I need new veggie side dishes

[honeybunny]

I'm so in a rut. Anyone have any new inventive (and easy!) veggie side dishes?? DH is diabetic (with high cholesterol and high blood pressure) and finding toddler-friendly veggie stuff is just about impossible.

We're about sick to death of corn and green beans.

Angie

[VivC]

I make a squash medley with squash, tomatoes, onions, garlic and green peppers. Sprinkle with oil and spices, and bake.

[bumblebeema]

Angie --
I feel your pain!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll be watching to see what ideas you get.

[bep0602]

I'll be watching too! My DH doesn't like many vegetables so I will fix something for me and ds besides what I fix for him. I figure he gets tired of the same things.

One thing I do is cut potatoes up in cubes and pour Italian dressing on them and cook till they're tender. DS loves them too.

[moonshadow]

i like carrot and swede mashed up... it's smooth and sweet. carrot and parsnip can be nice like that, too...

we love lemon potatoes, but they don't really count as a veggie side, do they?

um.... i will do some thinking... most of our veggies wind up as main courses, so i will have to apply my brain (and maybe search through my cookbooks for things i've been wanting to try but haven't gotten around to yet)....

a project

[There's hope]

Hmm, not very new, healthy or perhaps toddler friendly but they are ideas...

Creamed Spinach:
2 boxes frozen chopped spinach, 10 ounces, defrosted in microwave
2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup heavy cream
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese

Squeeze defrosted spinach dry by wringing it out in a kitchen towel. To a small skillet, add butter and cream and heat to a bubble over moderate heat. add spinach and salt and pepper. Cook until spinach thickens with cream, 3 to 5 minutes.

SAUCY BRUSSEL SPROUTS

2 pt. Brussel sprouts
1/2 c. chopped onions
2 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 c. milk
1 c. sour cream

Boil Brussel sprouts for 10 to 15 minutes and drain. Cook onion in butter until tender. Blend in flour, brown sugar and dry mustard. Add 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir in milk and cook until thickened and bubbly. Blend in sour cream and add Brussel sprouts. Cook for 3 minutes then serve. 6 to 8 servings.

Broccoli/Cauliflower Salad
I can't find the recipe but it's a broccoli/cauliflower salad with cubed marbled cheese and ranch dressing. I think it's basically one head of each, one bag of that cheese and the dressing to taste.

I serve alot of salads with meals.
I get those boxes with the mixed greens or spinach and then get cucumbers and carrots or what ever assortment of veggies you like to add to them.

For DS I just shred the carrot and chop up the cucumbers finely. I offer the greens but he usually throws them on the floor. ;D

[There's hope]

Oh man, speaking of greens - collards.

I could so use some collards.

I can see those going over like a lead balloon with DS too.

1 or 2 bunch(es) of collards chopped
1 ham hock
salt and pepper
boiled until tender

serve with some pepper sauce if you have it


And if you have collards you have to have black-eyed peas -

about 1/2 bag of frozen black eyed peas boiled until tender with some bacon fat and lots of salt and pepper (lots of pepper!)

Ugh, sorry these ideas except for the salad are not all that healthy. I'll have to do some more thinking.

[Magz]

Broccoli-Cauliflower Casserole

1 pkg California Mix (broccoli, cauliflower and carrots)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can milk
1/4 cup chopped onions
1/2 stick butter
2/3 cup minute rice
shredded cheese for topping

Cook veggie mix 4 or 5 minutes and drain. Saute onion in butter. Combine and mix all ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 or 35 minutes. Top with cheese.

I use those small cocktail onions instead of chopped onions. So that omits the butter.

[Chana_S]

Crustless quiches are good as side dishes. I like broccoli quiche the best. I also make a sweet potato and pumpkin kugel (a kugel is like a crutless pie) I mix equal quantities of pumpkin/butternut and sweet potatoes (cooked and mashed) I then mix in a few eggs, a sprinkle of sugar (you could use a substitute, or leave it out if the veggies are sweet enough) I add a sprinkle of ginger and cinnamon and bake till it's set and brown around the edges - it's yummy!

I also make a zucchini, tomato and onion mix (rattatouille sp?). Fry onions, add sliced zucchini and tomatoes (you can use a can of cubed tomatoes also). Add tomato paste, water to thin it out a little, basil, oregano, lemon juice S&P. Cook till veggies are soft - yummy also as a pasta sauce.

Roasted veggies are nice - a mix of mushrooms, onions, sweet potato, zucchini & eggplant. Cut into bite size pieces (just halve the mushrooms - can use potabello or button mushrooms). Add olive oil, S&P, garlic & rosemary - toss together - bake in the oven till soft.

Grilled mushrooms are good - portabello mushrooms with lemon, garlic and butter/marg. If you want a heavier side dish you could make them like mini pizzas with tomatoey pasta sauce & cheese.

Carrots sauteed with a little honey & sesame seeds.

