Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Need veggie suggestions
I'm kinda stuck on veggies lately. I'm not a huge fan of cooked veggies (a texture thing, mostly), but salad/uncooked ones are getting old.
Zig and I LOVE LOVE LOVE to eat asparagus (could eat it for every meal, honestly), but i feel like if we keep eating that, we're not getting a well-rounded variety of vegetables/vitamins.
I hate broccoli (thanks dad...long story short its the only vegetable my dad would cook growing up), and i have a problem with vegetables that get too mushy. And I dont like green beans...the taste makes me want to vommit. I know, i sound like a 5 year old but i can't help it! Zig will just about eat anything so i'm not concerned about that.
Any suggestions to help us out? I'd really like to try something new (even if its difficult to cook).
House Renovations
Married Bio
I am a gluten-free, gun-toting wife! :P
I love you, Daddy...2/24/1953 to 2/13/2011
Re: Need veggie suggestions
What about just roasting a mixture of veggies - carrots, zuccini, yellow squash...anything really.
Do you like sugar snap peas?
There's always the classic standby of corn - on the cob or not. DH used to make this corn all the time but we actually haven't had it in a long time. Might need to get some frozen corn.
We used to used canned corn, but frozen would be healthier. Cook up the corn in a skillet with some EVOO, then toward the end of cooking add some red pepper flakes. So easy and the red pepper adds some kick to the otherwise pretty plain corn.
Spinach, zucchini, squash, onions, carrots, peas, and mushrooms are all good veggies. Spinach you should probably eat fresh if you don't like mush, because there's no way to avoid that when cooking it!
But the rest are good in a stir fry, and zucchini, squash, peas, and carrots are all good steamed. I buy fresh and frozen, no canned. I think this helps with crispness and freshness. I like corn, too, but I don't think it has too many nutrients. Oooh! I love baby corn, water chestnuts, and sugar snap peas in Asian stir fries.
They are mushy because you are overcooking them. Steam them or stir-fry them. We got a silicone steamer basket (basically a bendy strainer) that fits in any size pot....just put water in the bottom, so that it doesn't touch the bottom of the steamer, and then add the veggies and cover it when the water starts to boil. You can make a steamer with a small strainer that fits in a pot. Or you can make one out of foil (which we did before we got the strainer!) Different veggies have different cooking times. I think I found a good guide by searching for "steamed vegetables" on about.com. And cooking them for 30 sec or a min less than recommended will help keep the crunch. They also have steaming bags you can buy where you get Ziploc bags. Those are handy when you've already got a bunch of burners going. And you can buy frozen veggies in ready to steam bags, sometimes already flavored.
I also love edamame beans, just boiled or steamed according to the package directions. They are high in protein and probably some other vitamins. Some people think too much soy can cause brain cancer, but it's extremely high amounts that do that. Plus, that was, like, one random study.
And winter squash (spaghetti, acorn, turban, butternut) is packed with vitamins and soooo good. Most you can cook in the microwave or oven, just google it. They've started coming with directions on the stickers, too. And then just serve it up with butter and cinnamon.
You could also try different salads with unique dressings. That might bring new flavors to the raw veggies.
Sorry for the long post. I love vegetables, and don't really like a lot of meat, so we cook veggies a lot. I hope this helps, and that I wasn't just rambling!
thank you both!!!
we actually eat mushrooms alot too...theyre pretty much my favorite food lol but i guess im just not knowledgeable about whats good for you and what isnt. i do tend to overcook everything...i get distracted LOL. ive been really good about not overcooking asparagus...prob because otherwise its DISGUSTING.
i think ill pick up a steam basket (if i dont alreayd have one in my room of kitchen stuff from my bridal shower lol) and try some other veggies in that since i cant keep them crunchy enough to be appealing. i love edamame too, but i tend to load it up with salt, which doesnt help my trying-to-be-healthy thing.
we have those steam-bag ones in the freezer but i really would like to do fresh veggies while theyre still in season. we also have frozen corn but i know that corn isnt necessarily that good for you so i try to stay away from that too.
the squash thing with butter and cinnamon interests me...never had it with cinammon before. maybe id hate it less? lol
IDK what my problem is....LOL
House Renovations
Married Bio
I am a gluten-free, gun-toting wife! :P
I love you, Daddy...2/24/1953 to 2/13/2011
This is not as healthy as steaming, but I figure I am getting veggies so who cares. I love to cut up all sorts of veggies; any combination of peppers, onion, zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, potatoes, garlic works. Then I put it in a glass baking dish, drizzle it with olive oil and roast it at 400 for about 40 minutes. The veggies caramelize a bit and soften, but don't get mushy. Oh, I put the mushrooms in later or drain some of the liquid from them. I serve this with simple chicken, shrimp, or fish.
I keep the leftovers and sometimes throw them in a blender with chicken or veggie broth to make homemade soup that is kind of bisque like. Yum!
Can't wait to cook once we move!
squashes, zucchinis, peppers (reds, yellows, greens, etc.), peas, cauliflower, throw a bunch together and make some ratatouille, eggplant, brussel sprouts, mushrooms, spinach, experiment with different greens for salads, edamame, corn...
Grill it, saute it, broil it, boil it, make it in to soup, mix it in a casserole, bake it...
I need a break.