Easy Meals from the Farmers Market

Perhaps you are like me and vegetables just never have been your thing. Maybe you like some of them or find that you enjoy them more when someone else prepares them. You know your running would benefit if you ate more of them, but quite frankly you feel a little stuck and don’t know how to prepare them so that they actually taste good and win out over less healthy options.

You know what I mean, right? When you prepare vegetables they taste boring and bland and it feels like a chore to eat them. When you look up recipes on the internet they seem so complicated and who has time to be in the kitchen all evening cooking and cleaning up! I hear you!

In my quest to get healthy and stay that way, I learned that eating veggies is not only good for you but that I can cook them and they actually taste delicious too! The secret is not to overcomplicate things, to be flexible, and to be willing to experiment. Also, don’t force yourself to like something that doesn’t appeal to you.

Not a fan of salads or raw vegetables, then move on and try something different. It may be your body telling you that is not they best option for you. My husband is not a big fan of soups. Interestingly, they leave him feeling hot and overheated even in the winter.

I have started to frequent Pop’s, my neighborhood farmers market. The lady who waits on me has become a great resource if I don’t know quite how to prepare something. Don’t be shy about asking the farmers at your farmers market how they like to prepare certain vegetables.

The meal pictured above, roasted potatoes, sautéed cabbage, and pinto beans was so easy to make. Plus everything makes fantastic leftovers! The potatoes pictured were leftovers from a previous meal. Besides this meal being delicious, what I also like is that there were no ingredients to measure or recipe to follow. As a result, you can cook what you need for a single meal or cook enough to enjoy for several meals which can be a huge time saver for those busy weeknights.

Roasted Potatoes

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Red potatoes washed, scrubbed and cut into roughly 1 inch size pieces. They can be larger or smaller just try to keep them uniform so that they cook evenly. (I really prefer sweet potatoes, but red potatoes is what I had on hand.)
• Place them in a roasting pan or oven safe baking dish.
• Season with salt and/or pepper to taste.
• Add olive oil or coconut oil. With a large spoon toss potatoes to coat. Use just enough oil to coat the potatoes.
• Place in oven on the middle rack and turn them every 10 minutes with the large spoon until done. If potatoes seem dry or stick to the pan you may need to add more oil. (Note that sweet potatoes will not require as much cook time.)

Pinto Beans

Confession: I have only served canned pinto beans and was unsure what to do with raw beans. So I asked my friend at Pops who told me to cook them the same way I would cook purple hull or black eyed peas. 

• Rinse beans and place them in a pot.
• Cover them with water and allow enough for some of the water to evaporate.
• Add salt according to your taste. You can always add more after they are cooked.
• Add a 2-3 slices of raw bacon cut into smaller pieces.
• Bring beans to a boil on the stove, then reduce heat to low, cover and allow to simmer for approximately an hour or until they are done. 
• You can also cook these on low heat in a crock pot all day.

Sautéed Cabbage, Onions, & Red Pepper

• Heat a couple of tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. 
• Cut a small to medium cabbage in half then slice one of the halves in smalls strips like slaw. (You can cook the entire cabbage, but you will need a large stock pot or dutch oven to do so.)
• Slice desired amount of onions. I prefer purple for both the taste and the additional color it brings to the dish. 
• Slice desired amount of red pepper. You can also use green, orange or yellow.
• When the oil in the pan is warm, add vegetables and stir to mix and coat with oil. Pay attention as you may need to add more oil or you can add a tablespoon of real butter. Real butter like olive oil is a great source of healthy fat and I like the flavor of it combined with the olive oil.
• Season with salt and/or pepper. 
• Lower the temperature, cover and allow to cook for 10 -15 minutes to desired doneness stirring occasionally. 
• This dish would also be great with carrots, celery or even jalapeños.

Which of these recipes you will try? Do you feel inspired and more confident in the kitchen? Leave a comment below!