Vegetables Rock!

Here are a few super good, quick recipes to make sure you are getting your vegetables:

1. Grilled Eggplant – This is super easy.  Slice your eggplant in approximately one inch slices.  Lay out some olive oil on a plate and dip your slices in the oil, and then give your salt and pepper grinder a twist over them. Throw them on your grill at medium heat and cook on each side about 2-3 minutes.  Make sure you set a timer, otherwise you’ll forget about them and they’ll burn quickly. You’ll know when they’re done once they’ve darkened/changed color and start to smell delicious.

2. Spaghetti Squash – This is super simple to prepare.  You can throw a spaghetti squash into the microwave and it’ll be ready in about 10 minutes.  If you have a little bit more time, throw it in the oven for about 45 minutes.  What’s great about these wonderful vegetables is they replace pasta and are super easy to mix & match toppings – such as salsa, spaghetti sauce (I recommend making your own), ground meat (beef/turkey), bacon bits, or even just some olive oil and salt and pepper goes really well too.

3. Sweet Potato Mash – Learned this from Michele and it makes for great post-workout fuel. Take 2 small sweet potatoes and boil them – I usually cube them so this speeds up this process.  Once you’ve done that, drain the water, add a couple of bananas, some cinnamon, nutmeg and a little vanilla extract and mash it altogether to taste.

4. Veggie Mix – Start with some olive oil in the cooking pan and add 1 onion sliced.  Let the onion cook in the olive oil for a little bit (couple minutes) and feel free to add a tomato if you’d like – make sure you chop it really small and this will give you a great base for a lot of different mixing options. Here’s a few ideas to add on to what you have so far: a handful of mushrooms, Costco has the mini Portobello that goes really well here; add in 1 to 2 peppers as well – green, yellow, red & orange – I say the more colorful your plate of veggies, the yummier it will be. Stir everything together and you won’t have to cook it very long – about 5 minutes – and now you have plenty of veggies for at least 3 meals. Total cooking time, about 12 minutes.

5. Broccoli & Cauliflower Mash – Steam the two in a cooking pot and when they’re done grab your hand held mixer and some coconut milk.  Some oregano goes really well, but feel free to experience with other spices too. Mix together and it’s as easy as that – now you have a great mash to serve with your protein 🙂