$5 Dishes - The Nourishing Gourmet (2024)

This easy and simple coleslaw is perfect for two things – topping tacos or using it as a flavorful base for a “taco salad.” Vegetable sides are regularly overlooked, but they shouldn’t be! They not only add a lot of important nutrition, antioxidants, and fiber, but they also add vibrant flavor.

That said, I like to keep my sides simple so that I can get dinner on the table quickly. This recipe fits the bill.

I make a large bowl of it, and serve it on taco night. For those in the family who regularly enjoy corn, they use it both in their tacos and as a side salad. For those of us who don’t always eat corn (or who are eating using keto or using Trim Healthy Mama principles), we use it as a base and then top it with top tender meat, salsa, avocado, sour cream, and cheese.

It’s a really delicious and satisfying meal, with taco shells or without, and is a regular part of our menu.

While cabbage dressed up this way is just delicious, I also love that the regular addition of cruciferous vegetables, such as cabbage, can help prevent or reduce inflammation (1, 2, 3). Also, consider using red cabbage! It has other benefits because of its anthocyanin content (1), and also looks beautiful.

Related Recipes:

• Simple Mexican Quinoa Bowls

• Mexican Quinoa Salad

• Mexican Chocolate Dairy-free Ice Cream

• Lacto-Fermented Escabeche

• 7 Layer Mexican Dip

Simple Mexican Coleslaw

• 1 medium-large cabbage (I sometimes use half of a green, and half of a red)

• 1 bunch of cilantro, washed, stemmed and chopped

• ½ cup fresh lime juice*

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 3-6 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced

1. Wash the outside of the cabbage, and then cut in half using a large, sharp knife. Thinly slice the cabbage after cutting out the core. Add to a large bowl, and then add the cilantro.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients together in a small bowl or glass measuring cup, and stir together. Pour over cabbage and cilantro, and toss. Taste test, and add more salt, olive oil, or lime juice, as desired.
3. Serve right away, or premake an hour or two beforehand and allow the flavor to meld, and the cabbage to slightly soften.

Variation: Cut the lime juice to ¼ of a cup and add ½ cup of orange juice for a more mild version. For a kick, add some red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper.

We have a problem. If we don’t like how I prepare vegetables, they are pushed around on our plates and barely touched. This is no good, as I believe that vegetables are not only important for our health, but they can also be a delicious part of our daily diet as well.

So when we made our big move to South Dakota, I faced a new problem. Back in Portland, Oregon, I had a large array of options for vegetables. Here? Not so much. Don’t get me wrong, there are still plenty of stores and some good options, but I found that I was eating less vegetables, they were costing a little more, and I wasn’t getting as good of a variety into our diets. Because of the climate here, we simply don’t have as many local options for produce.

I needed to change my game plan, and that meant being willing to try more frozen vegetables. I have, admittedly, long eschewed frozen vegetables, and we mainly used them as a stop-gap. But I realized that there were many great frozen vegetables options here and I needed to figure out how to make them a little more delicious. I’m proud to say that we now eat them on a regular basis and all of us love them. Why?

Can You Roast Frozen Vegetables?

Well, it turns out that you can roast them just like you do fresh vegetables! Why does roasting make fresh and frozen vegetables so much better? For a number of reasons: It helps crisp vegetables while they cook and if you leave them in long enough they will start to caramelize and give you a savory depth of flavor.

Steamed frozen vegetables can sometimes have a mushy texture once cooked, or be very bland in flavor. I did find that the recipe I used for my cooking like a Roman day, using a spiced wine sauce with frozen broccoli, was really delightful. So you can absolutely have good steamed frozen vegetables.

However, roasting them is a more fail-safe way for delicious vegetables that takes very little hands-on time.

It’s also very versatile. We’ve done frozen Brussels sprouts, a carrots, broccoli and cauliflower mix, and both cauliflower and broccoli. The only thing we haven’t really been fans of is the frozen carrots. They were far better when roasted than steamed, but we found we preferred the other vegetables.

Basic Method for Roasting Frozen Vegetables

Basic Method: Roasting vegetables is very easy. The basis concept is to toss frozen vegetables (don’t defrost) with oil, salt and pepper and roast in a hot oven until they are browned and crispy. I often don’t even set a timer.

