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amyable
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Help! 
I'm finally sitting down to make some meal plan menus (that crazy nesting urge strikes again  ) and I'm realizing how far we have strayed from healthy, balanced meals.
We eat a lot of meals that don't *need* sides (i.e. it's all in there - like a stir fry) but there are also many days where the meat is only accompanied by potato flakes and a can of something (is there a duck and hide icon?? ). This is where I need help!
What are your families' favorite vegetable based sides? We have dairy/egg/nut/tomato(mild - we still eat it on occasion) allergies, but I can usually substitute (although cheese is hard to sub  ) Any particularly healthy favorites for the picky 8 and under crowd? 
Thanks so much for any ideas. My intense organizing urge is coupled with a total lack of brain power.
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Paula in MN
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Great topic!
I am lucky to have a few huge gardens, so in the summer and fall we just have a side dish of whatever got picked that day, and in the winter and spring we eat whatever I pull out of the pantry! However, it gets boring. I can't wait to see what ideas everyone else has!
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doris
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I really go for the 'hide vegetables in the sauce' trick. My gang are quite picky about undisguised veg but tuck in eagerly if it's in a bolognese or chilli. You can squeeze in peppers, aubergine, courgettes, grated carrot, celery, and even frozen spinach in any tomatoey sauce.
But for pure and simple vegetables, mashed swede (rutabaga) with dairy substitute margarine and soya milk and lots of pepper; plain boiled courgettes (zucchini?); broccoli; corn on the cob; oh, and salads of cherry tomatoes and cucumber, as long as it's got lashings of kid-friendly vinaigrette (4 parts extra virgin olive oil to 1 part balsamic vinegar and a bit of coarse grain mustard to blend). Youngest dd will even eat lettuce if dressed with that (but it has to be little gem). Also avocado with the same dressing.
My own favourite (which the dc won't touch with a bargepole) is cabbage stirfried with onion, garlic and a few crushed juniper berries. Mmmmm.
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~Rachel~
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doris wrote:
| plain boiled courgettes (zucchini?); broccoli; corn on the cob; |
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yes courgettes = zucchini, just like aubergines = eggplant
(From your fellow Brit who lives in the USA)
I put a recipe for fresh picked squash on my garden blog the other day... I also love boiled new potatoes with a little butter and chives.
My favourite trick for veggie dishes though, is to scour vegetarian cookbooks for ideas!
My family tends to eat the fresh stuff much more readily... the kids love all kinds of beans more than anything else except corn.
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Becky Parker
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Amy,
I have to say the ONE way ALL my children will eat veggies is if I buy a selection, cut them up and arrange them on a tray and then put a big ol' bowl of
Ranch dressing out for them to dip. I know that's not the best, but my kids will eat red and green peppers like there's no tomorrow this way. They will also eat broccoli, fresh green beans and cauli as long as I steam them ever so lightly first. My kids really aren't big on a lot of cooked veggies, except for corn and potatoes, so I stick with the raw ones.
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DominaCaeli
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My babies don't balk at vegetables quite yet, thank goodness, but I DO have to "hide" vegetables from my husband!
Here's a few veggie side dishes he will eat:
Cook up some cous cous in the microwave. Add some canned diced tomatoes (you can add to taste, if you want just mild tomato), olives, lots of sauteed zucchini, fresh basil, and olive oil.
Salads with whatever dressing he likes--and no iceburg lettuce!
Garlic pasta with lots of spinach (he likes this as a side dish)
Vegetable chili (he likes to make chili dogs with this, so it's kind of an all-in-one meal--I make a big batch and then freeze it in small amounts to use as a side dish)
I'll try to think of more...
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Tami
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I have an easy one, I'm making it right now:
fresh head of broccoli
bacon
red onion
mayo
vinegar
sugar
I'm weak on measurements, here, but you can probably find an exact recipe online.
You can serve the broccoli raw, or throw in boiling water for 1 min. Drain, and rinse with cold water.
Mix mayo, vinegar (maybe 1 Tbl or so), sugar (1 tsp/Tbl?), pour over broccoli. Add some crumbled, cooked bacon and chopped red onion.
It's a big hit here!
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marihalojen
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We really enjoyed Broccoli Slaw last Autumn. We mixed
1 Bag of Broccoli Slaw
1 Can Pineapple Tidbits
Slivers of Onion
and
Storebought Poppyseed Dressing.
It was different and easy and yummy. What more could ya ask for?
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folklaur
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marihalojen wrote:
Storebought Poppyseed Dressing. |
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Oh, this sounds good. Did you have a particular brand of dressing that you found that was good?
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marihalojen
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Marie's Poppyseed Dressing is superb. You'll find it in the produce section of your store, Laura.
(Dd and I got such a kick out of the opening sequence on that website, so cute!)
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Rachel May
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I don't know if this is helpful, but we do a lot of fruit sides (a hold over from our vegetarian days--who wants a veg side with a veg main course ). Here are some of our menus for inspiration (although I know you can't eat most of what we eat)
Frittata with a side of cantalope
Stir fry over rice with a side of mangoes, bananas and manderine oranges
Tostadas (pinto beans on tortillas) with toppings of lettuce, tomato and avocado and a side of clementines
Sandwiches with a side of watermelon.
