I love Veggies! But I want to try a different way of cooking other than boiling

Philippines
July 27, 2011 9:33pm CST
Eversince I cut down my meat intakes, I consumed more veggies, rootcrops, fruits. Before I was eating a lot of red meat daily and I gained weight. I didn't like it. So I decided to start by lessening the meat then more on the green, yellow, orange ones. I loved the taste and the smell. So eventually I reduced my weight by 5 kilos in just 3 weeks. And I really love my body now, slim and fit, plus the exercises. Going back to veggies, I want to try out new recipes or menus or dishes that can spice up or give more adventures to my taste. I want to cook veggies in a whole different way. Can you give new ideas? Or any preparation. I steam my veggies, or boil them. Or I cook meat recipes. Now what I do here is instead of 1 kilo meat, I reduce it to 1/8 meat then put more amounts of the vegetables for that certain recipe. :) Thanks in advance!
4 people like this
15 responses
@secretbear (19448)
• Philippines
28 Jul 11
Hi merenwen! That's good for you! I also want to lessen eating meat but sometimes I can't avoid eating meat when there's nothing available for me except for it. I can't eat chicken and if I'm eating vegetables, I want a little meat protein with it. ^^ I have also started eating more vegetables but I am not really the one who cook my food. My mom usually prepares our food in our house. Usually, she sautes the vegetables with a little meat on it. Sometimes we have boiled leafy green vegetables. Sometimes I prepare noodles and add broccoli on it.
• Philippines
28 Jul 11
Hi! This is also a nice one. It's okay if you don't cook yet still you gave me good ideas. I love it! I'll try this one too. Thanks again!
2 people like this
@secretbear (19448)
• Philippines
28 Jul 11
You're welcome!
1 person likes this
@zerd87 (301)
• Philippines
28 Jul 11
you can fry the veggies or grind it and mix it with the meat. Lots of way in cooking some veggies. some people try to have a soup or mix it with the other ingredients. Internet does a good preference for that.
2 people like this
@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
28 Jul 11
Simple cucumber salad - My favorite cucumber salad
To get utmost benefit from veggies you should eat them raw. Cooking can destroy the nutritious contents. But if you prefer them cooked then make sure they are half-cooked. Sorry I can't give you any other way of cooking veggies because I prefer to eat raw veggies to make sure no nutrient is lost. I would rather just eat them raw for this assures me of utmost benefit. I choose veggies that can be eaten raw such as cucumber,carrot, cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes,celery and the likes. All I need is a good tasting dip to complete my meal. Cucumber is always readily available to me so I always have this for my early morning salad together with tomatoes and onions with low fat mayo and catchup. I love it!
1 person likes this
@JohnRok1 (2051)
28 Jul 11
This isn't true of broccoli - see http://www.elements4health.com/how-to-maximise-the-cancer-fighting-power-of-broccoli.html (140degreesF is 60degreesC). Neither is it true of some beans, which have to be boiled vigorously for 10 minutes to destroy a really nasty toxin. Neither is it true of tomatoes, if it's the lycopene you're after. And I think there are problems with potatoes and parsnips, etc. I prepare vegetables for a soup kitchen, where it's a job to get the guys to want to eat the vegetables, but broccoli, prepared the Elizabeth Jeffery way (steam 3-4 min), goes down a treat. So does the vegetable compote, prepared as follows: Cover the bottom of a stockpot with a layer of oil. Sprinkle powdered roast spices and herbs to taste. Cut up ginger root as fine as you are prepared to and add to taste. Cover with at least a layer or more of sliced onion. and above that sliced carrot, and above that tomatoes (I cut in half, unless they are small), which will form the bulk of the dish. Place on top of that sliced, or otherwise pulverised sharon fruit (or persimmon or kaka fruit) - I use at least a quarter of one, and at most a whole fruit, depending on price and state, and garlic that has been pressed at least an hour previously (if you're going to cook immediately). Add also some avocado, if you feel you can spare it for this purpose (it doesn't have to be in tip-top condition). Sometimes I also add sliced celery, and other non-brassica vegetables can be added (I also added spinach when it was cheap) if you fancy the idea - roots are probably best where you put the carrots. Heat to boiling and boil for 15 minutes. Mix and serve.
@JohnRok1 (2051)
28 Jul 11
Sorry 1. I meant kaki fruit not kaka - Greek speaking readers might have been especially puzzled. 2. I forgot to mention the orange (sweet) pepper(s) that I always try to include (red as well, but generally they're more expensive, so I use less of them). Another ingredient I've used in salad dressing, but not yet in this dish is lime - you put the whole (washed) lime in the boiling vegetables for up to 10 minutes, then take it out, peel, discard the peel and pips and add the juice and flesh to your compote.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
28 Jul 11
That's a nice plate! Yummy! And yup I also tried eating them raw before. And maybe because that my mind is set on cooking, I forgot I can always eat them raw. Thanks for reminding me! Love this idea too! I'm so excited to go to the market now.. :)
1 person likes this
• Philippines
28 Jul 11
There are many ways you can do with veggies and not only steam or boil. You can saute them, mix them with chicken, beef or fish. It can be included in soups and rice as well. I cannot post here a recipe sample since we are to discuss the matter so what I can only suggest is to try and visit my profile since I do have a food blog which has recipes for veggies and non veggies and you can try some of the recipes I shared there with all my friends.
