If your diet allows, start your meal by sautéing Onions in a little bit of olive oil on low/medium heat.
When the onions start to smell yummy and are getting transparent add some vegetables. Whatever vegetables you have on hand/in the fridge will work. Don’t be scared to combine vegetables that you’ve never combined before. Cooking is all about experimentation and thinking outside of the box. So long as you don’t burn something, and you follow some basic guidelines you are very likely to make something tasty and enjoyable.
When you’re cooking vegetables in a “stir fry,” you want to add first the vegetables that are the hardest and will take the longest to cook. In most cases this means adding things like carrots, cauliflower, potatoes, beets, squash and parsnips first. Next are the less hard vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, eggplant, bell peppers, summer squash etc. Lastly, you want to add flimsy vegetables such as leafy greens, or fresh herbs.
One helpful hint in the kitchen is to pre-cut all of your ingredients so you have them all ready to add without having to cut them while something else is cooking/burning. However, if you are wanting to make the most of your time and you feel confident enough in your knife handling skills, you can usually get some onions chopped and sautéing on a low/medium temperature and then quickly chop your next vegetable and so on. Only do this if you feel comfortable, otherwise you might have more success pre-cutting your ingredients before you even turn the stove on.
Now that you have your vegetables all cooked (not too much so they still have some color, flavor and texture), you can add some seasonings. Seasonings I often turn to for their simplicity are salt (in moderation), nutritional yeast (ask me about it if you’ve never heard of it), tamari/soy sauce (if I’m not using salt), oregano and thyme or cumin and coriander. You can sprinkle some curry powder on or some chili powder/paprika/cayenne etc. The key here is to think outside of the box. Play with your spices. Let the vegetables be their own flavor. You’ll be surprised how good a vegetable stir fry can be when you’ve made it with fresh and flavorful ingredients.
Lastly, add a bit of fat to the meal if your diet allows. I like to add a minimal amount of cheese or yogurt, but some olive oil would work well too, or coconut oil for a sweeter more tropical flavor. The fat helps bring all the flavors together, and allows our bodies to absorb the “fat soluble” vitamins in our veggies.
If you’re inclined, you can also add a grain and/or protein to this meal as well. Cook up some quinoa or brown rice and serve the vegetables over it. Lightly fry/warm up a corn tortilla and put your stir fried vegetables in it. Add some salsa or hot sauce if you’d like. Make a pot of beans, or lentils and serve your vegetables over them. Make a small piece of meat (4 oz/serving) and enjoy that with your stir fry as well.
Be Creative!
Be open to trying new combinations of flavors!
Let yourself experiment with flavors and cooking times and techniques!
t to add first the vegetables that are the hardest and will take the longest to cook. In most cases this means adding things like carrots, cauliflower, potatoes, beets, squash and parsnips first. Next are the less hard vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, eggplant, bell peppers, summer squash etc. Lastly, you want to add flimsy vegetables such as leafy greens, or fresh herbs.
SLIDING SCALE NUTRITION 