Veggie Recipes

[Firespark Faerie]

As you may or may not already know, I am the mother of an eight year old girl. Recently we've been a little at odds on the subject of nutrition, something children this age often take issue to. In short, this is coming down to eating one's vegetables, again an issue with many children. I would like to improve her nutrition as well as my own, because to be honest I don't eat so well either for much the same reason. I dislike the taste of most vegetables, especially squash and, tomato, and spinach, though I find peppers, cucumbers, and carrots to be more palatable. My daughter's tastes are similar. I don't want to force her to eat her veggies by not letting her leave the table because I don't believe that type of parenting is good, and I don't want to feel like a hypocrite. I also don't wish to hide things like hot dogs and french fries because I think they're a good treat to have in moderation.

That being said, I'm looking for ways that my daughter (and myself) can enjoy vegetables rather than hold our noses and swallow them as quickly as possible. One strategy I've used is stir-frying them in Teriyaki sauce , but that stuff is rather high in sodium and gets boring after having it several days straight. I'm curious to know of other recipes and techniques out there to make veggies taste delicious. We're not vegetarians nor do we have any religious dietary restrictions, so adding stuff like meat and cheese in is fair game.

[cyron]

the way my mom got me to eat vegetables is she baked them in bread specifically she , made spinach focaccia although its somewhat labor intensive as it has to rise three times over 2-4 hours depending on the recipe, also I myself am quite partial to vegetable cooked in dumplings and or spring roles though its best to have meat or fish in the dumplings as well (though dumplings are also labor intensive)

[Echo]

My mom does a lot of simple cooking, like just roasting veggies in the oven with olive oil, salt, and pepper. We've eaten a lot of stuff I wouldn't otherwise try this way, and it's really good! Examples are, broccolli, cauliflower, asparagus, brussel sprouts, parsnips, carrots, etc. Another good way is just adding it into other recipes, like meatloaf (add chopped carrots, onions, etc) or lasagna (my mom adds frozen spinach in a layer) or salmon cakes (add chopped peppers and onions). My mom's a foodie, we always accuse her of adding extra veggies to everything.

[Inactive Account]

My mom convinced my sister to eat carrots by just microwaving them with a bit of water, a couple teaspoons of butter, and a little bit of sugar and black pepper. I don't remember the exact amounts or timing but I pretty much picked up how to do it from trial and error, err on the side of too dry/too raw and then add more time/water if necessary in order to avoid having them get too soggy.

I feel like there are a lot of things you can just add certain vegetables to without making an extra dish. Stir fry can generally take at least one out of broccoli, peppers, carrots, snow peas, or mushrooms. Regular spaghetti sauce (which is mostly fruit already) goes well with mushrooms and (imo) peppers. So does pesto. (Really I'm pretty sure peppers are just magic because you can put them in a zillion different things, stir fry, pasta, on pizza, on kebabs, burritos, red beans and rice... etc.) Some things are also more palatable in one format but not another (I don't like cooked spinach, but it's good raw in salads and there's this super pasta sauce recipe I make with it.)

There's also the snack option of just taking raw peppers/carrots/cucumber/broccoli/_{celery i guess but bluhhhh} and dipping them in ranch or hummus or whatever. Celery allegedly also goes with peanut butter but my deathless hatred of celery prevents me from passing judgment properly there.

Other than that most can pretty much just be cooked plain and still taste okay-- steamed broccoli, boiled corn/green beans/peas. I don't know about frozen broccoli but I know it works with frozen beans/peas just fine. (Fresh green beans steamed with a bit of butter/salt/pepper though. Delicious.)

or there's the tl;dr version

1) obtain main dish

2) stick peppers in it

3) ???

4) PROFIT

[Teapot]

<asiantalk>

I've never really been picky with my veggies, seeing as I grew up with a very Chinese mother who wasn't a huge fan of meat. Most of our vegetable preparation methods involve stir fry, either plain or with some type of meat accompaniment. If you're worried about high sodium, I'd recommend using "imitation salt," which is actually potassium chloride (KCl) rather than normal table salt (NaCl). It's supposedly better for you. I usually don't cook with salt, though. I tend to use chicken broth/stock or powdered stock bullion for flavor. There's also minced garlic, which helps get rid of some of those odd vegetable smells, similar to how it works with meat. Likewise, there's also soy sauce and oyster sauce. I'm not sure how fond of those you might be, but it's pretty much Chinese staple.

</asiantalk>

Also, I'd recommend trying to add frozen mixed vegetables into dishes, like curry, fried rice, potpies, and casseroles. You can even make savory pancakes with veggies grated inside, or actually made from grated veggies, themselves. If you're not entirely adverse to eating them plain, frozen mixed veggies are plenty delicious with just a bit of margarine or butter.

