Help a Non-Cook Make Veg More Interesting?

[73kittycat73]

Hi, I have recently tried to get into healthier eating. However, the only way I know how to cook veg is to boil it to death, then maybe chuck some gravy on it. I need some new recipes but here's where I become a PITA. It needs to be vegetarian, and low carb (Type 2 diabetic) and not too complicated. Nothing too spicy. I have a really wossy tongue it can't take to much heat! I am no cook, don't enjoy it much, and wasn't taught to cook growing up. I have expanded my tastes over the years however. I shall post some veg, and accompaniments, below, and a definitely , 'No,' list too.
Thank you very much if you can help. :)
LIKE:
Broccoli
Peas (Garden and Marrowfat.)
Courgette
Peppers
Beansprouts
Potatotes
Carrot
Runner beans
lettuce
cucumber
raddishes
Spring onions
leek
cauliflower
tomatoes
pasta
Basil
Garlic
Sesame seeds
Philadelpiha Cheese
Mild/medium Chedder
Bousin Cheese
NO WAY LIST:
Parsnips
Mushrooms
Brussels Sprouts

I stir fry almost all vegetables- they taste so much better that way. Usually just with some olive oil, bit of salt and pepper, often a generous amount of garlic. Yum.

A dash of soy sauce goes well with broccoli and red cabbage in particular

I love roasted veg as it really brings out the flavours. Cut up carrots, peppers, courgette, aubergine into cubes (i leave the peppers in quarters so they don't get burnt too quickly), toss in olive oil with a chopped garlic clove and either Italian herbs or Indian spices, then roast in a baking dish for about half an hour.

Fry them,
Roast them( in a generous amount of oil so they don't steam)
Grate parmesan over steamed veg.
Eat raw with amazing dressings.

Look at the vegetarian recipes thread on the low carb bootcamp topic. It should be stickied near the top of the page. All the recipes are low carb friendly.

Also if you ask on the current bootcamp thread people will have lots of suggestions for making veg delicious. Most of the time all it takes is frying/sautéing/steaming rather than boiling, plus plenty of butter or olive oil to dress it and a good bit of salt and pepper or other seasonings! 🙂

Oh yes and definitely roasting, as others have said!

Mediterranean roasted veg. Onion in quarters, sliced garlic, peppers, courgette sliced into circles, aubergine if you wish, maybe cherry tomatoes. A slug of olive oil and in the hot oven for 25 minutes. You can add basil / oregano, etc.

I love roasted broccoli - coat lightly in olive oil and roast for 15 minutes in a hot oven (salt pepper and garlic powder all optional)

For boiled / steamed vege I make up garlic & herb butter - put teaspoon sized dabs on a tray in the freezer (once solid they can live in a bag in the freezer). Cook the vege & melt over.

Dab of butter and a squeeze of lemon.

For the Indian flavours I use cumin and ground coriander as they add warmth without heat (I am a chilli wimp too ).

Stir fry and leave them a little crunchy. Then drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Or have them with creamy mash and gravy.

Roast vegetables with salt, black pepper and a little good olive oil*

Stir fry with light soy sauce

You say not too spicey ... But turmeric, cumin and coriander are mild and lovely with roast or stir fried vegetables like red peppers and courgettes with tomatoes and peas / lentils.

Salad niçoise - green beans, olives, tomatoes, on salad, with free-range hard boiled eggs if you eat them.

*to quote the awesomely bonkers Ina Garten.

Vegetable crumble www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/vegetable-and-butter-bean-crumble/

Halloumi traybake www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/vegetarian/halloumi-and-mediterranean-veg-traybake/

Aubergine parmigiana realfood.tesco.com/recipes/aubergine-parmigiana.html (great for batch cooking as it’s freezable)

Roast veg tray - I do this all the time depending on whats in the fridge. Courgettes, tomatoes, aubergine, onion, peppers & garlic work really well. Chuck in tray, add oil, roast at 200 for about 40 mins. Include herbs if you like. Towards the end add a handful of walnuts or pine nuts, halloumi or goats cheese, or a drizzle of pesto. Or serve as they are, or with couscous, or with garlic bread to dip in, or with a splodge of Greek yoghurt. Yum.

