In an attempt to eat more veggies, I tend to pack our refrigerator full of veggies. I figure, if it’s in my refrigerator I will have to cook it. I think this may have been a record at our house for most vegetables cooked in one night! First easy veggie side dish: Roasted Kale with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Second easy side dish: Avocado. Just slice it and add some salt. If you are feeling adventurous, squeeze some lime on top. Third easy side dish: Roasted butternut squash. Peel the squash, dice, add olive oil salt and pepper. Roast it under the broiler for 15-20 minutes. To make eating vegetables more interesting to the girls, I offered them some cinnamon sugar to sprinkle on top of the butternut squash.
Fourth vegetable side dish: steamed corn. With these many vegetables, the girls may not have eaten everything on their plates, but they tried at least one bite. At their age, that’s really all anybody can ask. The point is to expose kids to new foods and new flavors.
Cooking a meal like this really puts the food pyramid into perspective. There were no boxes with a mile long list of ingredients I can hardly pronounce or let alone remember. It felt good to know that we could fill our plates up with veggies instead of preservatives and additives. Yes, there were a lot more dishes to clean after cooking a meal like this, but at the end of the meal we all agreed it was worth it.
- What’s your family’s favorite vegetable side dish?
My daughter would much rather have rice, beans and meat. When I started cooking healthier she would try things but she doesn’t eat all of it. But in answer to your question…i can get her to eat mashed cauliflower with sprinkled cheese and sour cream any day. She loves it. 🙂
I grew up on rice, beans and meat too. But now I always forget to make the beans! After the girls first trip to Puerto Rico, they came back asking for rice and beans with every meal.