Additions: You can also toss them with dried herbs, fresh garlic before they go in the oven, or toss with a splash of balsamic vinegar and fresh herbs right after they come out of the oven. Or, roast with chopped bacon. This is the type of recipe where knowing the basic method is helpful, and then you can have fun trying a variety of vegetables and herbs and spices.

But to get you started, here is a basic recipe for Roasted Frozen Broccoli

Roasted Frozen Broccoli

1 package of frozen broccoli (16 oz)

2-3 tablespoons of oil or melted fat of your choice

Salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425F. I use parchment paper because I use sheet pans that are aluminum, but you can an unlined sheet pan as well.
2. Toss broccoli with oil/fat and salt and pepper. Place in oven and cook until browned to desired doneness. (between 15-35 minutes).

Variation: My favorite variation is adding some sliced fresh onions to the broccoli before it cooks and then tossing with chopped fresh basil and a splash of balsamic vinegar once it’s out of the oven. Fabulous!

By Katie Mae, From Nourishing Simplicity

Fresh juicy tomatoes, white beans, nourishing chicken broth, and slices of savory sausage are the foundation of this hearty stew. It is the perfect meal that ushers summer into fall.

My counter tops are covered in tomatoes straight from the garden. It is wonderful to enjoy them raw but when there is an overabundance they are just begging to be made into a warm dish.

Warm days are slowly giving way to fall. I love the cool mornings that hold a promise of blustery days to come. As soon as I feel a hint of crispness in the air my mind turns to nourishing soups and stews.

Simple meals like this white bean and sausagestew with greens is easy to prepare yet filling making it the perfect weeknight meal. Pair it with a slice of crusty sourdough bread spread with garlic butter(or herbed garlic butter)and maybe a side salad and you are good to go!

I love how the most basic ingredients like onions, garlic, salt, and traditional fats can transform a dish. They add wonderful flavor without hurting the pocket book and are the foundations of this stew. I prefer to use homemade chicken broth, fresh tomatoes, and beans that I have soaked and cooked myself but feel free to used canned if that is what works best for you. I try to keep a few jars of broth in the freezer or fridge so that they are ready to use.

White Bean and Polish Sausage Stew with Greens

1 quart chicken broth
3 cups white beans, that have been soaked and cooked
1/2 pound polish sausage, sliced
4 cups spinach, kale, or other greens, roughly chopped (if using kale, remove the stems)
4 cupstomatoes, diced
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp unrefined salt
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, sprinkle with salt and sauteuntil almosttranslucentfor 5-8 minutes, stirringoccasionally.

2. Add the sausage and garlic. Cook until the sausage in lightly browned, stirring occasionallyfor about 5 minutes.

3. Add the broth, beans, tomatoes, salt, thyme, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Add the greens. If you are using spinach or another soft green cook for about 1 minute. If you are using kale cook for an additional 10 minutesor until soft.

Green or red cabbage is gently cooked with apples in this simple, but delicious side dish. I find that when you are eating cabbage (or cauliflower) when they are freshly picked from the fields, they are especially sweet and flavorful. Here, I add some sliced apples to continue to sweeten and flavor the cabbage as it cooks. It is a lovely side to go with roasted meats or sausages.

This is an example of how easy it is to vegetables in a lovely way without much work!

I love this easy side dish and have made it several times in the last couple of weeks. I think I could eat the whole pan of it myself! I first tried it out because I was looking for a way to gently encourage my youngest (she just turned four) to eat more of her vegetables. While she wasn’t happy to see her small serving of cabbage on the plate at first, once we got her to try it, she seemed to happily eat the rest of it. I believe that is because of the magic of the apples, which give a delightful sweetness to the dish.

Two additions I am tempted to try is adding either caraway seeds, as they would add so much flavor, and are traditionally used with cabbage dishes, or, to take things in a different route, to add fresh ginger. I think that the cabbage, apples, and ginger together would make a lovely medley of flavors.

I’ve been making good use of my cast iron pans lately, and they served me well in this recipe as well. If using cast iron, I would cook at medium heat or below. If using stainless steel pans (try to use a thicker pan for better heat spread) use medium to medium-high heat.

Other Vegetable Side Dishes:

• Cabbage Okazu
• Asian Cabbage Salad ($10 main dish)
• Worlds Best Braised Cabbage
• Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
• Grandpa’s Long Simmered Green Beans
• Garlic Green Beans
• Simple Zucchini and Onions
• Pan Fried Buttery Carrots
• Quick Miso Stir Fry