Homeless People Don't Need Vegetables

December 11, 2009 8 Comments

A couple days before Thanksgiving, I called our local "Survival Center" to find out how I could help. I was ready to roast a turkey, clean up, or help serve. I was really surprised at the coordinator's response.

Turkeys - got those, volunteers - had to turn them away, stuffing - more than we can stuff ourselves with. So, what do you need? Green vegetables.

What? The cheapest and easiest thing to bring was the one that they needed? I asked her why she thought that she didn't have enough green vegetables and she said that she didn't think people thought of them.

Of course not.

Who in the United States thinks you need green vegetables to survive? We think of meat and potatoes because those are the staples that keep us going.

But, in Africa the average per day amount of meat is 1/2 an ounce. Okay, I'm not talking about malnourished Africans, but people who survive an almost exclusively vegetable diet.

For survival, we should be eating vegetables. The next time you sit down to a meal, think of vegetables FIRST. They are plentiful, cheap, and delicious (if cooked properly).

True confession, I can't stand steamed vegetables with nothing on them. I really like to add olive oil or some other fatty thing to make my green vegetables taste good - and as long as I don't pour a whole bottle on them - the calorie content is very reasonable.

Here is the recipe I made for my town's neediest:

Green Bean and Olive Oil Recipe

1.6 from 24 reviews

(Makes 4 servings)

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Ingredients

1 pound green beans
2 tablespoons good quality olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Place a large pot of water on stove and heat to high. Remove the stem end of the green beans and wash. When water reaches boil toss in green beans and cook for 5-10 minutes until your favorite consistency (this will depend on how tough the beans are). Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper and serve. To get fancy add sliced or slivered almonds.

Points values are calculated by Snack Girl and are provided for information only. See all Snack Girl Recipes

Please share your favorite EASY vegetables in the comment section.

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8 Comments:

I saute 2 cups of asparagus in 2 tsp of olive oil with minced garlic and sea salt until just browned. It is delicious!

Candice

Mmm, asparagus! I sautee asparagus with olive oil, onions, garlic, some fresh tomatoes (all chopped up)... Salt and pepper to taste. Yummo! That is my favorite when asparagus is in season locally. I cut my asparagus into bite size pieces. Even my son loves it. He's 20 months now, but ate this last May at just a year old. Oh, also really good with zuchinni. I like veggies that are easy to prepare, I'm a working mom and by the time we get home around 6, I'm already ready for dinner. I don't do much green beans, because it seems like it takes so long to cut off all the ends... Poor excuse, huh? One new thing I've started using are the frozen veggies in the steamer bags with sauce and everything ready to go... Just pop it in the microwave and you have yummy veggies with sauce in ~5 minutes, for me having this on hand is great because then I have no excuse not to serve veggies.

stephv

We eat a lot of green beans in our house. Mainly because I keep a large bag of frozen green beans and only pull out enough for that meal. Throw a couple of large handfuls (enough for 2 adults and a toddler) in a microwave safe bowl, add a pat of butter and some seasonings. Microwave for 3-5 min., stir, and enjoy! I agree with Stephv....LOVE steamer bags too!

Jen

we love green beans at our house. They are great steamed or lightly cooked with EVOO and salt. thanks Snack Girl! www.veggietoddler.com

veggie toddler

I love using the Mrs. Dash no salt seasoning blends on various vegetables!

Kay

Roasted Green Beans are yummy too. Wash, cut the ends off, toss with olive oil and salt, spread in one layer on cookie sheet (if they are on top of each other they steam rather than roast) and cook at 450 for about 15-20 minutes. Be sure to shake them around at least once during that time.

Mattee

If people cooked meat the way they cook vegetables (boiled, with no fat and maybe a small dash of salt or pepper) they wouldn't like meat either.
If people cooked vegetables the way they cooked meat (browned, then baked or in a crock pot with tons of seasonings and probably wrapped in bacon) they would love them.
Once I realized this I started eating a lot more vegetables!

Jessica

Raw green beans, washed & chopped into bite-sized pieces, thrown into a salad add crunch, flavor & interest.

Nikki