As far as spinach is concerned, perhaps you'd like to give spinach quiche a try? It involves eggs and cheese, and the spinach is hardly noticeable.

Edited February 12, 2013 by ObLIVIA

[Firespark Faerie]

It seems like you all have had better parental experiences with vegetables than me. My mother was always of the "eat your veggies or you can't leave the table" type, and it's one of the many things we've clashed rather hard on. I believe this to contribute to my dislike of vegetables, and is one reason why I don't want do try this philosophy with my daughter.

Personally, I have a very sensitive tongue and I can always tell when veggies have been "sneaked" into foods like lasagna and meatloaf. However, if they can positively enhance the flavor then we just might enjoy it. My daughter's doctor also recommended a similar approach to oven roasting vegetables, telling me seasoning can greatly change their taste make them palatable. I've yet to discover something that works for both of us, but it's one of the many things I'm trying. We tend to eat a lot of frozen foods because my fiance and I often don't have time to cook, but perhaps this could work in the microwave as well.

I just tried this method for carrots. I think I overcooked them because they came out kind of soggy, but otherwise not bad. My daughter went to bed, so I haven't let her have a taste test yet. Thanks a million!

Peppers are one of the few veggies that I can eat and really enjoy, prepared in just about every way. As for celery and peanut butter, my daughter happens to be a fan of "ants on a log," which is that with raisins placed on top of the peanut butter. Strangely enough, she's one of the few people I know who dislikes ranch dip, making the dipping classic impossible. She won't even dip unhealther things like potato chips in the stuff. She'll eat of a few of those raw vegetables, but I've yet to see her finish a serving without a little push.

Generally speaking, we both eat up all the vegetables whenever we go out for any sort of Asian food. I've tried bringing a few of these recipes into the home but they just don't taste the same, even the stir fry stuff. Of course, practice makes perfect so maybe I'll get better at it as I cook it more. I would love to simply add beef or chicken to one of these and call it a day, but I can so see her picking the meat out and leaving the veggies untouched. It just might work, though.

The only spinach quiche I've ever tried was frozen, and I wasn't very good. However that could very well have been because it was frozen and a low-quality brand. I'll have to try making a fresh one sometime if the spinach isn't so noticeable.

[Teapot]

It's hard to replicate restaurant food at home simply because the preparation methods and facilities are different...and they really like to be liberal with oil usage. As a general rule, though, when making stir fry, make sure your heat is high, and you cook things quickly and thoroughly. If you let veggies sit too long, they start turning nasty.

Also, if you're fond of that thick stickiness that shows up in some sauces, I recommend using a little bit of corn starch or tapioca powder. Dilute it with cold water first, then toss it in at the end. It'll thicken things up and leave it clear, unlike wheat flour.

There was a nice recipe on the back of a Bisquick box that I really liked. I think it was this one. It involves the use of frozen chopped spinach, but as long as you take precautions and properly rinse the stuff when you thaw it, the frozen taste shouldn't stick around. You can replace the feta with whatever cheese you like if you aren't fond of it.

Edited February 12, 2013 by ObLIVIA

[Firespark Faerie]

It figures that oil is the secret to restaurant food. I might try a little more the next time I stir fry just to see how it comes out, but oil = fat even if it's vegetable or olive oil, so we can't overdo it. Granted we're not deep frying, but still. Overcooking's also a common issue, famous for giving vegetables that soggy texture that I dislike. It wasn't until I was much older than I learned the reason I hated veggies so much is I was often served them overcooked.

I don't like the appearance of that quiche, but I'll take your word for it, since looks can quite often be deceiving with food, I wouldn't touch sushi for years for example, because I thought it looked weird and the whole concept of raw fish grossed me out. After finally deciding to try it, sushi became one of my favorite foods. That being said I'm going to have to give this quiche a try as the recipe looks simple enough. Thanks!!

Edit: That being said about Sushi, my daughter's into it as well. We're both fine with rice and seaweed, oddly enough. She often takes "seaweed chips" to lunch with their, though it's noted that these are high in sodium as well. Sodium isn't my main nutritional concern (that's keeping fat and sugar low), but too much of it still isn't good.

Edited February 12, 2013 by Firespark Faerie

[eclipse]

VARIOUS VEGGIES, BECAUSE SOMEONE'S STOMACH IS SUPER-PICKY:

Broccoli - You can either parboil them and then toss them with a little bit of olive oil and salt, or toss with olive oil, put on a cookie sheet, and roast them for a bit (recipes online).

