You are an experienced cook, so rather than make specific dish recommendations for you, I'll make a few cookbook recommendations. Though they aren't cookbooks in the traditional sense ("add 1/2 cup of this to 2 cups of that" etc.) they give you recommendations for building a dish.

The first is Salt Fat Acid Heat. These are the 4 essential elements of cooking and this book goes in depth on exploring each.

The second is the Flavor Bible. This one is a really good book for taking your cooking to the next level. I love to use it when I'm developing a dish but it seems to be just missing a little something.

I lied. I'll give you one dish recommendation that your kids won't even know they are eating veggies. Faux Potato Skins made with cauliflower.

Thanks for that! I actually have Flavour Bible hiding out on my bookshelf somewhere. I’ll dust that back out, and SFAH has been recommended in the past. Time to pick it up I guess!

I’ll give those skins a go too!

My default way to prepare veggies is just 1) hack them into chunks, 2) coat them in olive oil with salt, pepper and garlic (plus maybe some rosemary or thyme if I'm feelin extra fancy), 3) roast them in a single layer on a baking sheet until they look like food. Individual veggies or a mix, either way - Brussels sprouts, asparagus, eggplant, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms, whatever sounds good. Even easier if I'm already roasting the main dish, of course - just sit the chicken etc on top of the veggies + potatoes in the pan and cook it all at once. Sheet pan dinners can be pretty easy to improvise: protein thing + veggie and starch things + marinade/seasonings + garnish/sauce/topping/gratuitous cheese/etc = win

In summer I love making kebabs on the grill - my current working theory is that all foods taste better after grilling and that soy sauce, honey, garlic, oil, and chili are a magical combination that dramatically improves everything up to and possibly including boot leather. and summer salads are the best, even if it's just tomato and cucumber with dill or thin-sliced carrots macerated in lemon and salt. i'm completely with you on the tubs-o-greens, though i find the spinach less offensive (and more versatile) than the sad wilty lettuce with pointless little bits of red cabbage and carrot

In winter when I'm too lazy to bother with second-rate fresh vegetables, I'll throw a frozen veggie of choice into the microwave, then transfer to the stove to add pizzazz before serving (oil, butter, garlic, herbs, soy sauce, lemon juice, orange zest, ginger, sesame seeds, chili, Parmesan, sliced almonds, bacon bits, cream... not all of those at once I guess... probably).

Other than that... hm... fajitas? omelets? soup? build-your-own burrito/taco/shawarma/veggie burger/nachos/giant salad/lettuce wraps? stir fry? curry? bibimbap? vegetable sushi? zucchini oven fries? steamed broccoli with cheese sauce? grated vegetable patties? quick-pickled veggie slaw? baba ghanouj? i'm just throwing words out - this is probably all way more basic than you need, but I know it's easy to get into kind of a cooking rut where all you really need is an idea you haven't already used 10 times this month.

One other suggestion might be to go onto one of those meal-kit websites (HelloFresh etc) and browse their recipes for inspiration - the kit meals are all designed to be fast and easy to cook, and I've stolen a few ideas from them here and there.

Do report back if you come up with anything exciting, I'm always on the hunt for new ideas too :)

Chips are vegtables and wine is fruit, just saying...

I like making soups
I hate raw veggies
But if you want n if you are allergic to peanuts google gado-gado or pecel recipe.

Veggie soups are good, just cut up whatever fresh veggies you have and throw them in beef broth to boil until everything is soft. Honey glazed carrots are good, just cover some carrots in honey and a little bit of rice wine vinegar plus salt and pepper obviously and pop it in a 350-375 oven until they are fork tender. Steamed broccoli that is chilled and coated with lemon juice and olive oil and s&p is delicious.

Hm. I've been throwing veggies into smoothies, on "pizzas" (flatbreads with sauce, bit of cheese and veggies/proteins) and whatever eggy thing I've made like omelets, quiche, frittata etc.

Some folks I know also puree the veggies and toss them into basically whatever they're cooking--like some spinach puree in meatballs and carrot/squash in mac & cheese--but that might need some experimenting on your end to see what combinations work best for you guys.

If your kids will eat them like you said they eat carrots and peppers on their own. I say just cook vegetables and they probably will eat them.

Some Ideas is possibly get a pressure cooker so you can cook vegetables faster than just on the stove with water. Because with a pressure cooker you can cook green beans in 5 minutes total. ( only 2 minutes in the cooker, more minutes to heat it up to that point.)

Also roasting mix carrots, beans celery and potaoes and put them in a cassarole pan and raost them. . Also you can put a rutabaga into it. Put some basil and oregeno and time, and maybe some pepper. Also if you have some parsley seeds, Those taste really good on roasted carrots. To get Parsley seeds grow parsley and after the second year it will start to seed.

i love vegetables but am lazy.... i live on baby carrots, bagged spinach, and frozen peas day to day. just make sure to have a variety in your daily rotation so it doesn't have to be a chore. peppers and carrots are halfway there.

more and more i love cauliflower mixed with pasta.... break into florets and toss in with your boiling noodles. drain, sauce, and serve as normal.

shred cabbage and add to everything... it's good cooked or raw, and there are so many ways to do a slaw.


it's a lot easier to have your veggies as part of a dish that you're excited to eat than to cook them separately... try flipping the script a little, taking a little time and energy from prepping what you do normally to prepare vegetables you're more excited to eat. a little more intention could work wonders.

