Is it possible to get beyond boiled & buttered veggies? How much meat would you eat if you boiled and buttered it each night? Not much, I’m guessing and yet that’s how we always serve vegetables. No wonder kids don’t want to eat them. But, if you turn veggies into nuggets and add a ranch dip… or roast them to caramelized perfection and dunk in fondue sauce… they’ll quickly disappear.
Snapped up Recipes fit several criteria:
- High Yum Factor – you wanted to have a second helping
- High nutrition
- All plant based (Meat can always be added in it or on the side)
- Inexpensive
- Good for one. Great for many.
“Eating your veggies” means making a mental shift from side dish to main meal; the sort of thing you would take to a potluck. It’s easier than you think. First, treat your kitchen like the fast food restaurant that it is. Are you feeling Mexican, Italian, or Asian tonight? Learn which spices and cooking styles go with each culture and then apply that to what’s in your vegetable bin or available fresh at the Farmer’s Market.
Let’s start with Mexican and Spring Break Tacos. Tacos are flexible and a fun family chopping event. Once you have the base you can fill with any assortment of freshly chopped veggies. Add a fresh cilantro sauce and kids or neighbors will be coming back for more. No hamburger? No problem. Use walnuts and lentils to create the base. Leftovers can become burritos for the freezer.
What about Italian? A simple tomato sauce with lots of vegetables piled on to pasta is always a hit. You can add meat if you like, but if you’re saving money, add a bit of corn meal to the sauce and you’ll have the meaty heft that you’re craving. Don’t forget to add fresh greens into the sauce, spinach, basil, oregano… all are packed with nutrition as well as flavor. And… leftovers go on top of a deep crust pizza.
Want something lighter? Try Flowerful Spring Rolls using edible flowers that may be growing in your yard right now. They are stunning to serve to yourself or friends.
After a few of these Snapped Up dishes, you’ll be craving more ideas. Soon you’ll be cooking from scratch using farm fresh produce as easily as making a sandwich, and that’s when the real fun begins.
Many thanks to Mary Hunt for developing these! Mary Hunt is a gleaner with Local 20/20’s Quimper Community Harvest as well as an advocate for sustainable food systems, cooking from scratch, and growing her own predictable food.