Cabbage - Chop it up, and throw it into a frying pan with olive oil and a bit of soy sauce and pepper. It's great fried! (curse you stomach for not letting me eat it!)

Kabocha (related to squash, dark green on the outside and looks like a pumpkin on the inside) - Chop it up, cook with butter and brown sugar, serve as dessert. This also works with yams.

Kale - This can be parboiled or eaten raw (if you do the latter, toss it with a decent amount of olive oil and a tiny bit of soy sauce and garlic powder).

Spinach - Get the fresh stuff, and learn how to clean it (IIRC, it's a bit involved). The frozen stuff is nasty. I prefer my spinach parboiled, and topped with a bit of salt and garlic powder.

Tomato - Buy a Roma tomato. Cut in discs (halve it if they're too big to be bite-sized). Top with fresh mozzarella cheese (the stuff that looks like a ball and comes in water) and a fresh basil leaf. Drizzle with olive oil and black pepper. Enjoy.

[Samias]

I generally find spinach easy to integrate into pasta and casserole. So long as you don't overcook it because soggy spinach is awful, it's a very nutrient dense green veggie that can add a lot to a dish. Layered lasagna is particularly good with spinach, as spinach just naturally pairs well with tomato sauce and ricotta cheese. Making hummus is another idea if you have a blender. Chickpeas are low in fat and packed with protein and hummus is great for a lunchtime snack and is easy to make so long as you can find tahini (sesame paste). Otherwise you can try some store-bought hummus though it's harder to control the salt content. Oh, and spinach hummus is pretty great too, as is red pepper hummus, if you want to pack some extra veggies in there.

If you're willing to try something exotic, try gai lan (Chinese broccoli) or bok choy from a Chinese grocer (or even your local supermarket if your city has a big enough Asian population). Quickly steamed or stir fried and served with an eensy bit of soy/hoisin/oyster sauce on the side, I generally find gai lan a lot more palatable than the traditional western vegetables. Gai lan has a nice crunch to it and has a milder flavour than broccoli, whereas bok choy has similar cooking applications to cabbage but has a stronger flavour that I personally find more appealing.

[Agro]

As obLIVIA said, stir-frying vegetables is great. Again, make sure your pan is very hot, and your vegetables aren't too wet. Dice up some garlic and chuck it on once the pan is hot enough, throw them around for about 3-4 seconds (any longer and they will burn) and then put your bok choy/broccoli/chinese broccoli/whatever onto it, and you should get a nice loud sizzling sound. Be generous with oil, but not too generous. If you're using a wok that doesn't have that awful non-stick stuff, use a metal spatula and make sure the oil is well spread around the wok and don't be afraid of scratching the thing. This will prevent the vegetables from sticking. As for sauces, it's really just a mix of light soy sauce, oyster sauce, and some salt with a pinch of sugar. On that note, don't get non-stick woks, they are kind of awful and will actually affect the taste of your stir fry. If you can, find an Asian market somewhere that has a cast-iron wok instead. You'll need to scrub it every now and then to prevent rust, but it does a hell of a lot of favours for a stir fry. If you're afraid of stuff sticking on it, just do as I said before, and make sure that a. the pan is very hot and b. you spread the oil around very aggressively.

Salads are good, too! I find caesar salad very palatable; the chicken + lettuce thing works fine for me. If you're having salad with your pasta, don't forget to eat them both together. Otherwise the salad will end up tasting extremely bland. I have a dressing that consists of some olive oil, white vinegar, salt, sugar and dijon mustard (seeded is fine too) which tastes fine. If you want the exact recipe, just ask Don't use lemons for dressing, they are far too sour.

Another thing you could try is baked cauliflower and white sauce. This one's really nice, although I wouldn't it too often because white sauce has a bit of butter in it. I have a modified recipe that my mum taught me--it's quite involved as it takes a lot of stirring and arm strength but it tastes great and you can even use it for pasta bake, too.

Pumpkin/potato soup is also nice. You'll find that butternut pumpkin works better for soups than the other one (forgot what it's called). You can sneak some carrots in too if you like. Obviously make sure that they're boiled beforehand.

By the way, if your daughter ever gets braces, be careful of those seaweed chips. If you fold them and try to bite on them they become very dense and may pop off one of your braces. It's not a huge issue but it happened to me once and it was just inconvenient.

Anyway, there's plenty of options, I guess. I never used to be big on vegetables (despite being Asian family lol)but I've kind of grown into them, so if nothing works for your daughter, give it some time. Er, while you're forcing carrots down her throat, that is.

Edited February 13, 2013 by Agro

[MacLovin]

You could fry them in Tempura.

But yeah, anything can be fried in tempura.

But to be honest, Salads are usually a nice attempt and so is spinach pie.

