Lifestyle Fashion

Eat your vegetables! Simple cooking methods

Vegetables add color, flavor, texture, and volume to our daily diet. There are dozens of different vegetables that can be prepared in literally hundreds of ways. So what is the best?

There is nothing better. What you need to do is eat your vegetables, many, every day in a wide variety of ways and stop worrying about preparation methods. Variety is the key …

Crude

Many vegetables taste great just right from the garden. Lettuce, tomato, celery, cabbage, onion, radish, carrot are obvious choices here. But they are most likely to be found alongside chopped broccoli, cauliflower, peas, beans, and zucchini on a starter with sauces. Wash them, cut them and eat them. Oh yeah, you could make a salad too!

Steamed

Steaming warms the vegetable and softens its texture. It is softer than boiling and allows the vegetable to maintain its color if not overdone. Use a stainless steel steamer that will fit in most good-sized sauce pans. Be sure to use a skillet with a tight-fitting lid. There should be enough water to touch the bottom of the steamer. The water should be simmering the entire time the vegetables are cooking.

Boiling

Boiling veggies is really going out of style, but it’s a legitimate preparation method! The big concern is the loss of nutrients. All cooking methods result in the loss of some goodness of the vegetables. If it’s boiling, try to find a way to use the water the vegetables have been boiled in (i.e. to make a sauce or gravy) to bring those nutrients back to the table. Vegetables should be slightly covered with water. Bring the water to a boil (covered) and then simmer until the vegetables are tender.

Microwave oven

Very popular for vegetables as it preserves color, flavor and nutrients. Trial and error will be your guide with the microwave, as there are many variables involved. However, a few guidelines will help … The more food you put in the oven, the longer it will take to cook. Underestimate your cook time rather than overestimate it. Undercooked foods can be cooked a little longer. Overcooked food spoils. Food fresh from the refrigerator will take longer to cook than at room temperature. All food continues to cook after it is removed from the microwave oven. It is part of the cooking process and must be considered to avoid overcooking.

Sauteed

Very quick method of frying vegetables, meat (optional) and sauces in a pan to prepare a meal. Mainly associated with Asian cuisine. The key to getting it right is preparation. All items to be cooked should be cut to a size that allows them to cook quickly in the wok. It is also important that the wok is heated to a constant high temperature at all times. Vegetables maintain their color and freshness with this type of cooking (if not overdone).

Baking

Sparkly! Especially for those ‘root’ vegetables like potatoes, turnips, carrots and beets. Chop into pieces of similar size, lightly brush with olive oil and put in a hot oven to roast. The size of the pieces will determine the cooking time, but wait at least 40 minutes. On the outside it is chewy, on the inside it is moist and fluffy. Dress with sour cream and chives. Hmm!

Barbecue

Does something scream summer like the word barbecue? I love a barbecue. This is primarily for cooking over an open fire, so it could apply to a campfire as well. Cooking outdoors just changes everything about food. You will need aluminum foil, fire, and fresh vegetables. Grease your foil, chop your veggies, and place unopened packages on the grill. Be adventurous, it is very difficult to spoil this!

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