Finding ways to increase your healthy vegetable consumption can be challenging. With fresh produce and a few cooking tricks, you can turn regular, run-of-the-mill vegetables into a delicious, healthy meal.
Basic Vegetable Meal
Any vegetable can be delicious if prepared the right way. Steaming is one of the healthiest ways to cook vegetables, but steamed veggies often taste rubbery and lack flavor.
Try cutting your vegetable of choice into bite-sized pieces. Drizzle 1 or 2 tbsp. of good olive oil into a cast-iron skillet. Mince two or three cloves of fresh garlic (more if you love garlic), and mix along with the olive oil in the pan. Throw in a pinch of sea salt and toss with your chopped vegetable.
Place the pan in a pre-heated oven set to 375 degrees F. Depending upon the vegetable, it could take anywhere from 10 to 25 minutes for your dish to cook. Cooking times vary by taste. Some people like their vegetables well roasted, while others like them warmed. When your vegetable dish is finished, consider topping it with finely-grated Parmesan cheese.
Try this cooking method with asparagus, broccoli, red or green peppers, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, squash or mushrooms. Mixing different vegetables together is always a great way to beef up the meal. You can also cook whole-wheat couscous and top it with the warm vegetables.
Vegetable Soups
Soup dishes loaded with vegetables can be filling and high in nutrients and vitamins. On a hot day, a bowl of gazpacho soup can cool you off and fulfill your daily vitamin requirements. This non-cooked food is easy to prepare; make the soup in bulk so you'll have leftovers on hand.
Gazpacho soup consists of cucumber, red bell peppers, plum tomatoes, garlic, onion, Kosher salt, white wine vinegar, freshly-ground pepper and plenty of tomato juice. The majority of the ingredients are combined in a food processor and blended with the tomato juice.
Another fast and healthy soup is a white and black bean soup with green peppers and tomatoes. Puree a can of white beans in the food processor along with half a cup of chicken broth. In a cast iron pot, combine three cloves of minced garlic and olive oil and simmer. Add the white bean combination to the pot and simmer for a few minutes. Add a can of black beans, one diced green pepper and two diced plum tomatoes. Add a dash of cumin and sea salt to taste and serve warm.
Vegetable Side Dishes
Create a side dish of sweet potato "fries" or collard greens to compliment your main course. Baked sweet potato chips area a healthy take on French fries. Sweet potatoes contain more vitamins and nutrients than a regular potato, but you can also use Yukon Gold potatoes if you prefer.
Thinly slice the potato and brush each side with olive oil. Lightly sprinkle each chip with sea salt and line an ungreased baking sheet with the chips. Bake at 425 degrees F for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on how thinly you sliced the chips.
Another great side is collard greens or kale, both of which can be made completely vegetarian. In a large stock pot, combine 2 or 3 tbsp. of olive oil and four cloves of minced garlic. Sizzle the garlic for a few minutes, then slowly add the collards or kale to the pot. Stir each group of greens with the garlic and oil so each leaf is covered.
Once you've added the entire bag of greens, season with sea salt and fresh-ground pepper. Pour 3 to 4 cups of vegetable broth in the pot and simmer until tender. Add a splash of white wine vinegar and combine.
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