Do you know someone who “hates” vegetables?
I’ve always had a sneaky suspicion that people who claim they “don’t like vegetables” simply don’t know how to properly cook them. Honestly, would you like vegetables if your veggie repertoire consisted of canned peas, overcooked broccoli, and ketchup?
But, if given my dinner from last night, I’m betting there’d be quite a few converts to the dark veggie-lover’s side!
Veg 1 is my peppers, cooked using the healthy sauté method.
For this particular batch of peppers, I cooked up a big batch the day before, ensuring lots of leftovers. Plus, anything with garlic seems to get more flavorful as time goes by. I’ve learned the hard way to not let chopped garlic sit in the fridge—even if it’s covered! Suddenly, everything in your fridge will take on the garlic-y flavor. That’s not a bad thing as far as savory foods are concerned… but who wants a chocolate-chip muffin with essence of garlic?? Eep.
Delicious veggie #2: Candy! Well, not really, but they’re so sweet and melty that they could be candy.
Roast Veggie “Candy”
- Spices (I use oregano and rosemary)
- raw veggies (I love brussels sprouts for this recipe)
- unrefined coconut oil
- optional, but highly recommended: cinnamon
Roast your veggies, with the first two spices, at 400 degrees (un-preheated) until they’re soft. For my sprouts, it takes around 30-40 minutes. I like to roast ‘em dry and put the coconut oil on right before eating them. But you can coat them in coconut oil first if you’d rather; it’s your call. Also right before eating, sprinkle with the cinnamon.
They’re good warm, but I especially like these veggies straight from the fridge; that way the coconut oil hardens around the sprouts… kinda like a truffle. Candy for dinner! (Be sure to buy unrefined coconut oil. The refined stuff doesn’t have that yummy “coconutty” taste.)
With the red peppers and candy, I also had my favorite-ever pilaf.
Buttery, grain goodness. It was the perfect winter’s-day meal. Never mind that the temperature was in the mid-80s lol. Comfort food is always in season. Oh yeah, as is candy.
So, do you know a veggie-hater?
Or maybe you were a veggie-hater as a kid?
In high school, I had a friend tell me that he could never be a vegan… because the only vegetables he liked were raw onions. He said he ate them like apples. 😕
thedelicateplace says
i know some veggie haters and it really blows my mind. i’m just fascinated because there are 1. so many veggies to choose and 2. 1.5 billion ways and combos to prepare/eat them!
Damjana says
i don’t like storebought fresh veggies, they’re tasteless. That’s why last winter i almost completely abandoned them. Now i eat them more frequently, daily, from our garden.
I roast carrots in a pan with some olive oil, salt, chilli, curry. They’re tasty, quick and cheap.
I also hate salads from delivery service – tasteless! Prefer homemade ones
Heather Eats Almond Butter says
I love love love roasting my veggies in coconut oil but never tried adding cinnamon. Must do this soon…like tonight. Thanks Katie. Hope you had a good Thanksgiving.
P.S. I’ve always thought the same about veggie haters as well – they’ve just never had them prepared properly. Green beans from a can do not = veggie goodness.
Treadmill Traci says
Very nice job on your website. I enjoyed reading over it. You really know how to make the veggies look and taste good. Amazing! Check out nutribuff.com too.
Amanda says
I just noticed the recipe for your brussel sprouts isn’t in the recipe section! I had to google to find it, you could include it under dinner or sides!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Oh yes, I definitely have to update my recipe page… it’s hard, because I keep adding new recipes. I wish the page would just update itself ;).
Bridgit says
i have a stupid questions…what is the difference between coconut oil and coconut butter….i have coconut butter at home (although not much left – YUM).
Rachel Ramey says
I think for lots of us it’s a texture thing. I hate bell peppers, tomatoes, and mushrooms, because of that soft-but-crunchy texture.
Is there a trick to roasting veggies? I have never, ever been able to successfully roast any vegetable (except garlic). I’ve tried carrots, brussels sprouts, and asparagus, just that I can think of off the top of my head – oh, and root veggies. They always just end up tough. What am I doing wrong?
Mel says
For the brussel sprouts ‘candy’, what amounts of brussel sprouts, coconut oil, and spices do you use? Thanks for all of these great recipes!