A dish I made the other night. Brussel Sprouts, Panetta, Onion, and coarsely ground pepper. Served with some freshly grated parmesan on serving. The image was taken just prior to a spell in the oven at 350F. the onions and Brussel Sprouts were coated in olive oil and a bit of salt prior to tossing with the Panetta and placing in iron skillet.

Brussel Sprouts

forgot the code to imbed the image.

Slow cookers are amazing, you can pre-make meals, freeze them and then heat back up. The veggies soak up all the spices and whatever else you put in there. Even better if you can time it right and eat when the food is done freshly cooking.

Okay, first of all, tons of commiseration. Cooking could be so fun if one wouldn't have to do it at least every dang day to live, and having to eat a wild range of different foods for health and fun doesn't make it easier.

Don't know what the quality is where you live, but ain't nothing wrong with frozen veg and canned beans. We have a rotation of frozen broccoli, cauliflower, peas, green beans (pre-cleaned! whoo), and creamed spinach hanging out in the freezer. If you can't get into the routine of a whole extra veg pan, you can do several things; either the sheet bake thing mentioned above, make infinite soups and secret veg sauces by pureeing stuff, or just toss things in with what you're making now.
Do you make certain chili's, casseroles, pizza, pasta dishes? If you already have set recipes that are filling and taste good of course it's rough to figure out what to add to those. You could try making variations where you start with the veggies, just a big hulking heap of whatever you feel could be good in eg a chili, and add whatever meat and carb you're eating to that.
Example; you can mentally build a pasta as first 50% or whatever pasta, then 25% ground beef, then 25% tomatoes and carrots and you can't figure out how to fit more veg. Or you can start with 50% veggies and then suddenly you can shove in way more sneaky veg, both more variety and more volume.

Last, if your kids already snack on fresh veg I'd say you're safely 80% ahead of most folk :p
So maybe try to graze on some snack veg yourself and maybe it's good enough like that, too.

Bit disjointed rambling, but I hope you get something from it!

You know how to live!

I'll just stick to the onion on my burger and I'm good...

When you get old, over 50, you get regular blood tests, something to look forward too...

I love it when doctors tell you "you are all good but you can't live the way you do... "

"I think you find I f**king can... "

You could always buy a food processor and mix the veggies in with fruits to make tasty, but wholesome smoothies.

My kids really love my fried rice.


I don’t have exact measurements sorry


1 onion
1 bell pepper
1 leek
2 cloves of garlic
fresh ginger (as big as the top of your thumb)
Smoked bacon bits
3 eggs
pepper paste or fresh (optional)


I had cooked rice ready (2 cups uncooked)

stirr fry the smoked bacon bits move the bacon to one side of the pan and fry the chopped onion and bellpepper, garlic and ginger in the bacon fat.
I also will add a chicken broth tablet (crumbled)
Then move it all to one side and fry the eggs chopping them in small chunks.
Then i add a bit of the korean spicy pepper paste. For small kids i would leave it.
I also add dried cilantro (im one of those people who taste soap with fresh cilantro)
then i add a fine chopped leek and toss it with the other ingredients all in the same pan.
Add the rice mix it well ( add some oil when its to dry) and eat with some grilled chicken drumsticks and sliced cucumbers or a simple salad.
And my kids like warm peanut sauce with it.
But sweet chilly sauce is also nice.

I'm not much of a gourmand but personally I am a fan of the much maligned Brussel sprout. They are super easy with a steaming screen. Season with salt and it makes a great addition to good ol' meat and potatoes. It also doesn't hurt that they are basically mini cabbages and mini foods are cool.

Good vegetarian food is tough even for seasoned chefs (trust me)

Vegetables are bland, and the better they are for you, usually the less tastey they are (due to mineral/vitamin content) without having to coax out the flavors using many other seasonings/ingredients.

With that said, finding vegetables your able to enjoy to begin with is key. I personally love broccoli, asparagus, broccoli Rabe, Brussel sprouts, peas, carrots, baby Spinach (raw, not cooked), and corn.

Next, seasoning properly is key. Salt and pepper are necessity. Aromatics such as garlic and onion, fresh herbs, and plenty of spices go a long way depending on the dish.

Finally the cooking technique is key. Not overcooking the veg so ots still "al dente" goes a long way. Grilling smoking, and roasting veggies can impart a lot of flavor vs steaming/boiling.


A few dishes that I've found are always a hit:
-Roasted street corn
-Roasted corn salsa
-Roasted corn chowder
-Glazed baby carrots
-Grilled Carrots w/ a light dill sauce
-Grilled asparagus
-prosciutto wrapped asparagus bundles
-Roasted brussels w/ bacon
-Deep fried brussels w/ a balsamic glaze
-Baby Spinach on sandwiches
-split pea soup
-fried snow peas (I like them plain steamed too)
-Broccoli Rabe sautéed w/ garlic/crushed red pepper
-Fire Roasted bell peppers
-Stuffed peppers
-Grilled broccoli halves
-Broccoli sautéed w/ garlic/crushed red pepper

Soups/salads/sauces/casserole are good ways to integrate veggies without them being overbearing and keeping them semi-hidden.