Cooking and Preparing Vegetables — Made Easy!

For many, the hardest part about eating more vegetables is not knowing how to cook or prepare them. In this post, we’ll walk you through the basics so you can start filling your plate with more of the healthiest foods on the planet! You don’t need to feel intimidated by preparing vegetables any longer!

Raw

A fast and easy way to eat more vegetables throughout the day is to always have raw veggies on hand and ready to eat! Some examples of veggies that are great raw are:

• Carrots
• Cucumber
• Bell peppers
• Celery
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Cherry tomatoes
• Snap peas  

Spice up raw veggies with healthy dips! Hummus and tzatziki sauce are great, tasty choices to always have on hand. Make a protein rich dip by mixing dip mix like ranch or French onion with plain Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream.

Steamed

Steaming vegetables is a low-calorie way to easily cook up vegetables. Learn how to steam veggies by following these steps:

1. Chop veggies of your choice into bite-sized pieces.
2. Place a small amount of water (about 1-2 inches deep) in sauce pan and bring to a boil.
3. Place metal vegetable steamer into the pan.
4. Steam vegetables until soft (usually 5-10 minutes). Season with salt and pepper.

Viola! You’ve got healthy, steamed veggies.

Tip: Green beans, broccoli, and cauliflower are particularly tasty vegetables to steam.

Sautéed

Sautéing vegetables is fast and easy! Get in the practice of quickly preparing sautéed veggies on the stove with these easy steps:

1. Chop veggies of your choice into bite-sized pieces.
2. Heat up pan to medium-heat.
3. Place small amount of oil in the pan (recommend avocado or olive oil).
4. Throw veggies into the pan and stir! Cook for 5-10 minutes over heat. Add salt and pepper (and other spices of your choice).

Now you’ve got a flavorful change of pace from raw vegetables.

Baked

Baking vegetables is a delicious way to prepare vegetables, especially in fall or winter seasons. No matter the season, baking vegetables follows these simple steps:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Chop veggies of your choice into bite-sized (or larger) pieces.
3. Toss vegetables in oil (recommend avocado, olive, or coconut oil).
4. Lay out on pan. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Cook for 25-40 minutes or until soft and crispy.
   

And that’s it! Your vegetables will cook while you’re relaxing or getting in some extra steps. Sweet potato, onion, broccoli, cauliflower, mushroom, and carrots are particularly delicious to bake.

With all these preparing options, you’ll notice each one starts with vegetables chopped into bite-sized pieces. So, the biggest tip to keep you and your nutrition on-track is to chop the veggies as soon as you buy them and put them into containers in the fridge.

Convenience is huge when you’re hungry and wanting to stay on track with your nutrition!  Keep in mind frozen and canned veggies are acceptable as well.  Frozen is often easier to keep around because they last so much longer.

Now try your hand at each of the above vegetable preparations methods and start having fun in the kitchen and with your vegetables.