What's Fresh: How to Cook 20 Vegetables

I’m a vegetable lover. I eat vegetables at least three times a day: sautéed chard stirred into scrambled eggs for breakfast, a big garden-fresh salad for lunch and grilled corn and steamed potatoes as side dishes with dinners in the summer. I don’t have much trouble eating enough vegetables, but I know I’m the exception, not the rule.

Related Link: 10 Low-Cal Dinners Packed with Produce

One in 4 Americans don’t eat the 5 to 13 servings of vegetables and fruit (the number of servings depends on your calorie intake) that you’re supposed to eat every day for optimal health.

Are you one of those that need a nudge to eat more vegetables? Here are 3 reasons to fit more in:

• Lose weight: Fruits and vegetables are rich in fiber and recent research shows that consuming more fiber can help you lose weight.
• Reduce your risk of heart disease: You could cut your risk for heart disease by almost 25 percent, suggests one study, simply by adding 3 servings of vegetables (or fruit) to your daily diet.
• Fight cancer and Alzheimer’s disease: Eating vegetables (and fruit) in a variety of colors provides you with a variety of phytochemicals, some of which act as antioxidants that may help prevent heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

Related Link: 20 Slimming Vegetarian Dinners

Probably the excuse I most often hear people give when they say they don’t like vegetables is that they don’t like how vegetables taste. I think it’s partially because those vegetables were overcooked (and mushy—ew) or not prepared in the tastiest of ways.

Related Link: 30-Minute Summer Dinners Filled With Fresh Veggies

So here are foolproof ways to cook 20 favorite vegetables that bring out their best flavor. And since it’s summer, and many of these vegetables are at their ripe and delicious best, bursting with nutrients, it’s the perfect time to enjoy them! For all of these recipes, start with one pound of untrimmed vegetables. For our complete guide to cooking 20 vegetables—with details on how to grill, bake, saute, steam, roast, braise or microwave your vegetable of choice—click here.

Related Link: Get several vegetable servings at once with these Fresh Summer Salad recipes

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Artichokes

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Look for: Tight, small heads without browning or bruising.
Prep: Snip off tough outer leaves; cut off top quarter and trim off woody stem.
Grill: Halve artichokes, scoop out the choke if necessary, then toss with 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Preheat grill. Place the artichokes over direct, medium-high heat and cook, turning once or twice, until tender, about 8 minutes.

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Look for: Tight, small heads without browning or bruising.

Prep: Snip off tough outer leaves; cut off top quarter and trim off woody stem.

Grill: Halve artichokes, scoop out the choke if necessary, then toss with 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Preheat grill. Place the artichokes over direct, medium-high heat and cook, turning once or twice, until tender, about 8 minutes.

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iamjones said on 1 Wednesday 2010 pm30 3:25 pm: when in doubt, simply roast or sauté with olive oil and plently of freshly diced garlic and you really cannot go wrong..... simple. fast. healthful.

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By Carolyn Malcoun

Carolyn Malcoun combines her love of food and writing in her position as associate food editor at EatingWell. Carolyn has a culinary arts degree from New England Culinary Institute and a degree in journalism from University of Wisconsin--Madison. Carolyn enjoys cooking, gardening, hiking and running in her free time.

More from EatingWell:

• 5 Food Myths Busted: Grocery shopping mistakes that are costing you money and quality
• How to Freeze 16 Fruits and Vegetables
• 10 Secrets to Cooking Healthier
• Get a free trial issue when you subscribe to EatingWell Magazine and sign up for our free e-newsletters!

 

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Comments

[DavidMG]

10:38 AM on 09/21/2010

Nice too see this vegetable promotion. However, many people have such a bad attitude towards these important foods that even great recipes won’t make any difference­. I decided to make an attempt with the next generation by writhing a kid’s book. Parents and teachers interested in getting kids to develop a friendly attitude towards fruits and vegetables should take at “The ABC’s of Fruits and Vegetables and Beyond.”. – children first learn their alphabet through produce poems and then go on to hundreds of related activities­. It is coauthored Jim Henson writer Steve Charney

[Chili-Diva]

12:00 AM on 09/15/2010

After I steam my green beans I love to make this fresh green bean recipe. With the toasted walnuts, fresh dill, olive oil and other ingredient­s it is incredible

http://www­.chili-eve­ryway.com/­fresh-gree­n-bean-rec­ipe.html

[liberal54]

08:22 AM on 09/11/2010

Sorry if this was already mentioned, but for the asparagus: after roasting in the oven, sprinkle over some grated Parmesan cheese. Good stuff!

