Help me eat more veggies

[chutch]

You are all awesome! These are very doable ideas. Now I'm getting excited

Becky- definitely post the recipe when you get a chance

[Becky]

Spinach and Broccoli Enchiladas (from the June/July 2008 issue of Healthy Cooking magazine)

1 medium onion, chopped
2 tsp. olive oil
1 10-oz. package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup finely-chopped fresh broccoli (sometimes I use frozen)
1 cup picante sauce, divided
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. ground cumin
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
8 8-inch tortillas

In a large skillet, cook onion until tender. Add spinach, broccoli, 1/3 cup picante sauce, garlic powder, and cumin; heat through.

Remove from heat; stir in cottage cheese and ½ cup cheddar cheese. Spoon about 1/3 cup of cheese mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in a 13-inch x 9-inch x 2-inch baking dish sprayed lightly with cooking spray. Pour remaining picante sauce over the top.

Cover and bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes or until heated through. Uncover, and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.


My notes:
I generally use low-fat cheeses and whole wheat tortillas when I make this. If I recall correctly, 1 cup of picante sauce isn't quite enough, but it depends on personal preference. I chop the broccoli in the food processor.

When I'm making this ahead, I'll do it one of two ways: make the filling and keep in the fridge until I'm ready to assemble and bake, or assemble it, but wait to put the sauce on top until right before baking. This isn't a good recipe to freeze or assemble too far ahead because of the cottage cheese IMO, but it works ok if prepped a day ahead. Even if you're making it right before dinner, it goes together pretty quickly.

[Trek420]

OK, I will let you know how it came out. Tonite at Chez Trek there's no recipe eggplant parm. This is what I think I did. Come home, let the dog in.

clean then slice eggplant very thin. Lay slices on a cookie sheet and liberally salt with kosher salt (you can use non kosher whether or not you're Jewish )

Let dog out.

While eggplant sits and sweats wash then slice mushrooms, onions, toss in hot pan with California olive oil and saute.

Let dog in.

Once sauted cheat and add your choice of marinara sauce product.

Simmer.

Let dog out again.

Back to eggplant, rinse, pat dry, put in oven on the cookie sheet and cook till a little limp (the eggplant, not you).

Let dog in.

While this is going on stir sauce, slice mozzarella slices, find bake pan.

Let dog out.

Remove baked eggplant and layer creatively sauce, eggplant, cottage cheese and mozzarella, more sauce, eggplant, cottage cheese etc.

Let dog in and turn on Olympics.

Note: I like to do prep so slicing and dicing is something I like.

[shootingstar]

Don't forget the red radish --they can add zip. I had forgotten how zippy they were until I had 2-3 about a month ago. After not having them for over 20 years.

Raw Japanese radish, which is larger white-creamy root...is nicer and more gentler. Can be eaten raw or stir-fried. Which is what I had mixed into my stir-fry that I banged up together tonight with buckwheat noodle, onion, ginger root, snow peas, garlic and tofu slices.

[chutch]

OK, I will let you know how it came out. Tonite at Chez Trek there's no recipe eggplant parm. This is what I think I did. Come home, let the dog in.

clean then slice eggplant very thin. Lay slices on a cookie sheet and liberally salt with kosher salt (you can use non kosher whether or not you're Jewish )

Let dog out.

While eggplant sits and sweats wash then slice mushrooms, onions, toss in hot pan with California olive oil and saute.

Let dog in.

Once sauted cheat and add your choice of marinara sauce product.

Simmer.

Let dog out again.

Back to eggplant, rinse, pat dry, put in oven on the cookie sheet and cook till a little limp (the eggplant, not you).

Let dog in.

While this is going on stir sauce, slice mozzarella slices, find bake pan.

Let dog out.

Remove baked eggplant and layer creatively sauce, eggplant, cottage cheese and mozzarella, more sauce, eggplant, cottage cheese etc.

Let dog in and turn on Olympics.

Note: I like to do prep so slicing and dicing is something I like.

Can I substitute petting kitty and feeding fish for letting dog in/out if I have no dog on hand?

[Trek420]

Can I substitute petting kitty and feeding fish for letting dog in/out if I have no dog on hand?

Absolutely, substitute pets as needed. One thing you can't change is if you're a conservative you still need to liberally salt the eggplant or it will be bitter.

Note, the dish was good but would have been better with riccotta. They were out at the store, I punted with cottage cheese. I could have drained that .... oh well.

[Pedal Wench]

Trek, you crack me up.

I add veggies to everything. A handful of fresh, bagged spinach on every sandwich, wilted down to nothing in pasta sauce (kids won't even notice it in the sauce), soup, in the beans for your burritos, whatever.

