Power Vegetables- are you eating enough? Any?

[lorilei]

Strawberries - yes. Definitely a bad idea. In fact, most berries (or fruits with soft skins) are susceptible to pesticide contamination. PLEASE don't feed your children non-organic apples. They are the worst offender among fruits. Cantaloupes are close behind.

The pesticides that exist in the soil are the most dangerous. Mexican soil is actually safer than U.S. soil for a variety of reasons -- that's why it's recommended to buy Mexican if organic isn't available.

[browneye]

This sounds weird, but it is SOOOOO good. I have made this multiple times, and it disappears in a matter of minutes!

Cranberry-Pumpkin Bread

2 whole eggs plus 2 egg whites
2 tblsp oil
3 cups sugar
1- 16 oz. can canned pumpkin
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (
I have used a combo of ww flour and all-purpose with equally good results )
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tblsp pumpkin-pie spice
2 cups whole cranberries
1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans are both excellent)

1. Beat eggs and oil in large mixing bowl. Blend in sugar and pumpkin. In a separate bowl, stir together dry ingredients. Add to pumpkin mixture.
2. Fold in cranberries and nuts. Pour into two greased 9X5 by 3inch loaf pans. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 º for 75 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool five minutes, then remove from pans to continue cooling.

Serves 6

Per serving: Cal: 164, Protein: 5 gm, Carb: 25 gm, Fat: 5 gm Fiber: 2 gm.

Yummy!

[kima]

Wowser- this is a great thread. My printer will go crazy!! Won't we be a healthy bunch- with all these great antioxidants and other good things we will all be here on the BB until we 110!!
Linda that amount of butter is correct but if I remember correctly I halved it and it worked out fine. Thankyou though for pointing that out- 1/2c. does sound like alot!!
Keep the recipes coming everyone!

[Linda in MO]

Originally posted by kima
Wowser- this is a great thread. My printer will go crazy!! Won't we be a healthy bunch- with all these great antioxidants and other good things we will all be here on the BB until we 110!!
Linda that amount of butter is correct but if I remember correctly I halved it and it worked out fine. Thankyou though for pointing that out- 1/2c. does sound like alot!!
Keep the recipes coming everyone!

Thanks, kima! Your recipe calls for 1/c. butter. You just forgot the 2. I didn't think 1 cup of butter could be right for pancakes. Now I can add the recipe to MasterCook.

[BlueMoose]

* Exported from MasterCook *

Sweet Potato-Apple Bake

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Fruits & Vegetables

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
3 large sweet potatoes
1 Granny Smith apple -- peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3/4 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Peel sweet potatoes and cut them into thick slices; boil them until just tender. Cool slightly, and cut them into 1/4" slices. Mix sugar, butter, orange juice, and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. In a deep baking dish, place a layer of sweet potatoes, a layer of thinly sliced apples, and some of the sauce. Repeat until ingredients are gone. Bake at 375 F for 45 minutes, or until apples are tender.

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* Exported from MasterCook *

Veggies with Sour Cream

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Fruits & Vegetables

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion -- minced
2 cups fresh mushrooms -- sliced
2 cups broccoli -- cut into florets
1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper -- to taste
a few dashes cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
1 small red bell pepper -- diced
1 medium tomato -- diced
1 cup fresh spinach -- chopped
1/4 cup light sour cream

Heat oil in a large pan. Add the onions and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and broccoli and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the spices, red bell pepper, and tomatoes; cook for another 5 minutes, or until veggies are crisp-tender. Add the spinach and sour cream; cook and stir until the spinach wilts and the veggies are heated through.

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* Exported from MasterCook *

Broccoli-Cheddar Nuggets

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Fruits & Vegetables

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
14 ounce pkg frozen broccoli flowerets
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese -- shredded
3 eggs

Heat oven to 375 F. Cook, drain, and chop the broccoli into small pieces. Add the bread crumbs, cheese, and eggs to the broccoli and mix well. Shape the mixture into nuggets and place on a nonstick baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes, turning over after 10 minutes.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Serving Ideas : These are also good made with swiss cheese.

