Anne's veggie dilemma.

[Guest guest]

:-)

It sounds like you're not much of a vegetable lover. That takes time to

adjust to.

One thing worth trying -- make it a bit less obvious that you're eating

veggies.

If you like soup, make up some vegetable soups. The Gypsy Vegetable Soup

(recipe should be in the files) by Mollie Katzen (Moosewood Cookbook) is a

GREAT way to get some veggies into your diet. Plain old vegetable soup is

another good one and there are MANY recipes out there for it. I'll be

making up an all veggie minestrone later today. One of my regular staples

is a chicken soup that includes cauliflower.

You can also make up a stew filled with veggies as well. A nice side item

with stew, when you're on P2, is a little bread -- home made, whole wheat is

good stuff.

Stir fry is of course a standard. My wife likes pasta with vegetables (as

do the kids) but again that's a P2 meal. One thing I like doing is whipping

up a vegetable stir fry and adding mozzarella cheese atop it.

None of these dishes is really complicated to put together nor do they take

much time. They're full of flavor and can be refrigerated/frozen for nuking

at a later date. They also commonly have at least one, if not two, servings

of vegetables...and you'd never even know you were getting it.

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Recipe: Minestrone Soup

This classic Italian soup is always vegetarian, and if you leave off the

parmesan cheese it's vegan.

Yield 6-8 servings

Time 1 hour + bean soaking and cooking*

Tools large pot

wooden spoon

Ingredients 2 T olive oil

2 c chopped onion

4 cloves minced garlic

1 chopped celery stalk

1 chopped medium carrot

1 t minced oregano

1 t minced basil

½ t minced rosemary

½ t black pepper

1 bay leaf

1 c chopped zucchini

5 c vegetable stock and/or water

2 c soaked and cooked garbanzo or other beans

1 c dry, whole wheat pasta

2 c chopped tomatoes (canned ok, just watch sodium and sugar!)

minced parsley (optional)

grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions Sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil for 5 minutes.

Add celery, carrot, and herbs, then cover and simmer for about 10 minutes,

stirring occasionally.

Add the zucchini and stock/water, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add

beans and simmer for 5 more minutes.

Bring the soup to a boil, add pasta, and cook, stirring occasionally, until

pasta is tender (7-10 minutes). Stir in the tomatoes and serve, topped with

parsley and/or parmesan cheese.

Notes This is a very flexible recipe: experiment with the amount of stock or

water to arrive at your preferred consistency - light soup, thick stew, etc.

You can also try adding other ingredients like mushrooms, cabbage, and

eggplant.

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Gypsy Soup

Recipe By: Mollie Katzen, " Moosewood Cookbook "

Serving Size: 4 Preparation Time: 1:30

3 tablespoons olive oil -- up to 4T 1.215

2 cups chopped onion 9.6

2 cloves chopped garlic 1.02

2 cups sweet potatoes -- chopped & peeled (Or winter squash) 34

1/2 cup chopped celery 48

1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes 9

3/4 cup chopped sweet peppers 2.235

1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas 17.22

3 cups stock or water 0 (water)

2 teaspoons paprika 0.714

1 teaspoon turmeric 0.836

1 teaspoon basil 0.476

1 teaspoon salt (OMIT THIS INGREDIENT) XXXXX

dash cinnamon 0.25

dash cayenne 0.25

1 bay leaf 0.138

1 tablespoon Angostura lite soy sauce 390

TOTAL SODIUM.............................................. 514.954

In a soup kettle or large saucepan, saute onions, garlic, celery and sweet

potatoes in olive oil for about five minutes.

Add seasonings, except tamari, and the stock or water.

Simmer, covered, fifteen minutes.

Add remaining vegetables and chickpeas.

Simmer another 10 minutes or so - until all the vegetables are as tender as

you like them.

NOTES : The vegetables used in this soup are flexible.

Any orange vegetable can be combined with green...for example, peas or green

beans could replace the peppers.

Carrots can be used instead of, or in addition to the squash or sweet

potatoes, etc.

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