2 people like this
@magtibaygom (4858)
• Philippines
28 Jul 11
Here in the Philippines, since our staple food is rice and rice is not good if there is no side dish like vegetables, there are many ways people cook veggies here. Some people just saute them in garlic and oil, while others put in mixture with noodles or fish. There are many ways to cook it, but since I am not a cook myself, I cannot teach you exactly how do they do that.
2 people like this
@pacrptc (231)
• United States
28 Jul 11
you could always use veggies in stir fry, or homemade soups... you could do a little searching on the internet to see what you could find
2 people like this
@Rainegurl (2156)
• Philippines
28 Jul 11
Good for you I also like stir-fried vegetables, especially if it has garlic and onion. To be a little more healthy, I think it is a good idea if you use olive oil when stir frying. Have a nice day!
1 person likes this
@marie2052 (3691)
• United States
28 Jul 11
have you tried grilling them? Also find some recipes to bake them. There are vegetable casseroles too. And even Vegetable main dishes. Just hit the mylot search engine and do a search on vegetable recipes. I tend to do more chicken in recipes with vegetables if I use meat. I go in a circle through the week so we don't eat to much of any one meat type or vegetable. Good Luck in trying out new recipes. I have learned so many ways to cook now that I don't cook anything like my mother did. All I remember her ever doing was either fry meat or boil it. The only time we ever got something baked was cookies, cake or pies. And thanksgiving she would make a turkey. But never other meats. So when I was in home ec I learned a lot and then when I got married and had children that is when I really learned a lot. If you like cooking, its easy to discover new ways to make things. And the internet is a wonderful resource. Happy Cooking to you!
• Philippines
3 Aug 11
I love cooking! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
28 Jul 11
You can grill some of it. You can also make juices from this every morning and substitute this for your coffee. Try also steaming it. I'm happy to know that you are having your healthy lifestyle. I'm proud of you.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
4 Aug 11
Hey there! Thanks for the idea.. =) I love coffee in the morning. So I haven't tried juicing the veggies (because I don't have a juicer or a blender.. :D ) Anyway, I'll get my blender or juicer and try this one. Thanks!
• Malaysia
28 Jul 11
If you can manage then you can search for some Indian recipes for vegetarian food. Indians are mostly vegetarians so they have numerous recipes and all. I hope you will find what you are seeking for.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
28 Jul 11
Have you ever tried cooking your meal both (veggies steamed) and (other cooked meat or dish)? So far I've learned that steamed vegetables or other food in cooking is the best source of nutritional intake than other method in cooking like (boiling, frying or other techniques used). And also it's not good to suddenly cook foods that are frozen or cooled because it will destroy the food's taste and nutrition, it can cause shock to a recipe or simply just like a person exposed to cool temperature and suddenly heated which lead to illness to a person. "STEAMING" your food in cooking helps in preserving nutritional content by exposing the outer part of a certain vegetable or fruit open its pores and allow the heat togehter with the oxygen accumulate inside, thus killing the bacteria present on it and allow the good bacteria to stay inside the food. And it also helps preserve the taste which is not entirely lessening the natural effects of a vegetable and fruit But over steaming in cooking will make the food entirely disrupt the nutrition and taste, so proper techniques or skills is needed in cooking food with steam. The main point is steamed food combined together with other cooked food with other technique eventually enhances taste at the same time nutritious with the benefit of your body and satisfy your food experience in dishes. I have my own recipe and proper techniques individually on how to cook preperly with steam.
• Philippines
3 Aug 11
Nope, I haven't tried mixing steamed veggies to cooked meat. But I guess somehow, in a chopseuy recipe, the veggies should be half-cooked then the meat either boiled or stir-fried. Ii'll do this one too. Thanks for the tips for steaming!
1 person likes this
28 Jul 11
usually when i eat veggies i made it a salad and mixed it with some fruits, and instead of cream i use yogurt, i think that's the better way to eat it and healthier than cooked ones, you can add chicken strips also for some add flavor and shrimp or fish, there's so many ways to make a salad and you can also experiment on it and just put all the veggies and fruits that you only like.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
4 Aug 11
hello! this is different. This is in a way, eating them raw, and I like it! And the yogurt tip is a fresh one for me because I seldom buy yogurt, it's expensive where I am. But I guess I'll find ways, thanks for your ideas!
28 Jul 11
Fry your veggies in a little olive oil.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
4 Aug 11
Thanks! But maybe fry them sometimes. I know the taste is good when they're fried however, the unwanted fat is also there. Since you suggested olive oil, this will really work. Thanks again!
@aimend13 (51)
• United States
2 Aug 11
You can grill, stir fry, place them in soups, saute. The most important thing is to flavor them well. Try adding different spices, like chili flakes or garlic. It'll add a lot of flavor and make them more interesting to your taste buds. Just look up some recipes online, there are a lot of great blogs and other sites dedicated to healthy/yummy cooking.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
3 Aug 11
hi merenwen there are a variety of ways to cook veggies like in stir frys with a little low salt soy sauce and a wee bit of cooked meat, steam them or raw cauliflower and broccoli can be made into a raw salad with hidden valley ranch dressing. veggies make delicious soups too.squashes and eggplant can be baked in the oven all root veggies are good baked. there's tons of great recipes on the net for cooking veggies in other ways than just boiling.