NOTES : The easiest way to shape the nuggets is to use your hands, wetting them slightly with water to keep the mixture from sticking.

[kima]

Thanks Linda- I am the world's worst typist!!

[Julia1Pin]

Organic potatoes, and other organic foods, rule!!!!

I only buy potatoes from Trader Joes now (organic). Everyone always asks what kind of potatoes I get, because they taste soooooooooo much better than other potatoes.

So, if your kids (both big and small ) don't like some vegetables, try to buy the organic versions. They might just change their monds.

[browneye]

Here are some more ways to use pumpkin:

This one is from Nick Stellino's Family Kitchen....it is very yummy, different from anything I have tried before

I use very lean Chicken Italian Sausage in this recipe. I also reduced the amount of olive oil. I am writing this with that reduction. (Nick uses a HUGE amount of olive oil in his cooking)


Pasta with Sausage and Pumpkin Sauce (Pasta al Sugo di Zucca E Salsiccia)

1 tblsp olive oil (divided)
1 pound spicy Italian sausage, casing removed
1 cup chopped onion
10 cloves garlic, thickly sliced
3 tablespoons fresh chopped sage
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 1/4 cups white wine (such as Pinot Gris)
1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin puree
2 cups Chicken Stock
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound penne, penne rigate, rigatoni, or tortiglioni
6 tblsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a large, deep saute pan, heat 1/2 tblsp of the olive oil over high heat for 2 minutes, add the sausage, and cook until brown, about 3 minutes. While it browns, break it up into bite-size pieces with the back of a spoon. Turn off heat, remove the sausage to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Cover and set aside.
Keep 1 tblsp of drippings in the pan, and discard the rest. Add the remaining 1/2 tblsp olive oil, and then the onion, garlic and sage, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring, until the onion and garlic start to brown. Sprinkle in the red pepper flakes now. (Omit if you don't like spicy) Add the sausage and cook for 2 minutes, stirring well. Deglaze the pan with the wine and cook for 8 minutes, stirring well to dislodge any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Add the pumpkin puree and cook for 2 minutes, stirring well. Add the stock and cinnamon, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
While the sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of water to boil, and cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain well and pour back into the pot. Add the sauce, cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly..Remove from heat, add the Parmesan and serve.

Serves 6 to 8

Pumpkin Pancakes

2 cups of your favorite dry pancake mix (I use my homemade dry ingredients, then follow the rest of this recipe for the moist ingredients)
1 egg
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup canned or fresh cooked pumpkin
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a large bowl Pour small amounts of the batter onto a hot lightly greased griddle or frying pan over medium-high heat.
When bubbles form on the pancakes and the edges begin to brown, flip the pancakes.
Serve with butter, maple syrup or a little bit of honey.

A HUGE hit with kids and very nutritious.
Makes about 20 4" cakes.

Pumpkin Cooler
1 scoop vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt
1 heaping tablespoon canned pumpkin
1/2 cup milk
dash cinnamon

Mix the ingredients in a tall glass, and sip!!! Makes one cooler.
This is also a huge hit with kids and adults!!!!

[KValley]

Paula,

I am just dying for these pumpkin recipes. The pasta with sausage and pumpkin sauce sounds incredible. And pumpkin pancakes! Yum! I'm already thinking Christmas gifts with the pumpkin and cranberry bread.

Thank you! (fade to sounds of printer whirring away...)

[Jennett]

This was posted by laurenc a while back--it's from CL. I thought it was really good. Plus, you get cauliflower too, which is also good for you.

