Old Bay Zucchini and Squash
Slice them about 1/8-1/4 inch slices. Spray a pan lightly with extra virgin olive oi (EVOO)l. Place slices in pan. Sprinkle with old bay and cook down on low with the lid on. This can be high in sodium if you are heavy on the old bay.
So watch out!
Feta Squash
Slice yellow squash in thin slices (1/8in)
Place in a pan that has been sprayed with EVOO. Sprinkle with dried or fresh basil flakes. Cook down with no lid. Stirring/flipping frequently. When they are almost render enough to suit you sprinkle with feta cheese (I like the feta cheese that has a tomato basil flavor added). Serve. This one is FULL of flavor.
Grilling time. I heart grilled veggies!!!
It's always good to purchase a gill wok from a kitchen store ($6). You can chop season and grill your veggies in the wok with lots of variations and it's easy.
Grilled onions. I prefer sweet onions. If you are grilling right on the grill not in a wok slice the onion in 1/4 in slices. Do not pull the layers apart but rather put a pre soaked toothpick through to hold the layers together. One on each side works great. Or a skewer. Lay directly on the grill and every single layer will get caramelized. What could possibly be any better. Yum!!!!!
Grilled peppers. You can cut them up in small pieces or make big slices and lay them on the grill. They can be seasoned or not. Avoid salt as it increases sodium. Check out Mrs. Dash sodium free or reduced sodium seasonings in lots of fun flavors. To cut big pieces I normally grab my big sharpest knife out of the block and set the pepper up like an apple. I start at the top just away from the stem an cut straight down. I can normally get 4-5 pieces out of one pepper.
Grilled Zucchini or Squash
I make 4 slices long ways an put them right on the grill. You can too them with your favorite shredded cheese (but measure it) or old bay (easy on it). Basil, etc. be creative.
Steamed broccoli is one of my faves. Of course it's yummy with tons of butter and cheese like they serve at restaurants. Dont do the butter. Cheese in moderation is okay though. So I usually rinse my broccoli crowns and put them in my steamer pot. I have two kinds. One is a stove top pan with a strainer type insert. You add water underneath. But the broccoli in the strainer part and place the lid on. This is the best way and you can cook with the broccoli broth that is left behind. I've never done that but I kinda want to and would love ideas for that. I also have a pampered chef plastic microwaveable pan that I put a the broccoli in with a drizzle of water and in 3 min. It's done. Microwave is quick but cooks less at a time. Stove too takes like 10ish min but cooks more.
I like to add lemon pepper (easy if it's not sodium free). Also lemon juice gives a great flavor.
One of my favorites is shredded Parmesan cheese. Real cheese not the powdery type but the shredded type. Or mozzarella. Measure cheese always. The Parmesan is a hard cheese. Not good for you so measure and go with as little as possible to get your taste right.
On to Tomatoes. Use Roma, cherry, or vine, or just regular tomatoes. I think the smaller ones have more flavor unless you find them fresh or home grown then they are perfect to slice and eat plain with some pepper and a dash of salt.
On to other ways to eat them. Mix them with mozzarella and olive oil and balsamic vinegar to make a tomato
Salad. Excellent to go with whole wheat pasta or chicken. Okay. So a tomato is actually a fruit. But anyhow. Moving on.
Spinach.
I like to buy baby spinach and make a pizza. I grab a Boboli whole wheat crust off the pizza sauce isle (not refrigerated). I put about 1/8-1/4 of a cup of pizza sauce on the crust. Then I cook the spinach down (like half a container) in a skillet with a drizzle
of EVOO, minced garlic and sometimes a splash of red wine vinegar. It takes like 2 minutes to cook down. Place the cooked spinach around the pizza and top with Feta cheese. Place the pizza in the oven for 10-15 min. Follow
Directions on the crust. Yum!!!
Don't forget to measure your ingredients and calculate your calories and divide by how many slices you've got. When I do this I get 6 slices out of the pizza. 167 cal per slice.
You can also just eat the spinach with the garlic and feta cooked or uncooked. Very good and very healthy veggie.
I think that about exhausts my veggie recipes.
A few other veggie thoughts.
If you don't like them eat them mixed with other foods (peas in Speghetti, a piece of broccoli with a piece or your meat on one fork bite)
Grab some frozen steamable edamames. Never had them? They are one of my childhood favorites. Just steam them and pop them out of their shell right into your mouth. Super healthy. They are just soybeans. Very good!
Spraying EVOO? Don't go for PAM or that type of aerosol Spray. They are full of chemicals and in my opinion taste bad. Grab an oil sprayer from a kitchen store ($10-$15). Pour in EVOO, pump and spray!!! Yep it's that easy!
One last thought.
Go to your local farmers market. Mine has 3 different ones and most are open Tues, Thurs, Sat. Grab fresh veggies and fruit and enjoy!!!
Pictures below of some stuff.
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