Thursday, November 16, 2017

How to Eat More Vegetables (Part 1 of 2)


Regardless of which dietary guidelines you follow, everyone agrees that we should eat more vegetables. But what if you don’t like vegetables, or don’t know how to cook them? That was sort of me when I began my journey into adulthood. I was used to salads made with romaine or iceberg, veggies out of a can, and fruit in heavy syrup (yummy!). But as grocery stores started carrying a larger variety of veggies, and as I started volunteering on farms and learning about different kinds of produce, I realized that I had a lot to learn.

Over time, I’ve learned to like most vegetables (though with varying degrees of enthusiasm). Zach is my guinea pig; he doesn’t like most veggies, so if I can fix something in a way that he likes, I know it’s a winner.

There are some great ingredient-based recipe collections out there (check out Dishing Up the Dirt for some truly gourmet dishes), but if you’re like me, you might need to start small and simple. I hope this post is helpful.

Principles for eating more vegetables:

1. Forget about buying veggies in a can. Ideally, you’d buy your produce from a farmers market or farm stand. But let’s be honest, most of us aren’t there yet. Just buy whole veggies at a grocery store, and try to stay in season. (What’s in season? Check out this map!) Frozen veggies are another good option, just be sure you’ve chosen something that thaws well.

2. If you don’t like a particular vegetable, try it cooked a different way— roasted instead of raw, sautéed instead of steamed, etc. This doesn’t mean you’ll ever truly like it (I’m still not crazy about eggplant), but give it a shot before dismissing it.

3. Roasting hardy vegetables is one of my favorite ways to eat them. Preheat the oven to 450ºF, cut the veggies into bite-sized pieces, place on a sheet pan, and drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper on top. Toss to coat them evenly, then put in the oven and check after twenty minutes. If they’re still really hard, check again after fifteen minutes. Or if they’re starting to soften, check every five to ten minutes afterward. When roasted, all sorts of veggies— beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, onions, peppers, potatoes, sweet potatoes, winter squash, etc.— become caramelized and sweet. You can eat the roasted veggies hot with rice or meat, or cold with a salad later on.

4. Stir-fries are another great way to try new veggies. Chop the pieces small, and sort them by cooking time (carrots and onions take a long time, broccoli a few minutes, garlic and peas very little). Sauté them at high heat to sear the outsides. 

5. Sauces and dressings are very important, especially for the non veggiephiles in the audience. Here are some of my favorites:

Butter sauce: Melt butter with some crushed garlic and spices such as Italian seasoning, curry powder, chili powder and cumin, or paprika and pepper.

White sauce: Melt together a few tablespoons each butter and flour, whisking in the hot pan until the mixture turns golden, which can take several minutes (this is called making a roux). Crush some garlic in there if you want. Add milk gradually, stirring quickly until the sauce is the consistency you want. Add a generous dose of pepper and serve.

Kung Pao sauce: Cookie and Kate has an excellent recipe.

Basic vinaigrette: Mix salt and pepper with some vinegar (red wine, apple cider, or balsamic), then add twice as much oil as vinegar and thoroughly shake. Or, if you want to be fancy, first mix the vinegar with crushed garlic and Dijon mustard.

Creamy dressing or dip: You can use sour cream, but I love using drained kefir (kefir that has been drained through a cloth napkin for several hours) because the consistency is perfect. Either way, add a generous shake of onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and dill or parsley flakes to create your own ranch or French onion dip. Thin with a little milk or water to make a dressing.

If you want something more gourmet, Oh She Glows has some amazing sauces, too. 

Other spices that go well with veggies:

Curry powder— carrots, cauliflower, onions, peas, sweet potatoes
Paprika, garlic, and/or onion powder— everything, but especially potatoes
Thyme, rosemary, and/or sage— potatoes, winter squash, carrots
Lemon— everything but especially anything bitter like broccoli, kale, or Swiss chard

Tomorrow, I’ll give a list of how I cook my favorite veggies. 


Do you have any tips to add?

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