upping the veggies

It is good to eat plants. But let’s be honest, it can be a bit harder this time of year.

In the summer, you can chuck corn on the cob in the microwave, saute zukes on the stove, or just chop up some tomatoes or green beans and boom. You’re done. It’s awesome. Summer vegetables are LOW MAINTENANCE. (I mean, you can get all the aforementioned things in the winter but they taste terrible. Do your taste buds a favor. Try to eat seasonally.)

I’ve been trying to amp up my veggie intake because winter vegetables are a little trickier, and they’ve been lacking. I’ve been sometimes eating them more out of duty than pleasure.

Like this meal. This meal wasn’t so great.

Ugly salad:

 

Just sardines ‘n greens. Which is great if you have the sardines in mustard sauce (SO GOOD!) but if you just buy plain sardines you must season them, which I was too lazy to do this day. And the arugula was none too attractive. I did not buy it, ahem.

Also tried to make a mini green monster with some even older greens that needed using and a frozen kiwi. Yeah, doesn’t sound appealing, does it? It wasn’t.

The bread and PB apple slices were good!

 

But eating veggies shouldn’t just be about duty.

As my sister seems to see it. So she drinks V8.

One of which I just found abandoned in our freezer?!

 

With winter vegetables, you just have to be a bit more creative.

For example, making a big pot of butternut squash oatmeal and then getting to eat it for breakfast for a solid WEEK! Yes, root veggies take awhile but if you prep in advance they can be your savior!

Also, so sweet and delicious and you’ve had a serving of veggies before 8 am :D

 

Mmm, veggies and pecans, too!

 

Another method I am trying to utilize is called Salad of the Week (or SotW).

Also aided by prepping on the weekend, I’ve been trying to make a salad (but a HEFTY salad, with veggies and protein and no flimsy lettuce that will have dissolved by Tuesday) that I can eat for a few days in the following week.

This was SO GOOD! 3 lunches (and a few nibbles as snacks):

2 small bulbs of kohlrabi, peeled and chopped
~1/2 c. chopped carrots
~6 olives
1 can chickpeas
1/2 an avocado
1/2 cup plain nonfat Trader Joe’s European style yogurt
juice of 1/2 a lemon

So HEARTY! So FILLING! So TASTY!

On a bed of kale (which does not get soggy) for even more veggies!

Next SotW:

Roasted beets
plain nonfat Trader Joe’s Greek style yogurt
a few dashes allspice
a few splashes red wine vinegar

Beets are like CANDY right now. I read somewhere that when it’s really cold, root vegetables try to conserve their energy by transforming their complex starches into simple sugars. Which equals sweet and delicious veggies for us! 

And finally two veggie rich lunches that I photographed ages ago but haven’t shared yet.

Obvious ways to get veggies are to blend them into soup (and what’s more inducing of childhood nostalgia joy than grilled cheese and tomato soup?!)

(English muffins make SUCH great grilled cheese)

Or dunk ‘em into some tasty hummus.

A very WELL ROUNDED lunch!

   

One can also blend veggies into purees, as I did with frozen but flavorful green peas and mint to make this yummy pesto.

 

(this meal includes anchovies that DID taste good cause I made them into a salad with oil, lemon juice, chopped carrots, and curry powder)

And when in doubt, roast a bunch of sweet potatoes.