Stir-fry veggies with some soy sauce, honey (optional), garlic & ginger

HTH - I feel like veggies now
Chana

[moonshadow]

we discovered that putting a beet or two into mashed potatoes is nice.

start the chopped beet boiling before the potatoes, as it takes longer to soften. add the potatoes.

drain most of the water away, and then mash it up.

i've discovered that you don't need to put milk in mashed potates to make them taste good. we used to add soy milk, but now we just use some of the water used for cooking.

adding roasted garlic is a great touch, too.




roasting chopped veggies (bell pepper, onion, carrot, zucchini, broccoli, etc) is yummy too. put them in a container with a small amount of olive oil, and some rosemary and garlic. toss them about until they are well coated, then roast them in the oven. yum yum. you can really shoot for a rainbow of veggies doing this.



here're a few from a recipe book (veggie lovers cook book by morty star) that sound good--

rice salad
1 1/2 cups water
2 tbs oil
2 green onions, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1/2 red bell pepper, diced

saute the onions and carrot in the oil intil soft. add remaining veggies and saute until everything is tender. mix with the cooked rice, serve chilled. top with chopped cashews, if that sounds good to you.

broiled mushrooms
6 large mushrooms
2 tbs oil (the recipe asks for melted soy marge, but i like to use extra v. olive oil whenever possible)
1 tbs tamari
1 tsp parsley
dash of spike (non or low salt seasoning)

clean mushrooms and remove stems. place mushrooms cap side down on baking dish. mix oil (or melted marge) and seasonings and spoon the mixture in and around the mushrooms. broil approx 7 minutes.



candied carrots
2 cups of sliced carrots
1 cup of water
3 tbs oil (again, could be marge)
1 tbs tamari
2 tbs brown rice syrup
1 tbs basil

steam carrots in the water until tender. drain and place in baking dish. melt marge in saucepan and mix in the remaining ingredients (or mix with oil) pour over the carrots and bake at 350f for about 5 minutes.

spinach stuffed potatoes

6 baking potatoes (recipe serves 6)
2 medium onions
3 tbs oil (this one really does call for oil!)
1 bunch spinach, de-stemmed
2 green onions, diced
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp parsley
dash of sea salt

bake potatoes. saute onions in oil until transparent, then add spinach and spices. cover and simmer for five minutes or until spinach is soft.
cut in half, scoop out centers and mash in bowl. mix spinach mixture with the mashed potatoes. fill potato skins with mixture and broil for 3-5 minutes.

[moonshadow]

more from the same cookbook

greens and carrots
3tbs oil
2 carrots, diced
2 dried red chili peppers
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 quarts water
1 bunch swiss chard
1 bunch collard greens
1 tsp lemon juice
dash of sea salt
dash of black pepper

saute carrots, chili, and garlic for 3-4 minutes, set aside.
boil water, cook chard and collard greens for 5 minutes (until tender).
drain and squeeze out water.
mix greens with carrot mixture and serve.


(cholesterol free) spinach quiche

1 whole wheat unbaked 8 inch pie shell
1 onion, diced
3 tbs oil
1 medium bunch spinach (or other dark leafy grean, i'm sure)
2 tbs tamari
12 oz firm tofu, mashed
3 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs dry mustard
dash of black pepper

saute onion until translucent. add spinach and tamari, cover and simmer until spinach is soft. in a bowl, mash the tofu with all seasonings and the sauteed stuff. mix well, put in pie dish and bake for one hour.

(pie crust--
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp orange juice
1/2 cup soy margarine (i like earth balance over there, as it is non-hydrogenated)
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbs cold water.

combine and sift flour/baking powder. add liquids, marge, and salt. mix thoroughly, work dough with hands to make a ball.roll on floured surface to desired size.

okay, so that's the recipe, but i would combine the flour/baking powder/salt, cut in the marge until it's like soft sand, then add the liquids....)

i'm sure you could do it without the pie crust!!!

[VivC]

MMM....collard greens!

[honeybunny]

Thanks for all the ideas girls!!!

We're so picky here. That's our biggest problem. Usually I can modify a recipe when it calls for bell peppers (which I hate) or something that DH doesn't like. But he's got such a restrictive diet. low carb (no potatoes #cry#, pasta, rice, etc.) and low cholesterol (no eggs, but the idea of an egg replacement quiche is sounding like something I'm going to need to try this week), and pretty much whatever I like he doesn't, whatever he likes I don't... and getting Cameron to eat it is like trying to wrestle a greased pig.

Keep those side dishes coming!! There's got to be some other good stuff out there!!

Angie

[Chana_S]

What veggies do you like, I can find recipes based on that?

