Cooking Flavorful Vegetables

Are you getting bored with your vegetable dishes?

If you are, maybe it’s because you're cooking the same vegetables the same way each time. We know that we need vegetables because they are good for us - providing abundant vitamins and minerals, while helping us cut back on refined carbohydrates and excess calories. But wouldn’t it help if our veggies looked and tasted delicious and made us excited to eat them?

There are many different ways to cook vegetables, so if you usually stick to one cooking method only, maybe it’s time to try some new ones. Vegetables vary in many nutrients, flavors, and textures so some may taste better sautéed or grilled while others are more enjoyable roasted or steamed. You just have to find what works for you!

Aiming to make half your plate vegetables is a great way to increase vitamin, mineral, fiber, and antioxidant content in your diet while reducing the total amount of calories consumed. The US Dietary Guidelines recommends eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy/soy alternatives and protein foods. The foods in our diet should be nutrient dense, and vegetables are the most nutrient dense foods out there! Strive to eat 2-3 cups of vegetables each day.

Try out these various cooking methods next time you’re in the kitchen and maybe you’ll find a new favorite vegetable, or an easier way of making a healthy meal.

Boiling:

Some great vegetable to boil include: Broccoli, Green Beans, Cauliflower, Brussels Sprouts, and Cabbage.

Boiling is an easy and fast way to get bright, crisp vegetables. The key is to boil your vegetables for the shortest amount of time in the least amount of water as possible. If cooked too long or in too much water, you’ll notice the water changing colors. This is a sign that those desired nutrients have been lost by being leeched out of the vegetable. To boil vegetables, simply bring a pot of water to a boil, add a pinch of salt, and add your veggies. Boil for only a few minutes until bright and tender. But when possible, choose to steam your vegetables so as to retain as many nutrients as possible (3).

Steaming:

Try steaming the following vegetables: Carrots, Asparagus, Brussels sprouts, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Potatoes, Squash, Steaming vegetables will brighten, tenderize, and keep them flavorful by allowing many of the nutrients to be retained. To steam vegetables, you can buy a steamer container and use the microwave, or a more traditional method is to bring some water in a pot to a rapid boil and place the veggies in a steaming basket or colander on top of the pot of water. Let steam until vegetables are brightened and tender to your preference. After steaming, try sprinkling the vegetables with lemon juice or fresh herbs for added taste.

Roasting: Try roasting the following vegetables: Potatoes, Tomatoes, Onions, Broccoli, or Squash.

Roasting is a great and easy way to cook vegetables if you’ve never cooked them before. When vegetables are roasted, it causes the sugars to caramelize in the veggies and leads to a strong and sweet flavor. Roasting is a popular method as you don’t need to be attentive to the process. Simply preheat the oven to 425 degrees and chop the vegetables into even sizes. Next, toss vegetables in a bit of oil, season with some herbs or low sodium seasoning and place on a baking sheet with adequate space before placing in the oven (overcrowding will cause veggies to steam instead of roast). Let the vegetables roast until tender on the inside with a crisp outside. Depending on the vegetable, this could take up to 45 minutes. Generally, the harder the vegetable, the longer it takes to cook. So our yams, potatoes, or carrots will take longer than squash, broccoli, or mushrooms.

Stir Frying:

Try: Brussels sprouts, Asparagus, Mushrooms, Bell Peppers, Squash, Spinach, Water Chestnuts, Green Onion, Carrots, Broccoli, Green Beans, Snap Peas, Baby Corn, Bok Choy.

Stir-frying vegetables is done quickly a very high heat. It requires constant stirring and tossing so as to not allow the vegetable to burn. Although commonly used, a wok is not necessary to stir fry. Any pan will do as long as it is large enough for the food to be tossed around easily. To stir fry vegetables, add any high smoke point oil such as peanut oil, soybean, olive, vegetable, or canola oil (or anything with a smoke point of 400 or more) to the pan on high heat. Introduce vegetable to the pan according to their cook time, from longest time to shortest. Continuously stir and toss the vegetables around the pan until crisp, tender and bright. Look for a stir-fry sauce at the store or make your own with common ingredients such as soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and cornstarch. This sauce can be added to the dish once cooking is complete. Tips: If using carrots or broccoli, add these to the pan first. If using any leafy greens, bean sprouts or snow peas add these last once nearing the end.

