I’ve been diagnosed with diabetes and so I have to clean up my diet. I’m good on protein but I need to eat more vegetables.
But I’m not a great cook and I’m a bit impatient. So I’m looking for suggestions on which vegetables are good and fairly easy to prepare.
I’m sure fresh is best but are frozen foods ok?
Any help will be welcome. Thanks!
Frozen vegetables are fine. If you want simple, they can generally be cooked in the microwave. Vegetables don’t need the browning that meat or baked goods need.
That said, if you want to step up your vegetable game, try roasting them. (But start with fresh not frozen if you’re roasting them.) Chop them up in chunks, toss them in a little Italian dressing, spread them out on a cookie sheet, and bake them in the oven. About 425 degrees for twenty or thirty minutes.
Fresh vegetables are far better.
One tip is to get a vegetable steamer. This could be as simple and cheap as a basket that you put into a pot with a little water at the bottom, or a fancy dedicated electric steamer appliance. It lets you cook vegetables very quickly and simply. Don’t overcook! You may want to add a sauce or something for flavour, but many vegetables are tasty on their own.
Stir frying is another thing to look into.
Don’t forget vegetable soups - also easy to make, and take 20-30 minutes to cook, depending on the vegetables. Add some split red lentils or noodles to a soup for some bulk.
In general, just google for recipes. There is any amount of information out there.
Only in season and locally grown.
Otherwise, frozen vegetables flash-frozen just after harvest (sometimes even in the field) are actually more nutritious than “fresh” that have spent a week or two getting to market or in storage. Not that out-of-season is bad, but they aren’t necessarily better.
Also, if you’re just one person having a bag of mixed frozen vegetables you can cook by the handful or in small portions can be a lot more convenient and result in less waste that trying to eat fresh stuff before it goes off.
You can also get containers that steam vegetables in the microwave. If the OP wants to eat more vegetables the more convenient the better.
And here’s where I mention the slow cooker/crockpot. If there is a soup you particularly like you can make a batch and freeze what you don’t eat immediately.
Are there any vegetables the OP knows he/she likes? Start with those. It’s a lot easier to give advice if we know you like, say, zucchini, or hate it, or like hot peppers, or don’t.
If you opt for frozen watch out for heavy cheese sauces and the like. There are a lot of choices out there with less heavy sauces/seasoning. You’re better off with plain, unadorned vegetables and adding a drizzle of olive oil and some herbs. For herbs, start with something like an “Italian” or other common mix.
I do “baked” potatoes in the microwave. Take a russet potato, stab with a fork 2-3 times (important - failure to do this may result in your potato attempting to emulate a popcorn kernel. It’s… messy) and microwave on high about 6 minutes. Then - this is important - let it sit for another 6 minutes. THEN cut it open (with some caution - it’s full of steam). Keep the toppings minimal and low-cal.
I’m a big fan of stir-fry myself. Keep it simple - a little oil and garlic, maybe a sprinkle of ginger or “Asian” herb mix and cubed vegetables. Some of the recipes get very elaborate but you’re asking about getting started.
When you get comfortable with the easy stuff then branch out.
I do very little cooking - but these (some suggested already) are easy (taking less than 15 minutes):
In general: Fresh before frozen. I usually peel everything to avoid pesticides and to facilitate digestion. I agree about microwaved potatoes, but my method is 2-2.5 minutes per side on full blast for one medium-sized potato. That’s all I do and have not had to deal with exploding potatoes so far, but I always use a folded towel to turn them over, just in case. The important thing is to avoid overcooking (too many minutes) and to turn them over immediately to cook the other side. I sometimes let them sit afterward, and they might even be easier to peel that way, but if I don’t turn them immediately to cook the other side, they end up drying out and aren’t very good.
In my ovenless kitchen, I try to make the following dishes once a week. The first three are very basic and are ideal for a light evening meal.
Green beans (or artichoke hearts or chard): Boiled or steamed and eaten with potatoes, as is or sautéed in olive oil with garlic and ham.
Pureed zucchini, potato and leek/onion. You can add chicken bouillon and processed cheese, but it’s good enough without.
Spinach and/or mushroom omelet, shrimp or bacon optional.
Peas: Frozen are fine. Sautéed with ham and onion, as a side to pork chops and mashed potatoes.
Eggplant: Dredge disks in egg and bread crumbs, fry in olive oil, squeeze lemon over it and eat. That’s my favorite way (zucchini’s even better like that but more work), but stuffed is healthier: boil or bake the emptied skins, fill with insides (cooked with onion, ground beef/pork and Worcestershire sauce), top with grated Parmesan, broil and behold. Lots of excellent variations on this, like breading and frying the stuffed halves.
Broccoli with macaroni (butter and cumin, no tomato sauce). Add florets to boiling pasta in last five minutes. Cooking time isn’t so important, as long as it’s tender enough for you (if broccoli starts to disintegrate, it’s still pretty good).
Cook squash in navy or pinto beans and spinach or chard in garbanzo beans.
With fall approaching, roasted root vegetables are something to consider. Chop up some onions, potatoes, rutabagas, turnips, beets, carrots, parsnips, etc. Toss them around in balsamic vinegar and roast.
I’m terrible with veggies. That’s why I aways keep my fridge stocked with V8. Good for those days when you don’t feel like cooking.
Welcome to the family! This is a favourite subject of mine so bear with me…
There’s very little you can’t add chopped vegetables to. Tomato-based pasta sauce readily accepts onion, celery, carrot, mushrooms, red bell peppers, peas. Morning eggs are happy with a stir-fry of most of the above and a small handful of chopped or frozen spinach. Throw veggies in most things you eat already; frozen peas or spinach can be added in the last couple of minutes to soups, stews, sauces, risottos, stir-fries as they need very little cooking.
