Silver Cloud Dieters know they’re supposed to eat 9 servings — that’s about 4-1/2 cups non-starchy vegetables and fruits every day, but that’s a lot of chewing, and often makes you feel a little too much like a sheep cropping grass — with the usual results. You think i’ts a good idea to nibble on broccoli crowns, or cauliflorets, or carrot strips, but puhleeze. Could you just tell me something to make ’em taste better. They’re soooo boring. Even if they are organic.
Yes, there are plenty of choices in the salad department that don’t require anything but a bit of extra virgin olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice and a jot of mustard for a dresing, but others? They need to be whipped into submission.
Think blanching and shocking.
Here’s the easiest way we know to make those veggies more palatable.
A watched pot never boils
But once it does, plunge vegetables into a pot of water with a good rolling boil. Watch the pot until it comes back up to a good boil, then count to 20. I usually put them in a strainer so I can snatch ’em out easy, then plunge them into an ice water bath. They’ll be shocked and so will you. The flavor will have pumped up a lot. Now, just drain and pop them into zip locks for the refrigerator. You’ll be amazed how good they taste. Dip them in a bit of curried mayo. Yum.
You do know how to make curried mayo, don’t you? Simple. Sprinkle your a small bit of fave dried curry powder into mayo and stir. A squeeze of lime juice. It’s done. Makes those vegetables stand up and salute, even if they’ve been blanched and shocked. They’ll give you everything they’ve got.
Vegetables and Fruits for The Silver Cloud Diet Marathon.
Salad vegetables best served raw: Eat 2-3 cups daily. arugula, cabbage, celery, chicory, chives, cucumber, daikon, endive, escarole, fennel, jicama, lettuces, mache, mushrooms, parsley, peppers, radicchio, radishes, scallions, sorrel, spinach, sprouts of all kinds, tomato, watercress.
Cooked vegetables that thrive using the blanching and shocking treatment: Eat 1 to 1-/2 cups added to 2 cups of salad per day
Artichokes, whole or hearts, asparagus, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, beet greens, bok choy, broccoli, broccoli rabe, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery root, chard, collard greens, dandelion greens, eggplant, hearts of palm, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, okra, onion, pumpkin, rhubarb, sauerkraut, snow peas, spaghetti squash, string or wax beans, summer squash, tomato, turnip, water chestnuts, zucchini
If You Want to Be Italian:
Finish shocked vegetables in a pan with a little extra virgin olive oil over high heat just before serving. Season with sea salt and cracked black pepper. Ahhh. That was easy.
And For Dessert:
Berries, ½ cup then later add ½ stone fruits (pears, peaches, nectarines) Best served raw, and they respond well to a splash of cream. Yum.