Soup is another easy option, choose veg, add stock to cover, boil until soft then blend. Add cheese, cream, croutons, bacon bits, whatever you want really or just have as it is.

Some quick veg ideas

Grate courgettes on the "large" part of your grater, crush some garlic if you like it. In a large frying pan heat a little olive oil or butter. Tip in the grated courgette & garlic, stirring so it keeps on the move. Cook for a few moments only, the green will become a brighter colour. Serve immediately, add pepper if liked. This goes especially well with quiche or frittata.

Look up the recipe for French braised lettuce and peas, delicious and not something you come across very often. Well worth learning how to make this dish.

Char grilled or roasted asparagus, the season for English asparagus is coming up soon in May, so you can be indulgent! As well as classic recipes for asparagus, look up asparagus, new potatoes and baked eggs (could be Nigel Slater) a lovely early summer dish.

Chop cucumber, tomatoes, celery, peppers, lettuce and put in a bowl. Squeeze over some lemon juice and sprinkle some crumbly sea salt. Leave it for 5 mins and then eat as a side salad, it's really delicious.

Roasted broccoli or cauliflower is game changing!! I could eat it out of a bowl like popcorn.

Both made in the same way. Cut into small florets, olive oil and I would add garlic and sesame to the brocolli and paprika and cumin to the cauliflower. Roast on 180 for 30-40 mins til crispy!

Thank you all so much for your replies! I have a lot to go on, thank you. I will have a look at those links and will check out the low carb bootcamp topic. The salad niçoise sounds nice, and the roasted veg. Thank you.

Roast cauliflower with garlic and salt in olive oil for 30 mins. When done, tip into big bowl with water and a chicken stock cube, blend up and you've got a lovely soup!

I like roasted broccoli and green beans, pref with garlic cloves as well - I usually add olive oil and sea salt and sometimes pine nuts. Balsamic vinegar works well drizzled over the green beans.

Butternut squash roasts beautifully with cumin (I don't eat "hot" foods - my friends like to add chilli flakes as well). That is nice warm with salad leaves.

Or a tray of Mediterranean veg - any/all of
tomatoes (pref cherry), peppers, red onion, courgette, aubergine with garlic, salt, peppee, olive oil and then roast. For a one dish job you can add chicken thighs or sausages and halved new or baby potatoes.

The Hugh F-W book Veg Every Day, will give you lots of fab ideas!

Also once you’re used to all the fab new recipes and veg you’re going to try out, come back to Brussels sprouts. They are delicious if done well.

(Sorry, you’ll probably hate me now...but honestly, I had to say it 😉😊)

Make a lovely crunchy slaw type salad with white or red cabbage, celery, apple, carrots and radishes and dress it with either oil & vinegar or equal parts mayo and Greek yogurt.

I'm no cook but once you have had a few goes and made a few errors along the way veg are easy to make interesting (I'm still dreadful with meat and that's generally a more expensive and disappointing mistake!).

Roasted med veg as others have said goes with loads of stuff and is easy to vary.

I know you said you don't like curry but if you make your own from scratch you can control the heat so it's more like flavoured gravy- you can fry onions, garlic and peppers while you're boiling up carrots, peas and spuds. Put veg all together, shake mild curry powder over them, add tinned tomatoes and some veg stock, simmer til thickened. It's better with toasted spices, garam masala and whatnot to make it more authentic but you obviously add heat that way so a mild tomatoey sauce prob a better bet.

You can stir fry most veg and add a packet sauce to keep it simple- serve with noodles or rice depending on your mood! Then learn how to copy the sauces you like the best (I'm not there yet). If you can have nuts I love to toast a few cashews in with my stir fry too.

Sprouting broccoli and asparagus cooked in garlic butter is also lovely in my opinion!

Again fry/boil up whatever you fancy, add tinned tomatoes and oregano to make a tasty pasta sauce. My go to is onion, peppers, garlic, celery and a little carrot.

Loving this thread