Enjoy vegetables in a variety of ways

Many can clearly picture the scene as someone (maybe even you!) wrinkles their nose to a certain food group in front of them. Any guesses on what food group it could be? A safe guess would indeed be the vegetable group. Some may assume that if they try and dislike a vegetable once, they will never enjoy that vegetable prepared another way. While everyone has different food preferences, it might be time to try the vegetable prepared differently. Fortunately, there are many ways to enjoy!

Raw, Roasted, Sautéed! For an easy snack, enjoy raw veggies and dip. Baby carrots, sugar snap peas, and bell peppers are sweet and involve little prep work to take for on-the-go. Hummus or plain Greek yogurt with your favorite spice mix make a tasty dip for vegetables. Create a full meal with just one pan by roasting veggies like broccoli, sweet potatoes, and Brussels sprouts alongside a protein like chicken. It’s an easy clean up plus a tasty dinner!

Sautéing uses heat to cook food in a shallow pan, like a skillet. Green beans, summer squash, and zucchini sauté nicely. Check out this month’s recipe featuring sautéed asparagus!

Vegetables enjoyed in a variety of ways like the ones listed above will have nutritional values that slightly vary between different preparation methods. When cooking, try to limit frying or using heavy cream-based sauces. Eating more vegetables each day is what matters most!

Grow Your Own Vegetables! The climate in most locations across Texas is great for growing vegetables in your yard or in a container garden year-round! You can grow vegetables from seed or transplants. Transplants will shorten the growing time in your garden and can be purchased from your local nursery or retail store. For help locating, prepping, and establishing a garden site, check with your local county extension agent to learn more about seasonal vegetables and for recommendations on which varieties grow best in your area.

Strawberry Spinach Salad This recipe serves 6

Nutritional Information per serving: Calories- 90 Carbohydrates- 6g Fat- 7g Protein- 2g Dietary Fiber- 2g Ingredients:

• 4 cups baby spinach

• 1 cup sliced strawberries

• 4 tbsp chopped walnuts or almonds

• 2 tbsp fresh chopped mint

• ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 3 tsp balsamic vinegar

• 1 tsp Dijon mustard Directions:

1. In a large bowl, layer the spinach, red onion, strawberries, chopped walnuts or almonds, and fresh mint.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together balsamic vinegar and Dijon mustard.

3. Pour dressing over salad and toss lightly. Severe immediately. Tip: Spinach is packed with iron, magnesium, and many other essential nutrients!!