need to be stemmed. I often put them in soup in place of cabbage or make a gratin with them.

 

Brussels sprouts we eat threeways:

1. roasted

2. sauteed in bacon drippings, then add chx stock and golden raisins and cook til soft, add chopped bacon and serve,

3. cook part way (parboil or microwave), mix with artichoke hearts and put into casserole dish. mix mayo, celery and garlic salts and some lemon juice and spoon it over veggies. sprinkle with parmesan and slivered almonds. Cook at 325 for 25 min or until hot through. Yummy! Can use frozen sprouts for this.

 

 

None of us love arugula so I use it only occasionally in salad.

We eat loads of root veggies and winter squash this time of year. Parsnips and turnips are great roasted or mashed. Sweet potatoes we do with just butter and a bit if salt. My kids will gobble up butternut but the texture of acorn squash isn't their favorite, so I add a bit of maple syrup when I serve that. I haven't cooked rutabagas yet, but they are on my to try list.

 

We put sauteed onion and peppers in loads of things. We do a similar skillet dish with potatoes and eggs to the one FaithManor mentioned. The Pioneer Woman has several good recipes for this, but you can totally make it up.

We too LOVE red bell peppers and eat them constantly. As a side with sandwiches instead of chips, in sandwiches, with hummus or homemade ranch, and of course stuffed peppers.

I sneak chopped, cooked mushrooms into many things. Meatloaf! My kids think they don't like mushrooms and will identify the shape and not eat them if I leave them in a recognizable form!

I serve veggies with eggs 4x a week for breakfast. Dd does better with less wheat so we use potatoes as a starch at breakfast often.

Have fun! Experiment!

[Laurel]

Vegetables for breakfast:

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/452370-vegetables-for-breakfast-how-do-you-prepare-them/

[Laurie4b]

Try to get veges in breakfast. That helps with the vege count. Some ways we do it: I cook oatmeal and stir in a large spoonful of canned pumpkin. Add some cinnamon and I like something for texture like raisins, dried cranberries, or chopped apples.  Omelettes and frittatas are your friends in terms of working in veges. Typically, I'll add a mixture of sauteed onions, garlic, chopped mushrooms (they are good for you, too), and spinach to an omelette and top with guacamole. (Don't knock guac on eggs till you've tried it. Actually guac is an excellent go-to any time you want a creamy texture without dairy.) For fritattas, I often use veges from the night before. I've recently tried those "eggs in  muffin tins" that are being posted on FB right now. They work great, and are good if you don't have much time. Spray muffin tin with oil. Beat an egg and pour one in each tin. Then you can add veges such as spinach, brocolli, etc. (I added it already cooked) Bake at 350 for about 15 min. You can store them for up to a week.

 

Kale chips are yummy and taste reasonably like potato chips. Homemade is the way to go. They are way too expensive purchased.

 

I agree with pp's who advised adding some greens to whatever you're cooking. Mild greens like spinach don't add much different flavor.

 

I didn't see tomatoes on your list. They are excellent for health and of course, you can add tomatoes to most anything or build a dish around them.

 

Having a plate of veges with an appealing dip is another way to add to vege consumption. Bean-based dips like hummus can be made in healthy ways. I make our own ranch now as well.

 

V8 juice is another way to get vege servings in, though I don't particularly like the taste, I can drink it. I also use it as a base in soups.

 

[shukriyya]

We have a large poster wheel that is divided by season/month and it tells us what foods are in season locally and currently. Some things are obvious but others are a surprise. I imagine you could get something like it online. It's fun to eat that way and gives variety. As pps suggested it's the season of root veggies and winter greens like kale, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbages. Don't forget things like kraut, pickled beets and tomato chutneys.

[Seasider]

I love roasted vegetables! You can take many of them (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, green beans, carrots, onions, mushrooms, cabbage wedges, other root veggies), toss them with some olive oil, sprinkle with garlic powder and a dash of salt, other herbs if you like, and roast them at 400F til the edges just begin to brown. They have a caramelized flavor that is so delicious!

[Pawz4me]

Ehh . . . I'm not impressed by kale.  I don't like it.  And growing up in the south, I always heard that it was a "poor cousin" to collard greens.  People only ate kale if they couldn't get collards.  And I did the research and it's pretty much true.  Collard greens have more fiber, calcium, protein and iron than kale.  And they taste much better (IMHO, of course).  I think turnip greens taste a lot better than kale, too, although they're not quite the nutritional power house that collard greens are.  But if you can find them you might try those two in place of kale

[Jane in NC]

The bitterness of collards (or other greens for that matter) might be harder for the non-initiated to enjoy at first bite.  The OP might want to consider chard.  Vegan chef Bryant Terry has a nice version of citrus collards--any other green could be substituted--that cuts the bitterness.