Fresh veggies usually have better flavour and texture but frozen are mostly as nutritious if not more so as Broomstick points out. I am never without bags of frozen peas, chopped spinach, bell peppers and sweetcorn in the freezer, all of which need little cooking and are so easy to add to whatever’s on the stove.
I have five or six microwave-safe plastic jugs that I zap brocolli, cauliflower, red cabbage, green beans etc. in a few minutes to go with our meals. The most important thing I’ve learned is to up the amount of veggies we eat. Each lunch and dinner, half the plate or over is veggies. I’m still fat and diabetic but I overeat on nutritional stuff these days rather than just crap (most of the time), and it fills me up so much I snack far less.
My family didn’t take to this, but sweet potatoes are more nutritious and less carb-loady than regular. You can bake a sweet potato just as you would a usual one, and try 50/50 mashed potato and sweet potato if you want mashed. Keep all potato foods to small portions, for lunch today I had a small microwaved baked potato finished in a hot oven for a few minutes with tuna mayo and half a plate of microwaved brocolli and cauliflower, and haven’t had a giant leap in blood sugar.
Favourite meal is homemade coleslaw as again, so much can go in it and it takes five minutes to make a giant plateful that will keep you full. Red cabbage, a grated carrot, green onions, celery, then I add whatever’s in the refrigerator that needs using up, which can be bell peppers, radishes, brocolli or cauliflower stem peeled and sliced thin, apples, avocado, fresh corn off the cob. Dressings are sometimes a little mayo, sometimes a balsamic vinegarette, or soy sauce/rice vinegar/peanut butter. I can happily eat this for lunch everyday for weeks.
So tldr: add frozen peas to everything, half a plate of veggies per meal, homemade coleslaw.
The most common mistake with veggies is boiling them. Never boil vegetables unless you’re going to also use the liquid you boiled them in, like in a soup or stew. Steaming and stir-frying are easy to do, and give good results with most veggies. Microwaving can also give good results, but you’ll have to experiment a bit to find the right settings for your microwave. And of course, when deciding how to cook vegetables, also consider “not at all”: Many are just fine, or even better, raw.
In general, truly fresh and in season (like, from your own garden, or from a good farmer’s market) is the best, with frozen close behind. Buying in season will also get you the best prices. But even canned are still pretty good. You’ll also want to learn how to recognize good vegetables, which varies from species to species: A lot of varieties in stores are bred for how pretty they look and for how well they handle shipping, not for how good they taste or how nutritious they are.
Others have already made good suggestions which I will not duplicate, but would add that you may want to learn about what is and what is not a carbohydrate. You haven’t said if you are a type 1 or type 2 diabetic, but you should be aware that certain veggies like potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, or peas are carbohydrates, and some diabetic diets require measuring your intake. Not saying you can’t eat them, just that you may need to know how much of a carb each one has if you are taking insulin.
Carrots and beets, too. Also onions, but you’re probably eating those in smaller quantities.
Wow, thanks everyone for the excellent advise! I’m headed to the food mart today to make my first dedicated foray into this. I’m anxious to try the suggestions provided.
To address some of the posts, there are no vegetables that I really don’t like and I’m type 2.
You can also try different sorts of the same vegetables.
For example, using red cabbage instead of, or alongside, traditional green cabbage has been mentioned. There are blue potatoes, which rumor has it, might better for diabetics than traditional russets (I haven’t been able to confirm or deny it). Carrots come in different colors, as do radishes. There are bunch of different kinds of lettuce. And so on and so forth.
As a general rule, darker and/or more colorful vegetables have more or slightly different nutrients than those less so. Mix 'em up, try different varieties.
Mostly, but the exception is the brassicas. Cabbage and cauliflower are both very nutritious despite being white. For most everything else, though, it’s pretty much true.
The advice I follow is to eat a rainbow with each plate, trying to keep a mix of flavours and nutrients. For dinner I try to have at least three differently coloured portions of vegetables i.e. roast tomatoes and squash with garlic, green beans, braised red cabbage with vinegar and olive oil, on the side of a portion of protein and less than a fist-sized portion of something wholegrainy where possible.
Plus it looks pretty.
Just another suggestion for how to prepare your veggies:
On the grill. Yes, on the grill. You can find special grill sheets made for this, and when you take some veggies and get a nice char on the edge, they get such a delicious smoky flavor to them, I think you’ll be impressed. My faves:
-Broccoli. Coat it in a big ziploc bag with olive oil, salt & pepper to taste, then onto the grill until it has that charred edge, then once on the plate, top off with some crushed red pepper flakes.
We also do the same with asparagus & cauliflower. Enjoy.
One tip on broccoli. For some reason, the idea has taken hold that the best part of broccoli is the florets. I don’t know why. The stalk has a lot more flavor than the florets.
The stalk can be tough if it grows real big. But generally, you can just slice it up and cook it. In my opinion, it’s the best part of the plant.
I love to cut the florets off the broccoli, peel and thin slice the stalks and put the whole shebang into a pot with some sliced garlic and a splash of water at the bottom. Put the stalks in the bottom and florets on top. The florets get steamed, the tougher stalks get softened and it comes out very well. A quick and easy vegetable side dish.
I also really enjoy bell peppers. I slice them thin and fry them along with red or white onion. Keep them going until they start to caramelize. If you are feeling adventurous add some mushrooms to the mix. Season however you’d like from simple salt and pepper to chili powder, italian mix, or whatever flavours you feel like.
I wouldn’t say that the stalks are the best part, but yes, broccoli stalks are good.