I remember the whole "vegatable puree in brownie batter" trick though, it might work for you.

[Lenh]

Growing from your own garden makes a world of difference with certain vegetables (particularly zuchinni, cucumbers, snapPeas, and basil, imo). I usually don't have a problem with eating raw sugar snap peas and most leafy greens straight that way (then again I'm not picky).

Cucumbers drenched in lemon + sprinkled with a bit of salt = delicious.

Salsa/chipDips/burritoFillers/ (guacamole, or simple tomato/cilantro/onion combo)

Try out various dressings and find out which one (if any) you like, and use that in place of ranch as the dipping and salad coating GoTo.

For the squashes, brushing them with oil, finding a complimentary spice and throwing them on the grill is good.

For actually cooking with them:

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/ingredient/vegetables/

[eclipse]

You could fry them in Tempura.

But yeah, anything can be fried in tempura.

But to be honest, Salads are usually a nice attempt and so is spinach pie.

I remember the whole "vegatable puree in brownie batter" trick though, it might work for you.

I think she's looking for healthy alternatives, and deep-fried veggies aren't healthy.

[Invanex]

For vegetable stir-fries, I would recommend a nice nonstick pan with any oil of your preference with a high smoke point. You want to cook your veggies with a very hot pan for stir-fries. The order in which you put in the veggies matter, so put in the vegetables with longer cooking times like carrots first, then the other veggies like peppers and peas. For Asian dishes, it is all about having the right ingredients and just practicing. It is amazing how one little ingredient in small quantities can drastically change the flavor of the dish.

Pad thai is actually something I tried cooking for the first time a week ago. Making a home style pad thai is actually not that difficult. I think the hardest part in making pad thai is acquiring all the necessary ingredients. Pad thai has beansprouts, peanuts, shrimp, and other delicious healthy ingredients. There are various recipes, so I can post you a recipe if you are interested.

Do you and your daughter enjoy spicy food? Also, are you familiar with Korean food? There are spicy dishes in Korean cuisine, but not everything is spicy. There are a lot of vegetable dishes and recipes in Korean cooking. One dish people love after trying it is bibimbap, which means "mixed rice". It is a rice dish with all sorts of vegetables and roots, an egg, Korean chili paste, and meat if wanted. Since you and your daughter like sushi, you can give hoedeopbap a try. It is another rice dish where you mix raw fish, vegetables like lettuce, sesame oil, and Korean chili paste together. The raw fish can be tuna, salmon, halibut, sea bass, etc.

You can also try using parsnips instead of potatoes and carrots when they are used in recipes. One would be mashed potatoes. Interestingly, parsnips are related to carrots and have more vitamins and minerals than carrots do. You can add garlic, salt, black pepper, butter, chicken stock, etc. to make it flavorful. You can add whatever you want to it to make it taste to your liking, while keeping it healthy. Spices and herbs actually have a lot of nutritional value, so that is one way to add flavor to your dishes, while keeping them light and/or healthy.

As mentioned before, roasting vegetables is a nice technique to bring out flavor. One other technique is to use alcohol in the cooking process. Alcohol has the ability to bring out hidden flavors because certain flavors are only alcohol-soluble. Tomatoes are a good candidate for this method. When cooking with alcohol, you want to first move the pan or pot off of the stove top and then add the alcohol, so it isn't in direct contact with fire or extreme heat. This should prevent any potential fires.

You can try mixing certain vegetables with already existing dishes that you cook. Have fun experimenting. Cooking is all about trying out something new and having fun with it.

I hope this will help you in some degree. Good luck in the kitchen and getting those veggies eaten.

[MacLovin]

I think she's looking for healthy alternatives, and deep-fried veggies aren't healthy.

Tempura was only one of them

Uh, Spanakopita?

Well, eating veggies raw with a little vinegar+garlic always appealed to me as a child. Perhaps it'll work?

[zari212]

On 2/13/2013 at 7:38 PM, Lenh said:

Growing from your own garden makes a world of difference with certain vegetables (particularly zuchinni, cucumbers, snapPeas, and basil, imo). I usually don't have a problem with eating raw sugar snap peas and most leafy greens straight that way (then again I'm not picky).

Cucumbers drenched in lemon + sprinkled with a bit of salt = delicious.

Salsa/chipDips/burritoFillers/ (guacamole, or simple tomato/cilantro/onion combo)

Try out various dressings and find out which one (if any) you like, and use that in place of ranch as the dipping and salad coating GoTo.

For the squashes, brushing them with oil, finding a complimentary spice and throwing them on the grill is good.

For actually cooking with them:

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/ingredient/vegetables/

Thanks for the recipe it's really good.