Hey all you awesome homemakers who make delicious, healthy food for every meal, I need help. My dilemma is that I'm not a huge fan of dark green leafy vegetables which I lovingly call "leafies." I would like to eat more of them but I can't really don't really want to stomach eating them outright.
Do you have any recipes which incorporate leafies into "regular" food?
Oh, and I'm horrible at making salads, probably because the lettuce goes bad before I use it. Or is it because I don't know how to make good ones. Or that Doug doesn't eat salad. I get the feeling its a combination of the three and that they compound each other... Any ideas?
My mom gave me a great suggestion, which might give you a better idea of what I'm looking for: cooked spinach in scrambled eggs. That sounds okay, right? Can you help me??
This just isn't too appetizing:
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Nor this: |
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Oh, and I'm horrible at making salads, probably because the lettuce goes bad before I use it. Or is it because I don't know how to make good ones. Or that Doug doesn't eat salad. I get the feeling its a combination of the three and that they compound each other... Any ideas?
My mom gave me a great suggestion, which might give you a better idea of what I'm looking for: cooked spinach in scrambled eggs. That sounds okay, right? Can you help me??
7 comments:
I bought the cookbook 'Deceptively Delicious' - it's all about sneaking veggies into foods. Some of the recipes are really good! Like pureed cauliflower in mashed potatoes or mac and cheese, pureed carrots in anything tomato - like lasagna or spaghetti, or even pizza- however, the spinach in scrambled egg recipe, which was in the book - I couldn't stomach that one. The eggs were 1. green and 2. gross. (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_9?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=deceptively+delicious&x=0&y=0&sprefix=deceptive that's the link to the book on Amazon - $7)
Another thing I do is throw 'leafies' like spinach and kale into smoothies. I don't call them green smoothies because mine aren't green. I usually put spinach, carrots, yogurt, orange juice concentrate, milk, blueberries, and strawberries, and bananas in. It's lots of sugary fruits, but no refined sugars. Plus it's got the rich veggies. And it's always dark purple because of the blueberries - I don't think I could handle an actual GREEN smoothie. Ew.
I blend spinach into smoothies with yogurt, fruit, and milk/ juice. You can't even taste it! I also think it's yummy in anything that has alfredo sauce but that might not be as healthy as you were envisioning. :)
i LOVE this recipe!
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2011/04/tortellini-spinach-bake-in-creamy-lemon/
I've tried cooked greens a few times, but I really prefer them fresh. (Most of the greens that are good for cooking are pretty earthy and bitter, and unless cooked spinach is done just right, the texture totally grosses me out.) They have to be fresh though, and high quality. I usually buy Wal-Mart's organic half-and-half mix that comes in a clear plastic box. If you get a salad spinner, your greens will tend to stay fresher longer, too. Before I was pregnant, I was in the habit of eating a salad every day at lunch (not just a salad, but that was my starter). I've fallen in love with sweet salads: try fresh dark greens (even just plain spinach) with half- to a whole piece of fruit (think apple, pear, orange, grapefruit, or strawberries) cut up, add dried cranberries, crumbled pecans and instead of dressing drizzle honey on top. If you mix it a little and let it sit just a few minutes, the honey helps pull out the fruit juice and they mix and it tastes amazing. If you have a sweet tooth at all, there is no way you can not love a salad like this! I've actually eaten it for "dessert" before! And you can always add avocado or some meat if you want to get fancy or make it in a meal. I also just came up with a savory salad I like: fresh dark greens, tomato, pepperoni (quarter the slices so you use less), black olives, and shredded parm (with Italian dressing). Not the healthiest salad ever, of course, but if you're having a hard time getting started with a food, I think it's ok to compromise a little in terms of your add ins until it becomes part of your habit and you become used to the taste and texture of something you don't love so much. As a final point, it really is worth it to me to buy pre-washed and cut greens. I know I could save by taking greens off the core/stem and washing it myself, but when I'm trying to start a new habit and/or don't have much energy, I never end up doing it so it goes bad and that wastes more money. I bet if you browsed the Panera or Zupa's online menus you could get some good ideas for inspiring salads as well.
I don't mind leafies in salad but when they're cooked they gross me out! Wilted leafies = yuck :( If you find anything that turns out super delicious, let me know!
I enjoy a good green smoothie with an orange juice base :-)
Do you like arugula? I make a lemon pasta dish and throw some arugula in it. Arugula on its own has quite a bite but when it's tempered with cheese and lemon it totally works...John hates spinach, but he has learned to eat it (sometimes I make a spinach and basil pesto and he has no clue) :)
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