One Great Veggie Plate
With a couple of family members recently beating cancer and working through improving my own health, I’ve been looking for more vegetarian / vegan / plant-based recipes to add to the line-up.
The big win for me, however, is to have a full veggie plate that doesn’t feel like a sacrifice - doesn’t feel like I’m missing my traditional protein. Here’s one veggie plate that we are really into, but there are so many other things you could add for more texture and satisfaction - sweet potato fries, anyone?
Apologies that you have seen some of these dishes before, but the goal is to show how to put them together into a rich, delicious dinner.
Roasted Curry Cauliflower
Roasted cauliflower is good as a side dish for almost anything, but this curried version from the Sunset cookbook uses lemon juice to add a little freshness to curry powder and olive oil. We cook ours a little longer to get it brown, but the time very much depends on your preference.
Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad
I am one of those people who discovered brussels sprouts relatively late in life, but now I’m looking for all sorts of ways to use them. This shaved brussels sprout salad from Taste of Home is a light addition to a veggie plate full of roasted vegetables. Tip from us: we doubled the dressing to give it a little more moisture.
Farro Salad with Feta, Cucumbers, and Sundried Tomatoes
We’re big fans of Gina over at Skinnytaste, and this farro salad is one of our favorites. It’s hearty and rich - the sundried tomatoes, feta, and mint are a very special combo - while still being very nutritious.
Warning that cooking the farro to get it to the right consistency can take 30 full minutes, so start that before you chop and mix the other ingredients. Depending on how plant-based you want to be, use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, and you can cut the feta or sub in a tofu crumble to keep the salty bite.
Roasted Broccoli and Carrots
After reading a few of these posts, you’ll see that we are big fans of roasted vegetables as easy ways to get in the veggies with a nice firm texture that the whole family will appreciate. We just put the broccoli and carrots in together for 30-40 minutes with salt and olive oil, but I also love these recipes for broccoli and carrots (Barefoot Contessa always!)
Because the roasting takes 30-40 minutes, we do all our roasted prep first (for broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower), then put the farro on and work on the rest of the salad ingredients.
Avocado Slices
If you don’t do a ton of nutritional reading, you might only eat avocado in guacamole or focus on olive oil as the most important source of healthy fats in your diet. Just to pitch you on more avocado, here’s a quick summary of why you should try to have it every day that you can!