Sautéing:

Try: Asparagus, Mushrooms, Bell peppers, Squash, Onions, Green beans, Cabbage, Carrots, Broccoli, Snap Peas, Cherry Tomatoes,

Sautéing involves cooking veggies over moderately high heat in a pan with a bit of oil and aromatics (herbs to add flavor and aroma such as onions, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, chili peppers, etc.) This method of cooking is popular as it is quick, easy and tastes great. To sauté your vegetables, simply heat a pain over medium-high heat, add your oil of choice, and once simmering, add in the aromatics chosen for a couple minutes before incorporating chosen vegetables. Avoid overcrowding the pan and be sure to only stir once or twice until vegetables are crisp and tender.

SIDE BAR:

So how is Sautéing different from stir frying?

Stir fry Method uses higher heat, more fat, and requires continuous stirring. On the other hand, sautéing involves less fat and calls for browning before flipping over in pan. Sautéing also usually involves smaller cut pieces and butter and/or oil whereas a stir fry you may throw larger pieces in but wouldn’t use butter as it burns on high heat.

Grilling:

Try: Corn, Artichoke, Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Onions, Peppers, Zucchini,

Potatoes, Eggplant, Asparagus, Carrots

When vegetables are grilled, a unique, rich, and smoky flavor is created. All vegetables can be grilled, but the above mentioned may be the easiest and are the most popular. Marinating or tossing the vegetables before grilling helps intensify the flavor. Grilling can be done simply by placing uniformly cut vegetable pieces directly on the grill, and turning once grill marks develop. Cook until tender.

Extra things to remember:

- Fat is OK!

It’s OK to include fats when cooking. In fact, it can allow us to absorb some nutrients more easily! Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat–soluble, meaning they require fats to be absorbed. So don’t fear trying a new vinaigrette or oil in the pan next time. Adding a drizzle of oil or butter can make all the difference in enjoying veggies & will keep you coming back for more low-calorie, nutrient dense veggies that your body will thank you for (3).

- Think Citrus!

If you’re a fan of citrus flavors, consider incorporating some squeezes of lemon or lime juice over your vegetables before or after cooking. Especially if cooking any leafy greens, mushrooms, palm hearts, potatoes, or tomatoes. WHY? Because the vitamin C which is abundant in the citrus juice can actually aid your body in absorbing the most iron out of these iron-rich vegetables! (4).

- Herbs, Spices, and more!

Herbs & spices can be used for cooking, medicine, garnishing, food preservation, pest control or for their fragrances. When cooking with herbs & spices we introduce new smells and tastes to our foods while providing our body with nutrients that can help reduce inflammation, boost immunity and memory, lower blood sugar and blood pressure. These added flavors can help us reduce our intake of table salt as well (5)(6)(7).

Sources:

1. Boeing H, Bechthold A, Bub A, Ellinger S, Haller D, Kroke A, Leschik-Bonnet E, Müller MJ, Oberritter H, Schulze M, Stehle P, Watzl B. Critical review: vegetables and fruit in the prevention of chronic diseases. Eur J Nutr. 2012 Sep;51(6):637-63. doi: 10.1007/s00394-012-0380-y. Epub 2012 Jun 9. PMID: 22684631; PMCID: PMC3419346.

2. Taste of Home; What are Aromatics? https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/what-are-aromatics-in-cooking/

3. Yuan GF, Sun B, Yuan J, Wang QM. Effects of different cooking methods on health-promoting compounds of broccoli. J Zhejiang Univ Sci B. 2009;10(8):580-588. doi:10.1631/jzus.B0920051

4. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2020-12/Dietary_Guidelines_for_Americans_2020-2025.pdf

5. Iowa State University. (2017, October 9). A spoonful of oil: Fats and oils help to unlock full nutritional benefits of veggies, study suggests. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 19, 2021 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171009124026.htm

6. Hallberg L, Brune M, Rossander L. Effect of ascorbic acid on iron absorption from different types of meals. Studies with ascorbic-acid-rich foods and synthetic ascorbic acid given in different amounts with different meals. Hum Nutr Appl Nutr. 1986 Apr;40(2):97-113. PMID: 3700141.

7. Samah M. El-Sayed, Ahmed M. Youssef, potential application of herbs and spices and their effects in functional dairy products, Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 6, 2019, e01989, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e01989.

8. Qin, B., Panickar, K. S., & Anderson, R. A. (2010). Cinnamon: potential role in the prevention of insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes. Journal of diabetes science and technology, 4(3), 685–693. https://doi.org/10.1177/193229681000400324

9. Menon VP, Sudheer AR. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2007;595:105-25. doi: 10.1007/978-0-387-46401-5_3. PMID: 17569207.