[Amanda Donovan]

05:04 PM on 09/11/2010

AND LEMON ZEST! yummmmmmm

[attilathehoneycom]

05:04 PM on 09/10/2010

I've been a vegetarian for 40 years, raised all my kids and pets as vegetarian­s and I think that is why I am able to work such long hours. For example, when a lion eats it's prey, he's knocked out for a couple of days...but a bull on the other hand, has much more stamina because it doesn't eat meat. Meat, processed foods, too much salt, the lack of fresh vegetables and fruits has caused many a heart problem. However, even though I only cook fresh vegetables & lots of fruit - still my husband has high cholestero­l and triglyceri­des. This is hereditary but can be controlled with the right diet. All his family members ( who drink, eat meat, don't like veggies) have had heart problems. He is a gourmet cook and even wrote a gourmet vegetarian cookbook yet - he can't eat anything he likes, i.e. potatoes, rice, pasta...bu­t there are ways of making dishes from soy products plus vegetables­, fruit, whole grain products, etc. I wrote a blog about this called: So it's not Home Sweet Home - Adjust!
Good article!
Attila Honey
Host, The Attila the Honey Comedy Hour
http://www­.attilathe­honey.com

[Alan Ozdamar]

11:08 AM on 09/09/2010

Great informatio­n here. I especially liked the artichokes part. I never could find a great way to eat them without soaking them in butter. Fortunatel­y, I found out grilling them also works. Cool stuff! Here is another article on cooking your vegetables in a healthy way!

http://cen­terformedi­calweightl­oss.com/re­sources/ar­ticles/230­/3-Delicio­us-Ways-to­-Eat-Your-­Vegetables

[BadBadKitten]

04:14 PM on 09/07/2010

I'm hungry now. I gotta hit the grocery store.

[Pleroma]

10:48 PM on 09/05/2010

The only way I've found to create eating frenzy in meat-eatin­g friends (and me) with vegetables is to season them with algae salt... which I can no longer find.

Charcoal grilling, hot oven roasting, curries, they're all good, but algae salt is easier and sure-fire.

[No1 ILoveLucyFan]

06:35 PM on 09/05/2010

We had some tornadoes go through our yard a couple of weeks ago, so my garden is destroyed - with the exception of a few tomatoes, a green pepper, a few pumpkins and some butternut squash. Tonight, I took 2 butternut squish (squashes? Squashi?) and cut them, took out the seeds and put them on a buttered roasting pan with just a sprinkle of salt. 375 F for 30 minutes, then scooped out the yummy carmelized flesh and mixed it with a bit of butter, pepper and some regular maple syrup - our kids who HATE squash couldn't eat it fast enough. If you don't like the syrup, you could use some dark brown sugar, or I've even used sugar substitute­s. It's delicious, and the kids learn that you can grow stuff and have it on your table within 45 minutes of picking it.

[No1 ILoveLucyFan]

06:39 PM on 09/05/2010

P.S. there was about 2 cups of squash, and a teaspoon of syrup - it wasn't "sweet" - just flavored.

[rayofsun]

05:47 PM on 09/04/2010

raw grated carrots combined with raw grated beets and a vinegar and oil type dressing..­.wonderful and healthy!

[hjo4]

05:36 PM on 09/04/2010

Thanks for the recipes for the veggies.I definitely will give them try. Great.

[Susan Orlins]

11:30 AM on 09/04/2010

Oh yum, this is great and sparks all kinds of ideas in the recipe part of my mind. I recently wrote a post that includes an easy, economical­, crowd-plea­sing tomatoe and pasta recipe on www.homego­esstrong.c­om.
We all worry about eating right, most of us do, and I worry about everything else you can name on my bolg:
www.confes­sionsofawo­rrywart.co­m

[monstersfromtheid]

08:34 AM on 09/04/2010

roasted Brussels sprouts are great.
asparagus lightly grilled in the barbecue tastes best to me

Basically I'm ok with any vegetable that hasn't been boiled into limp, gray submission­.

[aristippe]

02:44 AM on 09/04/2010

Garnet Yams are the Bomb. I'll never eat a potato again

[SusanElizabeth1949]

08:28 PM on 09/04/2010

I'll eat them for breakfast, lunch or dinner. For breakfast I take left over baked yams and cook them in ghee until they begin to carmalize, then eat with pink salt and fresh ground tellicherr­y pepper.

[aristippe]

01:13 PM on 09/05/2010

i'm gonna try that thanks

[woodsywizz]

08:56 PM on 09/03/2010

OK, 86 the corn & potatoes!
Except as a needed replacemen­t for refined flour.
If you're hooked (ahem) on breads, then corn & potatoes make some (limited) sense.
Strongly recommend high-prote­in beans, pinto & red beans in particular form complete proteins with (preferabl­y brown) rice.
Nuts & seeds form complete proteins. Make your own 'trail' mix, with sunflower seeds to complement the mix.
Ref: "Diet for a Small Planet", ageless advice w/ delicious recipes attch!

[Rapier]

06:58 PM on 09/03/2010

Here's another great recipe for broccoli. It removes the unpleasant flavor.

http://oft­hisandthat­.org/Recip­es.html

[RobParker]

01:18 AM on 09/04/2010

what type of broccoli has unpleasant flavor?

[aristippe]

02:17 AM on 09/04/2010

I know right! I can take raw if needs be.