Pumpkin Panache

6 cups cauliflower florets
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon pepper, divided
Cooking spray
2 cups cubed cooked fresh pumpkin or 11/2 cups canned unsweetened pumpkin
1/4 cup fat-free sour cream
1/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley


Preheat oven to 350`. Steam cauliflower, covered, 4 minutes or until crisp-tender, and drain. Combine steamed cauliflower, 1 tablespoon cheese, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a 2-quart casserole coated with cooking spray, and toss gently. Place pumpkin in a food processor, and process until smooth. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and sour cream, and pulse until smooth. Spoon the pumpkin mixture over cauliflower. Combine 1 tablespoon cheese, breadcrumbs, and parsley; sprinkle over pumpkin mixture. Bake at 350` for 15 minutes.
Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 cup).

CALORIES 57 (14% from fat); FAT 0.9g (sat 0.4g, mono 0.2g, poly 0.1g); PROTEIN 4g; CARB 9.5g; FIBER 2.90g; CHOL 1mg; IRON 1.0mg; SODIUM 261mg; CALC 64mg

[kima]

I have noticed that this thread has been viewed at least 500 times! Come on now people we should have at least that many recipes!!!

[Nirak]

Try Brussels Sprouts lightly sauted in oil & garlic and then a little pepper and squeeze a lime over before serving. Yum!

[emilycat]

I don't know why I hadn't been visiting this thread before, but I know have a pile of recipes waiting to be tried. I love Brussels sprouts!

Anyway, this used to be on the recipe finder, but since I couldn't find it (grrr), here it is, courtesy of my fingers. I adore sweet potato and pumpkin soups, and this one is awesome. I made it for my dinner group, and we all raved about it. I left out the saffron, because I didn't have any at the time, but we didn't miss it. And we all agreed that twice as much spinach would've been great.

Sweet Potato Soup

1 T. vegetable oil
1 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped celery
2 t. minced peeled fresh ginger
1/4 t. dried thyme
1/8 t. saffron threads
6 cups chopped peeled sweet potato (about 2 pounds)
1 T. grated orange rind
7 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2 c. chopped spinach

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, celery, minced ginger, dried thyme, and saffron threads, and saute 5 minutes. Add sweet potato and orange rind, and saute 3 minutes. Add broth and red pepper, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes or until potato is tender. Place half of potato mixture in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Pour pureed mixture into bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining potato mixture. Return pureed mixture into pan. Sitr in the spinach, and cook until thoroughly heated.
Yield: 10 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

These are also delicious: From Moosewood Low-fat Favorites

Baked Beets and Shallots

Serves 6

2 pounds fresh beets (about 6 medium or 10 small)
1/2 pound shallots (about 8 large) or three medium onions, peeled and quartered
1 T. vinegar
1 T. olive oil
1 t. salt
1/4 t. ground black pepper

shredded beet greens or chopped fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Wash the beets and trim the stems and tails. Peel the shallots. Place the beets and shallots or quartered onions on a large sheet of aluminum foil and fold the edges together to seal tightly. Bake for about an hour, or until the beets are tender and easily pierced with a knife.
Remove the packet from the oven and set it aside to cool. Meanwhile, in a cup or small bowl, stir together the vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. When the beets are cool enough to handle, rub them to remove the skin, then cut them into chunks or wedges. Place the beets and shallots in a serving bowl. Drizzle the dressing over them and toss well. Serve warm or at room temperature, garnished with beet greens or parsley.

From Almost Vegetarian Entertaining

Pumpkin Pudding Cake

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 1/4 c. brown sugar
1 c. buttermilk
1 c. canned or fresh pumpkin puree

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 10-inch cake pan or baking dish.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar and buttermilk, stirring until smooth. Add the pumpkin and stir well to blend. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to blend thoroughly. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until set, about 40 minutes. The cake should be soft but not runny. Serve warm, cold, or at room temperature, with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Refrigerate, covered. Serve chilled or at room temperature. Do not reheat.

[kima]

Thanks for sharing these great looking recipes Emilycat!

[Jeanne G]

Contributors! Thanks for all of the good recipes! Especially the kale ones, since I have it growing in my garden for the first time and I have been looking to add to my collection of recipes for it. And, for Beet Lovers/Wanna Be's here is an EXCELLENT recipe that I have recently posted on another thread that others have tried and really loved...