I'm milking the fruit side-dish thing until the summer fruit runs out. 
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Maria B.
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Tami wrote:
I have an easy one, I'm making it right now:
fresh head of broccoli
bacon
red onion
mayo
vinegar
sugar
I'm weak on measurements, here, but you can probably find an exact recipe online.
You can serve the broccoli raw, or throw in boiling water for 1 min. Drain, and rinse with cold water.
Mix mayo, vinegar (maybe 1 Tbl or so), sugar (1 tsp/Tbl?), pour over broccoli. Add some crumbled, cooked bacon and chopped red onion.
It's a big hit here! |
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I have make this too, but add golden raisins and chopped cashews as well. Yum!
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CAgirl4God
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we like to eat our veggies...
my favorite is just a bunch of fresh cut up veggies heated through in a pan with olive oil....
and raw with a bit of drip and the kids will all eat it.
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monalisa
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My sister puts a layer of string beans on a baking sheet and drizzles them with olive oil and coarse sea salt. Then, put them in the oven at 350 for a long, LONG time. Like, while you make the rest of dinner! Take them out, they are brown and crispy- like french fries!!! But so yummy. You can do partly brown and crispy, or totally brown and crispy. You canreally eat them like french fries when they are totally browned and crisped, even dipping in ketchup if you want. Dh loves these more than anything.
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PDyer
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Baked sweet potato fries.
Roasted veggies of any kind. So easy if you're baking a chicken.
Raw veggie tray with hummus or ranch dressing or another bean dip. My kids like red and green peppers, celery (esp with peanut butter), carrots. I'm trying to keep this in the frig at all times for snacking.
We planted sugar snap peas this summer and I can't believe how my kids are gobbling them up.
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DivineMercy
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monalisa wrote:
| My sister puts a layer of string beans on a baking sheet and drizzles them with olive oil and coarse sea salt. Then, put them in the oven at 350 for a long, LONG time. |
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You can also do this with asparagus.
I have appreciated all the great ideas. So far, my children like just steamed veggies; carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, spinach, zucchini. So I haven't gotten very creative with how to make different things.
Here is another idea: immerse sliced zucchini in water, then drop into a mixture of bread crumbs, italian seasoning and parm cheese (you could probably leave this out), then bake until golden at 400 degrees. We dip them into marinara or ranch dressing.
We all like Brussels Sprouts this way, not sure if it fits the bill for healthy though:
Glazed Sprouts and Carrots from Taste of Home
1/2 cup water
1 cup halved fresh brussels sprouts
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt, optional
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 cup orange juice
In a saucepan over medium heat, bring water to a boil. Add vegetables. Cover and simmer for 6-8 minutes or until almost tender; drain and return to pan. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch, sugar, salt if desired, nutmeg and orange juice; stir until smooth. Pour over the vegetables. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes.
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missionfamily
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A fun trick for summer.....salad on a stick! Load a kebob skewer with cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, croutons, letuce leaves, black olives, cheese cubes, etc...and put out a little bowl of salad dressing for dipping. The novelty of this idea works two wonders...whoever has supper help duty is thrilled toget to put them together, and each of my kids has tasted and liked at least two new raw veggies this way!
Also squash casserole (mashed boiled squash, butter, an egg, and tube of Ritz crackers crushed, and grated cheese) can be adapted for lots of different veggies and always gets rave reviews.
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lapazfarm
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My kiddos like:
Oven roasted potatoes, onions and peppers: Cube potatoes, wedge onions, and peppers, drizzle with olive oil, coarse salt and pepper and roast until done.Sometimes I add carrots as well. (but it is a bit hot for this meal lately!Whew!)
Fresh tomato and cucumber slices with a little oil and vinegar.
sugar snap peas, raw or steamed.
Snow peas, lightly stir fried.
Fresh peas with butter
corn of any kind
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SuzanneG
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BUMP.....It's fall and we're not munching on raw veggies like we've been used to since spring/fall....needed some ideas to get those veggies to stay in the meal plan.
If you have more ideas or favorites, please add-on to Amy's original post ----->
amyable wrote:
What are your families' favorite vegetable based sides?
Any particularly healthy favorites for the picky 8 and under crowd? |
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monalisa
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Historically, it is not "natural" to eat raw veggies in the winter. Right? People relied on root vegetables that would keep through the long winter- pumpkin, carrots, onion, garlic, potatoes, etc.
That being said, we eat a lot of raw in the winter anyway! Do you and your kids drink green shakes? Yum! Spinach and banana- who'd-uh-thunk?
But I try to focus on super-duper-veggied-up broths as soup bases and for making rice, sauces, etc.
I hate it when people cook veggies to death, toss out the water and eat the mushy veggie. It's better to drink the water and throw out the mush!!!
So making vegetable stock is actually VERY nutritious. I love a thick veggie- or veggie/ chicken combo- in the cold months.
-Maureen
www.breadwithhoney.blogspot.com
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: Favorite veggie side dishes
