How to get more vegetables into your meals (1)
Posted by kathryn in Vegetables and Easier eating
Last week I wrote about one category of ingredients I use on a regular basis – the Flavour Boosters. This week, to continue my series on the ingredients I use most often I’ll be blogging about Easy Vegetables.
I spend a lot of time talking to people about vegetables in general. It’s one of my most frequent, and also most favourite, topics. Getting people to consume those daily five serves is a big part of my work.
A frequent complaint is the length of time vegies take to prepare: all that washing, peeling and chopping is just too much for many. For me a day without vegetables is inconceivable, but I also know what it’s like to finish work, get home and want dinner right now. No fussing involved.
And this is when I fall-back on my four favourite Easy Vegetables
- spinach
- fresh herbs
- tinned legumes
- tinned tomatoes.
Each of these is quick and easy to prepare – well, the way I prepare them anyway. Plus they are reasonably simple to incorporate into whatever you’re cooking.
Today I’m going to concentrate on spinach and fresh herbs. While later in the week I’ll cover the tinned vegetables,
Spinach and fresh herbs
I love green vegetables. They’re versatile. You can eat them both raw or cooked and they match up with a multitude of different dishes. They’re also immensely good for you, reasonably cheap and here in Australia you can buy some sort of fresh greenery all year round.
They might seem like fussy vegetables to prepare, especially if you’re picking off leaves and finely chopping. But that’s not how I use them. Instead I take a much more relaxed and cavalier approach, using them in big chunks and big handfuls.
It’s easy to forget that fresh herbs are also vegetables. But like spinach and other greens, they are packed full of good nutrition and can be counted towards your daily vegetable intake. They’re a vegetable which also gives lots of flavour and freshness to whatever you are cooking.
How I prepare spinach and fresh herbs
- When I go grocery shopping I’ll usually buy at least one bunch of spinach and some kind of fresh herb. Plus at the moment I have amaranth, basil and parsley in my garden.
- The main negative with spinach and fresh herbs is they don’t last very long, even when kept in the fridge. I hate wastage, plus I love greens, so I use them in large amounts. For most mid-week cooking I would ignore recipe instructions which dictate tablespoons or a “few sprigs” of greens, and instead I use them in one-third to one-half bunch quantities. Sometimes more.
- I’m not adverse to a bit of stalk cropping up in my dinner, so I don’t get too fussy about picking off leaves and so on. With spinach I just take the clump I’m using, twist and break the bunch at the base of the leaves, and then plunge these into a big bowl of water.
- With the softer herbs like parsley, coriander, mint and basil I just remove the biggest bits of stalk and again wash.
- Both spinach and fresh herbs do need to be washed well, and it’s worthwhile doing this in a couple of changes of water.
- Rather than chopping, I’ll often just rip up the biggest leaves and add the spinach like that – particulary as it wilts down so much when cooked.
How I use spinach and fresh herbs
- When I look at recipes they often don’t contain enough vegetables for me. To counter-act this, I can either serve the dish with some steamed veg or a salad on the side, or alternatively add some extra vegies during the cooking. Spinach is an excellent choice for the latter strategy, as it wilts down so much, doesn’t take up a lot of space in the final dish and therefore doesn’t really change the cooking method.
- Spinach and fresh herbs can be eaten both raw and cooked.
- If I’m cooking anything with a tomato-based sauce and / or legumes I’ll consider putting in some spinach and fresh herbs.
- I also quite often add spinach at the very end of cooking, so it only slightly wilts in the heat of the dish.
- I add large handfuls of fresh herbs to salads, as another salad green.
- I always have spinach in the freezer – which is a great end of week back-up vegetable. For example in the Chickpeas with Tomato and Spinach dish I made last week.
- If I’m after a side dish, I’ll often make a version of mixed seasonal greens just using spinach and fresh herbs.
- Spinach is also a vegetable I regularly add to frittatas.
How do you use spinach and fresh herbs?
Photograph by marymactavish.
19 January, 2010
Comments
thanks for all the great spinach suggestions – personally love spinach in any salad form or lightly sauteed w/garlic – mm
I love baby spinach leaves which need less chopping and preparation – often have a beg of these in the fridge and put them into anything from dal to salad to soup at the last moment
But one of my favourite easy veg combinations is fresh tomato and cucumber – both of these veg keep ok for at least a few days and are so easy to chop up and put on the side of any dinner – I also love broccoli or sprouts and quickly cook them in the microwave And fresh corn is also easy to cook in microwave – I am not so keen on green leaves as these veg because they feel more substantial
You’ve inspired me on spinach. I rarely buy it since it doesn’t last long, but I guess if I use it more quickly it would be ok. I grow it sometimes too.
Nice to hear some ideas for healthy – quick – eating. After a looooong day of work, cooking dinner can feel, well, uninspired…
I like to toss a handful of fresh spinach in a soup bowl, then ladle the hot broth over. The spinach wilts, just so, from the heat and it’s the easiet thing in the world.
Mark – I’m with you on the spinach love! It’s a great addition to salads. Near the clinic where I work there’s a cafe which makes a great sandwich – rye bread with cheese, tomato, slices of mushroom, marinated artichokes and spinach. They put about a 2cm thickness of spinach in there and it’s fabulous.
Johanna – good idea about the tomato and cucumber. That’s another one of my back-ups, particularly at this time of year, when the tomatoes are in season. Earlier in the week we had this lablabi for dinner. As I wanted some more vegies in it, I chopped up two big tomatoes and scattered those on top.
Arwen – the trick is to use the spinach in large quantities. It’s too good a vegetable to miss out. As I said above, ignore instructions which say to use a few tablespoons and use half a bunch at a time. Then you’ll get through it very quickly!
Chelsea – that’s a lovely idea about letting the soup broth “cook” the spinach. I’ll have to try that one out myself. Thank you.
I like to have spinach with eggs for breakfast. And if it’s baby spinach (not my preferred choice for cooking but sometimes it’s all that’s available) then it’s great in salads and on sandwiches.
Parsley stalks are great in soups that you blend at the end, such as pumpkin soup. Along with celery, it’s a great way to add depth and use up the stalks, which you generally wouldn’t eat raw.
Such creative & delicious-sounding spinach ideas in your post, Kathyrn, and the comments, everyone. Thank you.
I enjoy spinach as a vegetarian pizza topping.
My mom recently shared her tip of freezing fresh spinach — especially if she can’t eat it all before it’s best before date — to have on hand to add to soups or pasta dishes like lasagna.
Caitlin – thanks for the parsley stalk tip. They’re something I often end up throwing into the compost, so it’s good to know a way of using them. I’ll try this out soon.
Elaine – I often freeze spinach as well. One of my local veg stores often has a special price for two bunches. I’m unable to resist a vegetable bargain, but was finding I simply couldn’t fit them in the fridge. So I started freezing for future use. It’s perfect for adding to soups, pasta and other cooked dishes.
I wash them and stick them in the freezer in bags. There’s always a ready supply of green leaves in my home! I can’t get enough of them either!!
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