Healthy Vegetable Recipes & Side Dishes
Shop your local farmers market, find yours here. Or check out another way to enjoy the mother lode of fresh, local produce.
VEGETABLE SIDE DISH RECIPES
SIMPLE VEGETABLE SIDES
MORE HEALTHY VEGETABLE RECIPES
Sweet & Spicy Kale
Sweet & Spicy Kale
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic
1 small bunch of seriously fresh organic kale*, trimmed (to remove stem ends) and cut into large pieces
1/4 teaspoon pure sea salt
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha hot chili sauce**
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
Toasted sesame oil
Preparation:
Heat large saute pan over medium heat. Add oil and garlic and cook until golden. Spray entire pan with olive oil spray and add kale and salt, stir to combine. Turn heat to medium low and cook for about 5-7 minutes. If you like your kale with a little "chew" to it, give it a taste after 5 minutes to determine your desired texture. Clear space in the center of pan and add Sriracha and honey, then stir to combine. Finish with a drizzle of sesame oil and salt and pepper to taste.
Serving size: 2 (always surprised at just how much kale cooks down, even though we are big eaters, a small bunch is still just enough for two.)
* Really fresh kale brings it own moisture to the dish, so if your kale isn't fresh picked within a day or so, you'll want to add additional liquid. Add a few splashes of broth after adding kale and before the Sriracha/honey, just enough to steam the greens and keep them from burning. And increase your cooking time to 10-15 minutes. The same goes if you're using a medium to large bunch of kale.
** Srirachas' heat can vary wildly by brand. If you're using Huy Fong Sriracha you might half it.
Sweet & Spicy Chard Recipe Variation:
Substitute one large bunch of organic chard. Increase oil to 2 teaspoons and swirl in pan to cover. Proceed as above reducing heat to low and cooking time to 4-6 minutes.
Mustard-dressed Collard Greens
A fail-safe method for cooking up super healthy greens -- keeps them naturally vibrant and brings out their sweet-side! Special thanks to Linda at Cook For Good for her method for steaming greens.
Mustard-dressed (Steamed) Collard Greens
Ingredients
1 large bunch of fresh organic collard greens (mustard greens work great too)
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons organic apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon of minced garlic or juice only from jarred garlic*
1 teaspoon honey
Hot pepper vinegar or sauce (optional)
Preparation
Wash and drain greens.
Place a steamer basket above an inch of water in a large stockpot. Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat to a low boil.
Cut and discard just the very ends of stems. Then tear collard leaves away from center stems. Cut the stems into half-inch pieces. Add stem pieces to steamer basket for approximately 4 minutes.
Tear remaining collard leaves into 1 inch pieces and toss with salt and pepper. Add leaves to steamer basket and cook with stems until just tender, approximately 4-6 minutes.
Combine olive oil, dijon, vinegar and honey in a large mixing boil. Remove greens from steamer, add to mixing bowl and toss with dressing.
* Using just the juice from jarred garlic in dressings and other raw dishes often gives just the right flavor without overpowering.
Recipe Variation:
Combine with rice and black-eyed peas for a kicked up version of Hoppin' John.
Cinnamon Black Beans
Cinnamon Black Beans
Ingredients
Olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onions
2/3 cups chopped organic carrots
1 small organic jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 15 oz. can of organic black beans, undrained
1/4 cup beer (can substitute broth but a good beer really complements the flavors)
1/2 teaspoon of honey
Mavenjoy (Gluten Free) Ingredient Pick
~ Bard's Sorghum Malt Beer ~
Preparation:
Heat saucepan over medium-high heat. A generous drizzle of olive oil. Add onions and cook 2-3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, add carrots, jalapeno and garlic and cook 2 minutes stirring frequently. Stir in cumin, cinnamon, chili powder, salt and beans and cook 3 minutes.
Deglaze pan with beer/broth. Stir in honey and bring to gentle boil. Reduce heat and let simmer 5-7 minutes.
"Refried" Beans
The Cinnamon Black Beans recipe above was the original recipe for this "refried" beans remake, but they're so darn good they get their own billing. You can use most any type of beans to make these. They're perfect for smearing on a soft tortilla or stuffing into the base of a taco shell.
"Refried" Beans
Ingredients
1 recipe of Cinnamon Black Beans
Preparation
Keep beans warm until ready to use or serve. Using a handheld immersion blender, puree beans until desired texture and serve immediately. (Note: Try experimenting with the the amounts of liquid added to get the right consistency. Sometimes we'll drain and rinse the beans and add enough beer to get it right for pureeing.)
Healthy Vegetable Recipes: Simple Picks
Find out what's in season when and why for the freshest produce all year round.
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Roasted Kabocha Squash
Preheat oven to 400. Halve one large kabocha squash vertically and remove seeds. Save one half for another use. Slice squash and put in a bowl. Toss with a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper. Transfer to baking sheet and spread out evenly. Cook approximately 20 minutes. Love, love, love hard squashes, and kabocha is my new favorite. It has the creamy consistency of a sweet potato but with a nuttier, richer flavor. Enjoy the whole slice, skins and all --they soften right up and are delicious!
- Caramelized Onions
Thinly slice 1 sweet or Vidalia onion. Heat small-medium saute pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle olive oil over pan. When hot, add onions and salt and pepper to taste + another drizzle of oil. Shake pan to distribute. Turn heat to low, cover and cook 10-15 minutes, stirring halfway. Remove lid, stir, increase heat to medium-high and cook 5 minutes or until desired taste. You can also drizzle in a little honey during last 5 minutes to ensure desired sweetness. Or just go low and slow: add sliced onions, salt and pepper to saute pan over low heat with olive oil and cook for 25-35 minutes uncovered.
- Stir-fried Okra
A great little cooking tip is to soak whole, trimmed okra in a solution of 4 parts water to one part apple cider vinegar for 15 minutes to one hour. It adds a nice zing to the okra and cuts the "slime" factor. Drain and shake off excess water. Cut okra pods lengthwise into thin, lateral slices. Heat saute pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle with oil. Add chopped onions and red pepper flakes and cook until just soft. Toss in okra slices, salt and stir-fry until desired consistency, approximately 10 minutes.
Recipe Variation
Indian Spiced Okra and Potatoes: Follow instructions above but just before adding the okra add small diced potatoes, chopped ginger, ground cumin and tumeric and cook until potatoes are tender. Add okra and proceed as above.
- Grill Baby Grill
Simple, simple...toss whole and halved veggies with olive oil, salt, pepper and grill. Yum! See our pic at the top of this page, we'll grill just about anything!
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