Veg Me Up! Easy and Tasty Veggie Side Dishes

We all know we should eat more vegetables - you know, really GOOD vegetables like dark leafy greens and other deep colored veggies that are so full of nutrients! But we tend to be busy and often don’t like certain vegetables due to their taste for some reason. Remember though, how something tastes depends heavily on how you cook and spice it. So I thought I’d share a few simple, yummy side dishes to help make adding more veggies to your diet a little easier.

All these recipes make two servings.

Tamari Kale
A number of my patients have expressed their dislike of kale due to its taste. This is one of the fastest side dishes I make, and it tastes really good!
Ingredients:
2-3 large washed leaves of organic kale (there are different types, but I like the curly leaf type)
1 Tablespoon organic virgin coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon organic tamari, soy sauce, or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos

Directions:
-Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-low to medium heat.
-Chop or tear the kale leaves to a size you like (I include the leaf stem until it gets really thick).
-Add them to the warmed oil, and stir to get oil on most leaves. (Kale cooks down a lot! If you can’t cover all the leaves with oil at first because the pan is so full, don’t worry about it. You can stir better when it cooks down.)
-Once you hear the crackle of the kale cooking, start stirring and flipping so all the leaves get cooked.
-When the kale is fairly wilted, but not cooked to death (the longer you cook it, the more nutrients you lose), pour the tamari over it and stir quickly for another 15 seconds or so.
-Serve immediately and enjoy!


Yummy Honey Carrots
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon organic extra virgin olive oil
2 or 3 organic carrots (washed and chopped to about 1/4 inch slices)
½ teaspoon organic oregano
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon honey

Directions:
-Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat.
-Add chopped carrots to the warmed oil.
-Shake salt and oregano over the carrots.
-Cover the skillet with a lid to steam the carrots a bit.
-Stir carrots every couple minutes.
-When they are slightly soft, add the honey and stir so all the carrots get mixed in it.
-Serve to eager mouths!


Roasted Green Beans
Ingredients:
½ lb fresh organic green beans (washed and tips removed)
1 clove organic garlic (diced small)
2 Tablespoons organic butter (please avoid margarine which has unhealthy trans-fats!!)

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
-Stirring occasionally, heat butter and garlic in skillet over medium-low heat until garlic becomes fragrant (couple minutes).
-Put prepared green beans in a medium-sized bowl. Pour butter mixture over the green beans and toss them to cover all the beans with butter.
-Spread green beans evenly on a cookie sheet with a rim (if there is no rim, some butter may drip onto the bottom of your oven).
-Roast for 12-15 minutes. They are done when they are getting wrinkly and slightly brown in areas.
-Eat and enjoy!


Butternut Squashed
Ingredients:
organic butternut squash
1½ Tablespoons organic butter (please avoid margarine which has unhealthy trans-fats!!)
½ teaspoon coriander
pinch of nutmeg
sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Cut squash in half; scrape seeds out of middle; and place halves face down in an oiled Pyrex baking dish.
-Bake for about an hour. It is done when you can easily stick a fork through the thickest section.
-Take the squash out of the oven, and let it cool enough to be able to handle it.
-Remove the peel, and place squash meat in a bowl.
-Add butter, spices, salt, and pepper, and mash and stir the squash until mixed and creamy. Adjust spices to taste.
-Serve the orange goodness as desired!


Easy Steamy Broccoli
Ingredients:
organic broccoli head (washed and chopped)
optional: salt or butter

Directions:
-Boil small amount of water in a pot with a steamer. (If you do not have a steamer, this can be done with a quarter inch of water and the broccoli directly in the water.)
-Add the chopped broccoli to the pot, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer.
-Steam for about 5 minutes. Broccoli is done when it can be stabbed with a fork with little pressure, but don’t let it get really soft or you’ll lose more vitamins.
-The broccoli can be great by itself, but if you desire, you can add a small amount of salt or butter for flavor.
-Serve and enjoy the tiny, tasty trees!
Note: Green beans can be steamed in the same way, and they taste really good with a little butter.


Note about oils: The less processed your cooking oils are, the better they are for you. “Virgin” and even better “Extra Virgin” means they have been minimally processed. Also “Cold pressed” is good because there was no heat used when pressing the nut, seed, etc for its oil.

Note about cookware: Try to use stainless steel pans rather than aluminum or Teflon, which leech toxins into your food when heated. You can cure stainless steel pans to help avoid sticking by doing the following: On medium to medium-high heat, warm just enough oil to coat the bottom and swish to coat the sides. Leave heating for a couple minutes, but turn it off if the oil begins to smoke. Turn off heat, and let the oil cool completely. Wipe the remaining oil out of the pan with a towel. Then don't use soap to clean your pan as it will pull the oil out of the metal. You will want to do this periodically as you find food is sticking more to the pan.

*Thanks to my patient who gave me the great idea to post these recipes!

Hope you enjoy these veggie dishes and continue making healthy choices! :)