Make me eat my veggies

A friend of mine gave me the idea of dicing up a bunch of veggies and storing them together in a tupperware container for use in a few different ways through the week.  I like to throw them in scrambled eggs, add with beans and rice to a burrito, top a salad (early in the week), add to pasta etc. 

Sometimes I roast up a ton of veggies and use them throughout the week to top pastas, rice dishes, put in wraps, etc. All you have to do is cut up all the veggies (ones that work well are onions, peppers, zucchini, carrots, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, green beans, asparagus, etc.), drizzle some olive oil and basalmic vinigarette, salt and pepper, and mix lightly with your fingertips on an aluminim-foil-lined cookie sheet. Cook at 350 until they brown up a little (maybe 15 minutes?).

The basalmic vinigarette gives it a really nice flavor!

Just stick what you don't use that day in tupperware in the fridge and use the rest of the week.

I've even gotten lazier and done this with pre-cut veggies. Getting some baby carrots and hummus means I can just munch without any prep 'cause there are times when even cutting is a nuisance - especially at night after your workout -  I am also a big fan of bagged salad and coleslaw mix.  You can get fantastic baby greens and all it takes is dumping out a handful (you can wash it if you're worried about it) as a side to osmething simple like a sandwich - i know it's more $ but if it means I'll eat it it worth it over something I might waste.  I wouldn't eat nearly so well if I didn't live with my boyfriend and feel obligated to ensure that we eat a real dinner.

The suggestions of the make-ahead are also great - when I lived on my own a pot of a veggie rich soup lasted me a while and I really love soup so i would eat it.

I neglect the veg too, but I compensate by eating lots of fruit. I like a salad of pre-washed spinach topped with fresh strawberries with either unsweetened fruit puree or yogurt as the dressing.

Ahh perfect.  I love roasted veggies over raw any day of the week.  Thanks for the ideas!  I'll have to put this into practice sunday evening.

Yup - I concur with pre-cutting, although my advice is sectioning them out into baggies so you can just grab a bag and go .. ie: a bag of baby carrots (no prep there), some pepper slices, some celery, some broccoli, etc. Then when you need a snack, ingredients for a stir-fry, veggies for the steamer, whatever - just grab a bag and do it. It takes MAYBE 10-15 minutes prep and lasts all week!

Other ideas:

Homemade pizza: whole-wheat flatbread spread lightly with olive oil, garlic, sea salt, pepper .. a layer of spinach, a few mushrooms, some red onion rings, tomatoes (cut long and thin), and a light topping of goat cheese - throw it in the oven for 10 minutes on a cookie sheet ...
(add chicken, salmon, top with whatever you want, really)

Cottage cheese is GREAT with cucumbers and tomatoes added.

A fabulous lunch is some Wasa crackers (or similar) with slices carrots, peppers, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, snap/sugar peas, etc, and hummus. Take turns dipping. Delish.

Steamer: if you don't have one, get one. All you have to do is wash, section, and steam. It takes maybe 10-20 minutes to steam stuff.
(Warning: steam only until veggies are still slightly crisp. If they're limp, they've lost all their nutritional value).

Throw chopped veggies in everything, from omlettes/scrambled eggs, to pastas, to soups, to wraps .. they can be added just about anywhere. Think about it.

Wraps - 2 of my favourites: 1) salad greens, a can of flavoured tuna, tomato and cuc, etc .. 2) a bit of organic mayo, wild rice, sliced peppers, mushrooms, red onions, chicken, etc ..

Use lettuce as the wrap, instead of the whole wheat wrap ...

Gawd I could talk about this forever. But I can't. Pizza ready. Gotta go. ;-)

Do you have a juicer?

Agreed! For me finding the time to pre-prepare is the problem. But if you're looking to stay away from the junk food. "It has to be done". And most of the time if there is fresh fruit and/or veg already in the fridge, I'll grab it instead of the cookies, chips and stuff!

Edited by kiwi4j 2009-08-23 3:04 PM

Pizza- check.  That is a staple of mine but I can't handle goat cheese.  I did spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, garlic, shallots, mozz cheese last week.  It was delicious. 

Cottage cheese and cucumber?  hmm I'll have to try it.  I love tossing random things in my cottage cheese.  Mmm I love cottage cheese way too much.

No steamer and no juicer.. I don't have the $$ or the space.  The steamer will be towards the top of my to do list though.

Please do talk forever, very helpful!  Thanks

Good thing I'm already pretty good at grabbing fruit over junk junk.  I can't/don't even keep that stuff in my house!

If you're having trouble fitting them in for dinner, why not try to incorporate them into your lunch? Also, if you have a Trader Joe's, they sell a 16 oz. bag of frozen Edamame (soy beans) that only need to boil for about 4-5 minutes. Sprinkle on a little salt and they're not only very healthy, they taste great.

Frozen yellow corn = WIN!

I can literally eat half a bag. So tasty, and all you have to do is pop it in the microwave

Steamers are cheap!  Here's a basic one. http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-Stainless-Steel-Expandable-Vegetable-Steamer/dp/B00004UE8F/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1252365873&sr=8-11

For a steamer, they sell little inserts that you can put into a pot to steam your veggies.  Very cheap and they collapse onto themself so very little space.  It's what I use.

Um, yeah, what COSkiGirl posted.  Duh, read the whole tread silly.

How about throw a handful of spinach into your fruit smoothie?  Can't even taste it!