ROASTED BEETS WITH WALNUT BASIL DRESSING


1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds beets, trimmed and halved
1 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bunch lettuce, well washed and torn apart.

For the Walnut Basil Dressing:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

3 ounces Gorgonzola cheese


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

To roast the beets: Place the beets, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a roasting pan and cook until the beets are tender, about 1 hour, 10 minutes. When they are cool enough to handle, remove the skins and slice the beets. Place the beets in a medium-sized mixing bowl and toss with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

To make the Walnut Basil Dressing: Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and, when it is hot, add the extra-virgin olive oil. Add the walnuts and cook until they are browned, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small mixing bowl and when the walnuts have cooled to room temperature, add the onion, basil, vinegar and salt.

Divide the lettuce between 4 to 6 plates and top with equal amounts of the dressing and then the beets. Then top with crumbled gorgonzola cheese.

Serves 4 to 6

Here's one I've modified for a combo of chard & kale too...

WHITE CHEDDAR POLENTA WITH SAUTEED GREENS AND GARLIC-ROASTED PORTOBELLOS

3 medium portobello mushrooms
3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 cups cherry tomatoes

1 onion, sauted until carmelized
4 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup polenta (coarse cornmeal) or yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1 cup (packed) grated sharp white cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces) (I used sharp provolone)
1 large bunch Swiss chard, ribs cut away, leaves cut in 3x1-inch strips
10-ounce of fresh kale, chopped

Preheat oven to 400°F. Oil 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish. Remove stems from mushrooms and chop stems finely; place in prepared baking dish. Using small spoon, scrape away dark gills from underside of mushrooms and discard. Cut each mushroom cap into 8 wedges; add to baking dish with chopped mushroom stems and cherry tomatoes. Drizzle with 1 1/2 tablespoons oil. Sprinkle with 1 minced garlic clove, parsley, salt and pepper and toss to coat. Bake until tender, 25 minutes. Remove from oven and toss with caramelized onion.

Meanwhile, combine 4 cups water and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in large saucepan. Bring to boil. Gradually whisk in polenta. Reduce heat to low. Cook until polenta thickens and begins to pull away from sides of pan, whisking often, about 25 minutes for polenta or 15 minutes for yellow cornmeal. Whisk in butter, then cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

I blanch both my chard & kale before proceeding: Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add 2 minced garlic cloves and sauté 30 seconds. Add Swiss chard and kale and sauté until tender but still bright green, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Combine greens with the Portobello mixture.

Spoon polenta onto plates. Top with greens and portobello mushroom mixture.

Makes 4 servings
Original from: Bon Appétit January 2001 (note: this recipe has been modified)

[lindrusso]

Originally posted by KValley
Alysha Seriously, I love SPs & Yams so much (I use them interchangeably in recipes)- I can't bear that anyone wouldn't like them!!

Rest easy, Julie, we loved the sweet potatoe fries! And so did the kids which is even better! I sliced them and then added seasonings and then just baked them - so easy and yummy! I'm dying to try the chipotle recipes, but I had to try a non-spicy recipe for the kids. I also wanted to try a recipe that wasn't in any way sweet - so I could get as far away from those candied marshmallow dishes of my childhood!

Thanks for the sweet potato suggestions everyone!

[lindrusso]

Oh, and Jeanne G, thanks for posting that polenta recipe - that's going on the list for dinners this week! And I think I'll substitute the sharp provolone - I finally found some and would like to use it!

[Jeanne G]

Originally posted by lindrusso
Oh, and Jeanne G, thanks for posting that polenta recipe - that's going on the list for dinners this week! And I think I'll substitute the sharp provolone - I finally found some and would like to use it!

Lindrusso,
It is an AWESOME recipe, I mean it! Although, just to warn you, it really makes ALOT. I had enough to have 8-10+ side (good size) servings!!! I will make this again soon, that's how good it is, but probably halve the recipe! Enjoy!
Jeanne