Tips and tricks on how to cook tasty vegetables (even for meat lovers!)

I have always loved fruit and vegetables in all their shapes and forms from when I was a kid, as much as I have always found it very hard to make myself like any kind of meat!

I understand, however, that not everyone is the same and most people find it difficult to eat vegetables (and for eating I mean have a good portion of them for both lunch and dinner almost every day), especially when boiled and raw.

Naturally, some vegetables are 'easier' to like than others: if a think of aubergines, courgettes and tomatoes, for example, they are pretty difficult to dislike, given their sweeter taste. Some other ones, however, as cauliflowers, broccoli and Brussels sprouts are much more difficult to appreciate, especially if simply boiled.

As my boyfriend Francesco is one of these people who selectively like vegetables, I have tried to find ways to make him appreciate even the 'uglier' vegetables and want to share some tips here! In the end, making vegetables more tasty without adding extra fats/ too many calories make everyone happier! :)

Herbs

I really like to use herbs to give a Mediterranean flavor to the dishes I cook, but especially vegetables. Among my favorite ones there is:

• Basil - especially for raw tomatoes/ salads, pan roasted courgettes, green beans or to add extra taste to a tomato salsa

• Oregano - especially for salads, fresh bruschetta with tomato and feta cheese

• Rosemary - mostly for butternut squash, roasted potatoes and pan roasted chickpeas

• Thyme - with mushrooms it goes very well

• Mint - mostly with sweet peas and artichokes

• and Sage - also good with roasted potatoes

Sprinkles and Nuts

I really like to add a crunchy touch to my salads and vegetables, as it makes them more tasty. Even though nuts have 'good' fats for our system, we should not indulge too much with them, so we should use them always with moderation and, if possible, raw.

Below some suggestions around my favorite nuts and sprinkles I use:

• Almonds - pan roasted, with no additional salt or oil added, they are perfect to ad extra crunchiness to salads and vegetables as beans

• Pumpkin seeds - Simply toasted they are very good on pumpkin soups for example. I also like to get the raw seeds when I clean the pumpkin, add some salt and pepper and just roast them in the oven for an healthy snack

• Sunflower seeds, Linseeds - Other good and tasty seeds to use in salads (and also good to form a nice crust on fishes as salmon or sea bass fillet)

• Seed mix - I usually use the 'Good 4U Salad Super Seeds' (you can find them at Waitrose for £2.5)

• Dukkah - I recently discovered it, being mostly used in Middle East. This sprinkle, made of chickpeas, cumin and fennel seeds and coriander is extremely tasty on salads and avocado toast and really adds an extra touch!

• Za'atar - Another mix typical of Middle East made of marjoram, oregano and thyme. Very good on vegetables too!

Low calories dressings

We all know that very few people (included me!) like to eat raw vegetables. So, it is important to add a dressing that could give flavor and extra creaminess to your salads, whilst avoiding to add too many extra calories.

Below a few suggestions on some dressings I use for my salads:

• Light Soy Sauce/ Tamari (1 tablespoon, ~10-12 kcal): This is one of my favorite dressings, mostly for salads or to roast vegetables; with few calories, soy sauce adds that saltiness to the salad and makes it quite tasty

• Miso Soy sauce (1 tablespoon, ~40 kcal): I mostly use this (mixing soy sauce and miso until it melts) to oven roast vegetables. In my opinion it works really well on aubergines and Brussels sprouts

• Black Vinegar (1 tablespoon, ~10-12 kcal): This is another of my favorite dressings for salads; make sure you get a good quality one, which is not watery and acid, but quite creamy and with an intense flavor. It goes well with different types of salads, for example salad with oranges and fennel

• Smashed avocado (1 small or half of medium, ~150 kcal): A good and healthy spread on toasted bread, or if mashed it is also good to add creaminess to salads

• Greek Yoghurt (100 grams, ~60 kcal): I do not use it much to be honest, but I believe this is a good replacement for people who like extra creaminess to salads, instead of using mayo or Caesar dressing for example

• Extra Vigin Olive Oil - with moderation - (1 tablespoon, ~120 kcal): I try not to use too much oil, given it is high in calories. However, if used with moderation and of good quality it is really good for your health

Seasoning

Another basic task to make your vegetable tastier is to season them properly.

Beyond the basic salt (you can also experiment with different types of salt as the smoked Maldon one or the flavored ones with rosemary or truffle) and pepper (from black pepper, which I usually use when seasoning vegetables, to a mix of different types of pepper - pink, green and white) I like to add a touch of spiciness to dishes with either dried or fresh chili or smoked paprika.

When I want to add extra taste and flavor I also use garlic, especially for sauteed vegetables, usually adding a clove and then removing it to avoid to make the dish too heavy and difficult to digest.

I personally do not like onion/ shallots, but it is a great way to add extra flavor to vegetables too if you like it!