Post # 1
Member
423 posts
Helper bee
Hi Ladies!!
My DH and I are terrible at sticking to any diet or well attempt to loose weight. We arnt very much over weight but we are pretty unhealthy. I really want to put an effort in and do it for my health. DH intends to be on board for this also. At this point I am not sure what to make! We went shopping and I bought alot and I mean bulk vegetables (they were extremely cheap from our local market) and the idea is to incorporate veg and fruit into as many meals as I possibly can and well we will eat it. Rather than forcing us to each carrots for lunch etc in a diet like fashion.
I am excited and keen on making a vegetable based dinner tonight. I have been googling for ages and cant find a dish that uses alot of different types of vegetables?
Any ideas ladies? I would really appreciate it.
Thanks 🙂
Post # 2
Hostess
1707 posts
Bumble bee
I roast veggies quite often – you can do this with many kinds of veg. And we put leafy greens in all kinds of unexpected recipes. My favorite is to put spinach or kale in scrambled eggs.
Post # 3
Member
9209 posts
Buzzing Beekeeper
Vegetarian lasanga? Vegetable moussaka? Vegetable stir fry or curry? Pasta sauce using just vegetables?
What vegetables do you have? Do you want to include meat?
Post # 4
Member
423 posts
Helper bee
lindsayE: Yes, thats my thought. I guess I am hoping to use all the vegetables in some interesting ways and not just as a basic side.
j_jaye: I am hoping to have atleast a few dinner meals a week meat free, with the other dinners including a healthy portion of meat. My DH can sort his lunches whether he wants veg and fruit or not but I will be doing that and a combination of meats for breakfasts and lunches until all the veg and fruit are used.
I haaaavvvveee many veg/ fruit veg haha more than I would normally buy. I have the usual and them some so…
Celery, carrots, brocolli, caulifour, parsnips, capsicum, tomatoes, red onions, spring onion, butternut pumpkin, kent pumpkin?, potatoes, squash, zucchini, fennel, eggplant, cabbage, corn kernels, asparagus, spinach, leek… plus other stuff like cucumbers, chilli, lemons, every herb you can think of and I should have more than enough pantry and fridge goods to whip up a large range of menu ideas. I am just at a loss of what to do with all the veg other than make a casserole or a soup??
Post # 5
Hostess
1707 posts
Bumble bee
Wow, that’s a lot of veggies! I’d have a hard time using it all before it started to go bad!
Maybe for a meat-free meal, you couLod bake the potatoes and top them with some of the other stuff that you’ve either roasted or sautéed? That would be really filling.
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This reply was modified 5 years, 6 months ago by lindsayE.
Post # 6
Member
423 posts
Helper bee
Thanks Lindsay 🙂 yeah well everything was around $1-$3 for 2 or more, or 1kg so really cheap even if some of it goes bad it cost us $46 for everything. I am just hoping I can be creative. We shall see I guess :/
Post # 7
Member
9209 posts
Buzzing Beekeeper
flutterbiikisses: You can also make a quiche (asparagus works well in quiche, grab some goats cheese and roast some of the kent pumpkin in the oven).
Do you like creamy pasta sauces? Thinly slice the leek (Pale part only). Chuck it in a pan with oil for about 5 mins. Thinly slice zucchini and mushrooms and add to the pan. I also use a vegetabe peeler to make some carrot slivers to add which is off recipe. Cook for 3 mins or until soft.
Combine 125ml of boiling water with 1/2 a vegetable stock cube and then stir in 250ml philadelphia cooking cream or other cooking cream (I use tofutti because my husband is vegan). add to pan and stir until thickens.
You can also substitute vegies for the protein in your normal recipes. For example for a cottage pie substitute the meat for lentils/corn kernals/peas etc.
Post # 8
Member
1799 posts
Buzzing bee
Stir frys are great, you can pretty much use any veggies you like. Go on to taste.com and look through their vegetarian section 🙂
make surr ire you are drinking plenty of water and look up which fruits have a lot of natural sugar as you should limit hem, such as oranges
Post # 9
Member
423 posts
Helper bee
Ok well based on advice… I googled some more. For tonight I have settled on a chicken noodle soup with well a bucket load of veg haha 🙂 Thanks guys!!
Post # 10
Member
9519 posts
Buzzing Beekeeper
My first thoughts were ratatouille , pasta primavera, minestrone soup and a grilled veggie skewer with a lemon soy marinade. The ratatouille will use up the eggplant, tomatoes, zuchinni, onions and whatever else you want. Pair with rice and it’s a healthy easy meal. So good when little chunks of goat cheese are mixed in. Pasta primavera let’s you use whatever you want almost. I like to use the crockpot for the minestrone. Put in the broth ams veg before work, come home and add pasta. Pair with crusty bread and it is very filling. In the summer I grill veggies like crazy and you can use whatever marinade you want. Again, you can use rice and/ or add portion like tofu or chicken.
You can also look into indian recipes, they tend to use a lot of veggies.
Here are more ideas
http://www.cookinglight.com/food/top-rated-recipes/best-recipes-winter-vegetables-fruits
Post # 11
Member
9519 posts
Buzzing Beekeeper
Oh and Jamie Oliver uses lots of vegetables. These look so good! The veggie burger, mushroom tart and chocolate cherry cheesecake look amazing!
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/category/world/#DPaZB5Ulgpbv66u3.97
Post # 12
Member
52 posts
Worker bee
- Wedding: Lombardi\'s On The Bay
I am a former vegetarian of 10ish years – had a taste of bacon on one of my first dates with now fiancé and I haven’t looked back since. Anyway, I still love cooking vegetarian style a few times a week.
Do you have Pinterest? There are tons and tons of AWESOME veg meals to be found there! Start by typing in a few veggies in the search box and search them- you’ll be surprised by what you find!
Spaghetti squash is incredi le and easy to make. Be aware that making it is a bit tedious and time consuming- I say this bc I hateeeee scraping them out. However, still very easy to make and tastes exactly like pasta.
roasted vegetables are one of my favorite foods on eacrth. Throw a bunch of them(mixed, whatever) in a bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper, mix up, and out them on a baking sheet and roast at 415 for 10 or so minutes. Perfect summer food!
Vegetable quesadillas and soups are probably my favorite go to meals when I don’t have a ton of time. You could use whatever veggies you’d like, substitute avocado for cheese(or add some on top of the cheese!), etc.
Post # 13
Member
6105 posts
Bee Keeper
I’m just going to leave you the link to the Skinny Taste Side Dish recipes. I love her recipes! She has a ton that are just vegetables to go through the list and pick out some you think you’ll like. I don’t think she has a single recipe I don’t love.
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2007/07/side-dish-recipes.html
Post # 14
Member
633 posts
Busy bee
I love vegetables and try to cook with them every lunch and dinner!
I just made a grilled veggie quesadilla the other day that I thought was delicious!
You slice and grill some zucchini, squash, red onion, red pepper, and mushroom (although you can mix and match whatever veggies you want). Take a tortilla and spread some pesto on it and sprinkle some goat cheese. Top with the veggies and another tortilla, then cook in a pan as you would a quesadilla.
Extremely delicious!
Post # 15
Hostess
1707 posts
Bumble bee