It's Working!

The whole point of me starting on this quest is to learn to like vegetables. I figured I would have to try a lot of recipes with a lot of ingredients to get to the point where I would enjoy the actual vegetable.

I've blogged already about a broccoli recipe that I really liked with brown sugar and parmesan cheese.

I blogged about sprinkling the brown sugar and parmesan cheese on frozen meal broccoli.

Today, I took another big step. I omitted the brown sugar.

It might not sound like much, but to me, that was a major victory. I'm getting to the point where I can start omitting the extra ingredients and still enjoy the vegetable itself. I'm not saying I'm going to be eating raw broccoli or plain steamed broccoli anytime soon - but it was a little reinforcement that maybe I'm doing this right!

This week's menu is getting mixed up a little bit but the vegetables should stay the same. Tonight's going to be pizza casserole but still with the green bean and mushroom medley. I'm expecting high marks on this one because although it contains carrots, I absolutely love green beans and mushrooms :)

It Applies to Real Life!

Today for lunch, I had my typical frozen "diet" meal. I go back and forth between Smart Ones and Healthy Choice (usually depending on which one has the best sale). Healthy Choice typically comes with a meat, a side dish, and some sort of dessert.

On the menu today was lemon pepper fish, broccoli and some caramel apple dessert.

Lemon pepper = yummy.
Rice = yummy.
Caramel apple dessert thing = interesting.

On a normal day, I would've tossed it after eating the fish and rice because I wouldn't have liked the broccoli. Today, however, is a new day. I applied what I have been learning about veggie recipes and added a sprinkle of brown sugar and Parmesan cheese to the top of the broccoli as soon as it came out of the microwave.

*Gasp*

I ate ALL my broccoli! I never knew it could be so easy to get me to eat veggies!

Brilliant Sauteed Broccoli / Pasta e Olio

I’ve been slacking a little, but I still found time to try a new dish over the weekend. Look out the windows for pigs flying because I actually found a way to fix broccoli that doesn’t make me gag. It’s decent, even!

Brilliant Sauteed Broccoli

Ingredients

• 1 pound broccoli florets
• 3 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1.     Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil. Fill a large bowl or pot with half ice and half water. When the water comes to a boil, add the broccoli florets using a strainer with a handle if possible. Allow the broccoli to cook for 1 to 2 minutes until just tender. Immediately remove from the boiling water, using the strainer or draining, and transfer to bowl of ice to stop the cooking process. Immerse the broccoli completely in the ice water for a minute or two. Remove and place in a dish that has been lined with paper towels. This part can be done up to two days in advance.

2.     In a cup or small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese and brown sugar; set aside.

3.     Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Throw in the broccoli and season with red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Stir to coat the broccoli, then cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and dust with the Parmesan cheese mixture.

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 81 | Total Fat: 5.6g | Cholesterol: 2mg

As the norm with me, I didn’t use salt and pepper at all, but everything else I did as written. I was a little leery about some of the combinations – red pepper mixed with brown sugar? Heck, I wasn’t 100% sold on brown sugar and Parmesan cheese, but I’m a believer now.

I completed this no-meat meal by combining the broccoli with another somewhat healthy, yet easy and tasty recipe:

Pasta e Olio

Ingredients

• 1 pound spaghetti
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup melted butter

Directions

1.     In a large pot with boiling salted water cook spaghetti pasta until al dente. Drain.

2.     Meanwhile, in a large skillet over low heat saute garlic, parsley, and red pepper flakes with olive oil . Cook until garlic turns golden in color, about 10 to 15 minutes.

3.     Toss pasta with garlic mixture and butter or margarine. Serve warm.

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 323 | Total Fat: 13.4g | Cholesterol: 15mg

This has become one of my go-to lunches when I’m not in the mood for a Healthy Choice or Smart Ones frozen meal. It’s filling, it’s easy, it refrigerates well and the calorie count is lower than most of my frozen meals. The fat count is a little high but I don’t use butter or margarine so I imagine it’s actually a little lower. With my running background I could never give up pasta, so I might as well find somewhat healthy ways to fix it (meaning my beloved pizza casserole has been altered to turkey pepperoni, ground turkey, low-fat skim cheese and whole grain pasta). I give the Broccoli an A- and the pasta an A+!

And voila!

Broccoli - Fail.

Well, I knew it was bound to happen at some point. I'm by no means a professional chef and it was only a matter of time.

I burned my attempt at broccoli last night.

I'm not talking about a little scorch here. I'm talking about a "clunk-clunk-clunk" as it hit the bottom of the trash can.

I didn't even see it coming! I followed the recipe exactly the way I was supposed to this time (with the exception of the garlic and salt) - and didn't even cook it as long as it said to! Oye. So I got nothing.

Roasted Garlic Lemon Broccoli

Ingredients

• 2 heads broccoli, separated into florets
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, toss broccoli florets with the extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, pepper and garlic. Spread the broccoli out in an even layer on a baking sheet.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until florets are tender enough to pierce the stems with a fork, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and transfer to a serving platter. Squeeze lemon juice liberally over the broccoli before serving for a refreshing, tangy finish.

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 49 | Total Fat: 1.9g | Cholesterol: 0mg

It had some great potential. I might try it again sometime but I can't figure out what went wrong other than I need to put it in for like 10 minutes...and keep an eye on it every other minute. I made chicken and rice last night in a skillet though, so it required constant attention from me.

Hubby decided he was going to cook an extravagant meal tonight - including asparagus for me with a recipe he saw on the Food Channel (how sweet, he won't eat veggies but at least he supports my efforts!). So while last night's recipe gets a sad Incomplete, hopefully I'll have a yummy recipe to add tomorrow.

Looking Ahead...

Next week's goal: broccoli. I have yet to find any humanly (or inhumanly for that matter) way to eat broccoli and actually enjoy it. I've tried dumping as much cheese/ranch/you name it on the stuff and I still gag every time. It's too good for me to not give it a shot though! The problem is, all the stuff that sounds good is ridiculously high in fats and calories. I'm not willing to scarf down 600 calories on a side dish just to eat broccoli. Sorry 'bout your luck.

The veggie recipes I'm looking forward to trying next week -

- Roasted Garlic Lemon Broccoli (49 calories per serving)
It's an awful lot like the asparagus recipe I tried on Tuesday. But, I really liked that recipe so if it gets me eating broccoli, I could consider it a double win.

- Brilliant Sauteed Broccoli (81 calories per serving)
This one intriguies me: brown sugar, Parmesan cheese, red pepper and olive oil, to name a couple ingredients. I'm willing to try it!

After two days I'll probably be sick of broccoli so I'll have a day of carrots since it's the one veggie we always have in the house (hubby loves it raw and so do the pups)

- Glazed Dijon Carrots
Unfortunately, there's no calorie count listed on this one. But the only ingredients are carrots, water, margarine (which I'll probably use less of), brown sugar, Dijon mustard, ground ginger and salt.  I've definitely seen worse.

And of course, there's my everyday salad of mixed greens. I am, however, trying to get the Romaine mix - so there's greens with a little bit of carrots and red cabbage involved. Every little bit. Every little bit!