Green beans aren't so bad... (RL)

[thistlechaser]

Or at least aren't so bad when you can't really taste them.

I haven't yet written about the RL stuff that has been making me grumpy lately, but part of it is that I have to totally change my diet. No more one meal a day, now I have to eat a minimum of four meals (five would be better). Gah. And on top of that, half of each meal is supposed to be vegetables. And keep in mind that I don't like any vegetables. c.c Or at least I haven't eaten most of them in so long that I assume I don't like them...

So I'm back to trying as many new veggies as I can. (Blech.) Today I got some green beans (fresh, not frozen) . I made them by this recipe with a few minor changes. I own no vinegar, and since I assumed I had less than a pound of beans, I cut down on the oil and soy sauce. (Also, my soy sauce wasn't light, I have no idea what the difference between light and normal is.) Anyway, they weren't so bad. Mostly I just tasted yummy soy sauce (<3 salty things). Unfortunately I cooked them all at once (three servings, not sure how much weight-wise) and couldn't eat them all. Finished about half, which is better than I expected to do. Wish I had the other half for another meal though.

Oddly veggies seem to fill me up a lot. I'm not sure if it was a fluke or something green bean-related, but I ate them two hours ago and I'm still stuffed.

No new veggies for tomorrow, though I did have a salad today and have the makings for another tomorrow. Today's had apple in it, which worked oddly well. I also have some potatoes to make into oven fries, though potatoes aren't a new thing (nor a veggie, really).

I can't wait for summer to arrive so I have more veggies to try/pick from.

Comments

[tersa.livejournal.com]

Veggies tend to be high in fiber. That makes you feel fuller.

I lurve good green beans.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks!

[wanderingscribe.livejournal.com]

'Light' soy sauce has about 1/3 of the sodium of regular soy sauce. To be honest, soy sauce is so ridiculously high in sodium that I've made even the light version a once-in-a-while thing rather than a condiment.

As for the beans, I think a serving is half a cup, so you had about a cup and a half prepared. If you only ate half of that, you would've eaten 3/4 of a cup.

Hmm...if you want to spice things up with your potatoes, may I suggest yams instead? I hate sweet potatoes with a vengeance, but I love oven roasting a yam, putting in some honey and a little butter, mashing everything up with a fork, and digging in. Delicious, sweet, and filling.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the info on soy sauce! I love love love salt stuff, but still I don't use it too often. Sometimes I think I could drink it straight though! *wacky*

As for the beans, I think a serving is half a cup, so you had about a cup and a half prepared. If you only ate half of that, you would've eaten 3/4 of a cup.

Oh drat, I thought it was more than that! They were long thin beans so they stacked up kind of high on the plate and I ate about half of a plate of them. I guess without all the extra space it could have been that much. Oh well!

I hate sweet potatoes with a vengeance, but I love oven roasting a yam,

I can never remember which kind I like. I loved one and hated the other, now I can't buy it because I don't know which is which. :P You'd think the sweet potato would be the sweet one, but I think yams were?

[wanderingscribe.livejournal.com]

No problem. I used to be thoroughly addicted to salt and salty flavors (despite my family's history of high blood pressure) until I changed my diet, so knowing this stuff comes with the territory.

Yeah, I know. It's kind of surprising how much you can eat when it comes to veggies. I was so shocked when I started eating pre-packaged salads; apparently a single serving is between one to two cups!

As far as I know, yams are sweeter. And, unlike sweet potatoes, they're bright orange in the middle.

[gconnor.livejournal.com]

I have been having a lot more veggies lately... usually it's a frozen veggie "blend" of some kind, steamed with a pot/steamer basket, and a small amount of mayo+soy sauce "dressing" to make it almost salad like. Or with just butter, garlic and maybe onion powder.

(This is also my favorite salad dressing: lite mayo, soy sauce, and maybe a bit of sesame oil and a bit of chili oil. This goes great with my favorite salad: spring salad mix and/or baby greens, green onion cut thin with shears, chow mein noodles, and frozen green peas tossed in... I really think tossing makes any salad better)

Other times when I'm feeling a bit more adventurous, I will thaw the veggies (pierce bag, micro enough to not be frozen but not hot) and then heat up the wok really hot and do a stir-fry on them. especially good if I have a small amount of meat and some kind of stir-fry sauce or black bean sauce from the chinese food section.

Another option for veggies is a veggie soup, though you won't get as much veggies out of it.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I wasn't sure how good frozen veggies are for you. Think they're nearly or just as good as fresh ones? It'd be a heck of a lot easier to eat more if the frozen ones are as good (or nearly as good).

I have a mixed bag in the freezer now (I had been intending to add it to fried rice, but that didn't really work out). Thanks for the ideas on how to use it!

[gconnor.livejournal.com]

Nutritionally I think frozen veg are 98%+ similar to fresh. Taste-wise, I've found them about the same for anything I steam or stir-fry... good enough for a meal for myself or my family, maybe not for entering cooking competitions or impressing a new date :) Definitely can't beat the convenience.

I definitely would prefer frozen over canned for just about anything (canning process usually involves partial cooking and adding lots of sodium)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Oh wow, that's great to hear! Thanks for letting me know!

[peppygrowlithe.livejournal.com]

Ever tried veggie burgers or veggie chicken patties? Add a couple pieces of lettuce, throw on some barbeque sauce or honey mustard or something, and bam! It's mucho delicioso.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Both! And yeah, I should start adding lettuce and stuff to them, that'd be an easy thing... like you! ;)

[firebyrd.livejournal.com]

I'm a little confused-why didn't you save the leftovers for part of another meal?

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

How could you heat up cooked green beans? Wouldn't they get... um... mushy? Or somehow bad if you reheat them? I thought that's what happened with veggies?

[firebyrd.livejournal.com]

Toss 'em in the microwave. It's just fine to reheat veggies as long as you've stored them in the fridge in the meantime. :)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Oh, wish I had saved them then! Oh well, next time. :/

Thanks for the info!