 

Side note:  in NC, a quantity of collards is called a "mess of collards".

 

Personally I prefer other greens to collards, a clear indication that I was not born in the South!

[Laurel]

I like kale (and I have a very strong aversion to all things bitter), but I don't think it's worth pushing if people don't like it. It's much better to enjoy spinach you've prepared rather than attempt to choke down a couple bites of kale. DSS13 adores kale chips, so he is always happy when we can get done kale from my mother's or aunt's garden. (Likewise, my father/uncle are also happy when we take kale away with us...)

One thing I do like to do with greens is chop them up finely and add to ground beef as I'm cooking it. This may visually be too much for picky people, but I don't think it affects the taste. (I've done this in shepherds pie, or when I mix beef with salsa and cover with cheese for a "Mexican" meal.)

 

[Anne]

As a seasonal eater and CSA subscriber, we have expanded our palates to include lots of interesting things.  I'll recommend trying a local CSA and then figuring out what to do with the stuff in the box.  My classic line concerning meals is "you get what you get".

 

My refrigerator is literally bursting with greens at the moment.  For lunch I am going to make Cabbage Masala (using an Asian cabbage called Michili) with the plan of having some leftovers for a quick side dish.  For dinner I am making calzones with greens and shiitake mushrooms.  I will not be using dandelion greens but will substitute a mixture from the CSA.  I have escarole, turnip greens, kale, arugula.  Since I love arugula in salads, I will probably not use it in the calzones.

 

We enjoy sauteed greens but I also add them to whatever else I am preparing. Soup?  Add greens.  Meatballs or meatloaf?  Add some chopped greens.  Pesto can be made from arugula or kale. 

 

Autumn is root season.  Roast sweet potatoes with parsnips, carrots, turnips, rutabagas, whatever you have.  And roast some Brussell sprouts while you are at it! Hated boiled sprouts as a kid but roasted they are heavenly.

 

Google is your friend.  But something seasonal and then google to discover what to do with it!

 

ETA:  Make the famous WTM baked oatmeal with pumpkin!

 

Jane, that cabbage masala looks fantastic - I am definitely going to try it!  The recipe calls for a pinch of Hing or Astoefeda (sp?).  Is this a critical ingredient that I need to go in search of?  Also, the ingredients list includes 1/2 cup of coriander leaves.  Again, do I really need this?   Thanks for your help!

 

Anne

[Jane in NC]

Jane, that cabbage masala looks fantastic - I am definitely going to try it!  The recipe calls for a pinch of Hing or Astoefeda (sp?).  Is this a critical ingredient that I need to go in search of?  Also, the ingredients list includes 1/2 cup of coriander leaves.  Again, do I really need this?   Thanks for your help!

 

Anne

 

I have never used Hing because I don't own any.  Seems to me that is definitely one of those recipes you can play with.  I have added chick peas before.  Today, lacking a tomato, I added a persimmon.  Coriander is a lovely touch but I did not use it today since none is in the house.

 

Shrug.  I'm really not very good at following recipes... But I have always been happy with the results of my variations on this one!

[Rosie_0801]

One simple thing you could try is to buy a new-to-you vegetable each week, or every time you go to the grocery store, or whatever, in place of one of your usual vegetables.  If that's your only choice, you'll likely eat it and you can find recipes on the internet.  I think a CSA is a great idea, but it can be a little overwhelming to get an entire basket of vegetables that are unfamiliar. One at a time might be easier.

 

The thing that made the biggest difference for me with vegetables was learning how they're prepared all over the world.  I never liked vegetables as a child, but when I learned how they're prepared in other places, they became my favorite and we eat a huge variety of vegetables now.

 

Oh yes. I have a rule about new foods. I always prepare the three different ways just to be sure it's the ingredient we don't like, not the method.

 

 

 

 

 

 Jane, that cabbage masala looks fantastic - I am definitely going to try it!  The recipe calls for a pinch of Hing or Astoefeda (sp?).  Is this a critical ingredient that I need to go in search of?  Also, the ingredients list includes 1/2 cup of coriander leaves.  Again, do I really need this?   Thanks for your help!

 

 

No one ever needs coriander leaves. :p But the hing powder. Do try and track down the hing powder.  :drool5:

[Amira]

Oh yes. I have a rule about new foods. I always prepare the three different ways just to be sure it's the ingredient we don't like, not the method.

 

 

This was the only part I liked.  I still don't approve of your distaste for fresh coriander.  ;)

[Rosie_0801]

This was the only part I liked.  I still don't approve of your distaste for fresh coriander.   ;)

 

 

:party:  <-- See that? That's my "I hate leave coriander and tahini' party and I've only invited you because I'm a smart alec.

 

 

 

 

:p :p :p