Vegetable Recipes

From
Thom's Recipe File

When anyone thinks of vegetable recipes they are consciously or subconsciously thinking it is healthy.  Often this is true but not all vegetable dishes are good for you.  As with meat dishes you can add enough fat to make the healthy food no longer healthy.  My recipes are not designed to be healthy but are designed to be tasty.

Did your mom nag you to eat all your vegetables.  It wasn't so much to get you eating a healthy food as it was to get you to balance your diet or what you were eating.  I read somewhere that...The sign of growing up is when you will eat your vegetables, and the sign you are really mature is when you actually like your vegetables.  Only the ones who have achieved a higher level of consciousness truly love vegetables.

Vegetables are very important to our diet and as such we should learn how to cook them.  There is a web site that is very good at show and tell with information on how to cook many types of vegetables.  Here is the web site for you to use in learning how to cook a particular kind of vegetable such as artichokes, squash, etc... http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/how-to-cook-vegetables.htm.

Vegetables are part of our lives, as every human being somehow and somewhere has to eat them. Everything that God has created has its benefits and it is up to us to learn how prepare and eat them for a good and healthy life. Cooked vegetables lose vitamins, minerals, colors and flavors if not cooked properly. Here are some fast and healthy ways to cook vegetables.

Steaming is fast, preserves nutrients, and it works best for fresh and frozen vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, spinach and roots like beets, parsnips, peas and beans.  If you don't have a steaming basket, you can fill a pot with mixed vegetables and add about 1 1/2 inches of unsalted water and cover. Simmer until the vegetables are tender.  Check often to make sure that the water doesn't evaporate.  If it gets too low, just add a little more water.  Don't forget to keep the remaining broth for soup or do what I do, pour it in a nice mug and enjoy the warm flavorful broth.

Roasting is quick, simple, and is an excellent way for cooking vegetables as it preserves the vitamins, flavors and minerals.  In a large bowl, cover sliced vegetables with olive oil.  Add garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.  Place them on a cookie sheet and roast them at 350 degrees until they are tender. 

Stir-frying is another very good flavor and color preserving cooking method. Sliced vegetables are put in frying pan covered at bottom with any liquid for cooking such as chicken broth or a broth made from stir-fry seasonings. Constantly stir the vegetables until they are crispy and glossy.

What do broccoli, Brussels sprouts, turnips and beets have in common?  They all send shivers up the spines of most 7- and 8-year-olds.  But persevere, moms and dads, because science is behind you -- we should be eating our vegetables.

CACHED away in the soul of every red-blooded American who fondly recalls when carnivore was a virtue, and supper wasn't supper without a centerpiece of pork chops or prime rib, lies the frail hope that all the recent emphasis on fruits, grains and vegetables, vegetables, vegetables, will somehow turn out to be a terrible mistake.

Well, abandon that hope, ye who harbor it. The truth is that the more researchers understand about the ingredients found in fruits, vegetables, beans and herbs, the more impressed they are with the power of those compounds to retard the bodily breakdown that results in cancer and other chronic diseases. Nutritionists and epidemiologists have long observed that people who eat a plant-rich diet suffer lower rates of cancer than do meat loyalists, and now scientists are beginning to figure out why.

So is this why I should eat vegetables when meat is more satisfying?  I can tell you for real that if vegetables are prepared correctly they will be tasty and very satisfying.  Here is the top ten reasons to eat your Veggies

10. Provide nature's fast food that's easy to eat.
 9. Supply vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber, & water.
 8. Provide a snack to eat at anytime.
 7. Keep your teeth and gums healthy - nature's toothbrush.
 6. Promote fitness and trim calories.
 5. Give your meals and snacks great taste.
 4. Offer a variety of choices--fresh, canned, frozen, or dried.
 3. Protect your cells with naturally occurring ingredients.
 2. Enhance meals with bright colors, flavors, & textures.
 1. Protect you from diseases.