I also use the bags of shredded cabbbage (sold as cole slaw without dressing next to the bagged lettuces) and add to soups or anything else I'm cooking. Start them first, and it cooks down to nothing but adds so much goodness and fiber -- it makes a can of soup a meal if you use enough -- I'll use almost a whole bag in a can of soup for dinner for one.

[Smilie]

Thanks for the recipes Becky and Trek. (sounds like your dog has a gerbil bladder ) Eggplant is so weird looking that I have never bought any. You make the recipe seem so quick and easy that I shall have to give it a go. On the grill it would be good too.

[redrhodie]

I joined a community supported agriculture program this year, so I'm forced to eat lots of veggies. I highly recommend you look into it for next year (providing there's one in your area). The produce is all organic and local, and at this point in the season, it's comparatively inexpensive. Going to the farm and picking the food yourself is fun, too. Nothing better than cherry tomatoes right from the vine!

I find myself making things like ratatouille, stir fries, lots of salads, pasta primavera. I hate to cook, so I usually eat out a lot. Not this year! I haven't visited the local burrito shop in weeks! I still hate to cook, but since I've picked some of the food, and watched it grow, I can't watch it go bad. I've bonded with it. Cute little cucumbers--I'm gonna eat-cha.

My other tip is spinach from the salad bar. It's cheap and ready to eat, and I add it to quesadillas, sandwiches, omelettes, cans of chili. Easy.

[limewave]

In fall and winter, I really enjoy oven roasted vegetables. Just about any root vegetable works. A spray of olive oil, a dash of sea salt--and roast in the oven. YUM>

[arielmoon]

Those recipes look good and I bet I can veganize them!

I do the weekend prep thing too! I make a few cups of whole grain rice add some steamed some baby carrots, broccoli, and/or yellow squash from my garden, some nutritional yeast (adds a cheesy flavor) and some spices. I divide it into several portions in glass containers for lunches at work. When I get to work I do not refrigerate or microwave, I simply eat it. (I am weird in addition to being vegan, I dont use plastic containers or use a microwave).

I also do the frozen veg shortcut too and my fave is froz peas in my salad. Cherry tomotoes from my plant are the bestest in there too!

[jillm]

When we joined the csa I ended up making a LOT of soup and freezing it. (We'd get so many greens in the spring I'd just lightly sautee them and puree with lemon juice, ginger and a little chicken stock... and gulp it down!) Here are a couple of good zucchini soup recipes I found. (I think when I made them I added tofu to protein it up a bit)

Zucchini cilantro soup http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/fo...DER-SOUP-10481

Zucchini basil soup
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/fo...IL-SOUP-242831

Epicurious, recipezaar, and foodnetwork .coms all are excellent sites.

[Trek420]

Thanks for the recipes Becky and Trek. (sounds like your dog has a gerbil bladder ) Eggplant is so weird looking that I have never bought any. You make the recipe seem so quick and easy that I shall have to give it a go. On the grill it would be good too.

Not gerbil bladder, she just likes it that I'm trained to come to the door on request.

Eggplant is great, grilled, baked, mashed in dip, puree in soup, Japanese eggplant in stir fry turns the most beautiful color. I plan on leftovers tonight with of lemon cucumbers marinated in Japanese wine vinegar.

[Dogmama]

Two slices of sprouted grain bread (or any dense whole grain bread)
Light cream cheese - spread on both slices

Veggies:

Shredded carrots
Cucumbers
Sprouts
Red bell peppers
Roma tomatoes (add before serving so bread doesn't get mushy)
Spinach, lettuce, other greens
???

The cream cheese is a good "sticker" for the shredded carrots & sprouts so they stay put. You can also sprinkle with sunflower seeds.

You can substitute garden-type cream cheese, onion & chive - whatever floats your boat.

[OakLeaf]

Seasonal recipe from the garden/farmer's market. This is adapted from a recipe that called for chard and dill instead of kale and shiso. Out of season, one could easily use frozen limas (in which case the cooking time would be about the same as the greens for large limas, or somewhat shorter for baby limas). Light sesame oil or other vegetable oil could be substituted for the butter to make a non-dairy recipe. Simple and delicious!

1 very large bunch red kale (about 1-1/2 lbs)
1 qt unshelled lima beans
2 small onions (or 1 medium-large)
3 tbsp butter
1/2 cup red shiso leaves (aka perilla, beefsteak)
1/4 cup water
Salt and pepper

Shell lima beans
Coarsely dice onions
Wash kale and cut into strips
Mince shiso

Heat butter in a large Dutch oven or similar pot. Saute onions until translucent. Add lima beans and water, bring to simmer and cover. If butter is unsalted, add some salt now. Approximate cooking time based on size and age of limas, subtract the approximate cooking time of the greens.

Add greens and herbs, stir to mix, cover and simmer until limas and greens are tender.

Serve with rice or other whole grain.

Serves two very hungry people or three who didn't get a long ride in!