Sick of Salad?

Are you tired of eating a salad every day, even if you vary the vegetables?Does the thought of going through another salad bar for a quick meal stop you cold?There are many ways to enjoy vegetables without having yet another tossed salad. Try these four simple and healthful techniques to enjoy vegetables throughout the year.

1. Use your oven to roast vegetables. This will bring out a sweeter, caramelized flavor. Cut carrots, cauliflower, baby potatoes, eggplant, zucchini, and butternut squash into 2-inch chunks, toss them with a spritz of olive oil, add cloves of garlic and onion slices for a deeper flavor, and spread everything in a single layer in a foil-lined roasting pan. Bake in a 400° oven for 30-45 minutes, stirring halfway through the cooking time.
2. Use your grill to bring out a smoky taste in otherwise familiar vegetables. Use a specialized vegetable grill basket to keep smaller vegetables from slipping through into the coals. Or put together aluminum foil packets of mixed vegetables that you slowly heat on the side of the grill. Encourage everyone to make their own vegetable kabobs by providing bowls of cherry tomatoes, summer squash, green or red peppers, mushrooms, or eggplant.
3. Use a slow cooker for winter squash, ratatouille, or a vegetable chili. Try layering chunks of your favorite vegetables with seasonings such as lemon pepper, oregano, basil, or thyme. Top the layers with onion slices and garlic cloves for added flavor, and cook on low for several hours.
4. Use a 3-tiered bamboo steamer to quickly heat colorful and flavorful vegetables. Place dense, longer-cooking vegetables like sweet potatoes and beets in the bottom basket over simmering water, broth or miso. Cover and let the bottom layer start to cook while you add cauliflower, green beans, or broccoli rabe to the middle layer. Cover and continue cooking while placing quick-cooking vegetables like kale, spinach, mushrooms, and onion in the top layer. Cover and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Prepare extra portions of vegetables using any of these methods to save time later in the week. They're even delicious served as cold leftovers – but you don't have to call them a salad.By Lynn Grieger, RD, CDE, CPT