The veggies I can think of that are low carb:
green beans
broccoli
cauliflower
zucchini
eggplant
tomatoes
On some diets - pumpkin, squashes, carrots, peas
brussel sprouts
kohlrabi
celery, turnips, etc for soup
s/potato on some diets - a small amount
A salad with some fruit - cranberries, pomegranate, orange, mango all go well with lettuce & some red onion
lettuce, cucumber, etc for salad
mushrooms - can amke some yummy stuff with those.
spinach - yummy stuff with that too

Can he have wholewheat pasta? You could make a spinach lasagna side-dish

I have to go check on dinner, I'll try think of more!

[RunnerDuck]

moonshadow said:

i like carrot and swede mashed up... it's smooth and sweet. carrot and parsnip can be nice like that, too...

we love lemon potatoes, but they don't really count as a veggie side, do they?

um.... i will do some thinking... most of our veggies wind up as main courses, so i will have to apply my brain (and maybe search through my cookbooks for things i've been wanting to try but haven't gotten around to yet)....

a project

what is a swede??

[honeybunny]

yeah, Hannah... what *is* a swede??

And Chana... thank you for offering to look up some recipes!! We like green beans, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potato (although that has to be in small quantities... it's better than white potatoes for DH, but still not the best), yellow squash, and we LOVE mushrooms. We have those several times a week it seems. We're shroomy people!! I like some other veggies that DH doesn't like and vice versa, so we only have those occasionally.

Angie

[Chana_S]

"green beans, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potato (although that has to be in small quantities... it's better than white potatoes for DH, but still not the best), yellow squash, and we LOVE mushrooms."

Angie, I don't have time to look up rcipes right now, but I can give you some off the top of my head:

Grren beans are good if you add a mustard sauce - just mix a little mustard into mayo, and mix with warmed beans (I use frozen ones, so I stick them in the micro for 5 min with water) - you can sprinkle slivered almonds or sesame seeds too if you want. This mustard sauce is good with all green veggies - peas, broccoli, etc

Corn, as far as I know, is not a good low-carb option, but what I do if take tinned corn (unsweetened or salted) add a little butter and salt and warm in the micro - done in 2 minutes and YUM!

My broccoli kugel (crustless quiche) is also good with a mixture of boc and cauliflower:
1 pkg frozen broccoli cooked till soft and mashed
4 - 6 eggs
1 tbs onion soup mix
2 tbs mayo
1 tsp baking powder
flour to bind - not too thick.

Mix altogether, bake till brown and firm - very yum!

Cauliflower in cheese sauce is good.
I add cornflour to skim milk - you could use soy flour too I guess
simmer on low heat till it starts to bubble and thicken
Add S&P, parsley & mustard to taste
Add cheeses - cheddar, feta, whatvever you have that tastes good
Pour over cooked caulflwer
Sprinkle breadbrums (not essencial) and a little cheddar cheese on top - brown in the oven
One of my favourites.

An easier version is to cook cauliflower till soft and mash with sour cream (can be low fat) and cheese - (fake mashed potatoes)

Sweet Potato -
I micro s/potato till semi-cooked. Slice (I even leave the skin on) put on a baking tray or in a dish with some oil. Srinkle either cinnamon OR a garlic salt mix & rosemary
Bake till soft and crunchy on the outside. I use a prepared "olive and rosemary" spice that's yummy, but I brought it from South Africa, not sure what veggie spices you have there.

You can also just wrap s/potato in foil and stick in the oven till soft. It doesn't need anything added, it's just sweet and yummy.

Mushrooms -
Slice different kinds of mushrooms
Slice onion

Fry onion in a little oil, add mushrooms, Add oregano, parsley, s&p, lemon juice & red wine - serve when mushrooms are soft - so easy & tastes fancy My favourite kind of recipe LOL

HTH
Chana

[moonshadow]

i'll have to post a picture of one... it's a root. i was afraid it might be british.... maybe it just has another name (hence the photo that i will post)

try www.vegweb.com it's vegan, so you won't get anything with cholesterol. you can type in the ingredient you want to cook with, and you get a lot of options. if you register with them (free) you can keep track of the recipes you want to try. they have good printable versions of the recipes, and people rate and give feedback on things.

our favourite quick mushroom thing is to slice them, stir fry them with a little oil, lots of garlic and a little ground black pepper. yum. we do portobellas like that, though sometimes we use soy sauce with them, too. we call that dish slugs.

[honeybunny]

Thanks for all the ideas!! Chana, I really like that broccoli kugel recipe. I think maybe even Cameron might eat that. And he "doesn't wike bwoccowi". And yeah... corn isn't really low-carb, but we have it occasionally. It's the one veggie that Cameron will never turn down. DH just has to watch it on those nights. I try to not have a big huge starch or anything fried that night too.

We're trying to also add more salads and stuff like that regularly. We're not so good in the roughage department... but we're working on it!!

And Hannah... I #love# portobellos. I've made them similarly to what you described and YUM!!! I'd have some kind of shroom with every meal if I could. I think they would qualify as my most favorite veggie.

Angie

[Chana_S]

I hope Cameron likes the kugel!
I'm a mushroom fan myself #ove#