4 Cruciferous Veggie Sides To Make With Dinner This Week

Holistic health coach Katrine Van Wyk from Dr. Frank Lipman's Eleven Eleven Wellness Center lends us four recipes from her new book, Best Green Eats Ever. Each one stars a different cruciferous vegetable, one of the healthiest food groups you can eat. We're serving these alongside simple proteins for healthy weeknight dinners.

Broccolini, Cherry Tomato & Kale Skillet

This is a delicious, Italian-influenced, one-pot dish. It contains lots of antioxidants yet is made with easily available, simple ingredients. It's perfect just as it is, or as a side dish alongside a grass-fed steak, or even tossed with pasta.

Preparation

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add a steam basket. Place the broccolini in the basket and steam for 2–3 minutes. Remove the broccolini from the heat and set aside.

2. Add the olive oil to a medium-hot skillet and stir in the garlic, continuing to stir as the garlic flavors the oil. Take care not to burn the garlic. Add in the red onion and sauté for 3 minutes; then add the kale. Sauté for 1 more minute, or until the kale has wilted. Add the cherry tomatoes, zucchini, and steamed broccolini. Sprinkle sea salt and grind fresh pepper over the whole dish and serve in the skillet for a rustic and wholesome side dish.

Green Cauliflower "Rice"

Many of us are trying to find ways to eat more nutrient-dense vegetables and fewer starchy foods that are high in carbohydrates. It's a great tool for weight loss, but also for anyone trying to improve digestion — or just improving energy overall. This is no dish of compromise. It's a delicious, comforting, and light take on rice, with a chewy texture and fresh flavor. Try it. Your life may change forever.

Serves 4

Preparation

1. To turn the cauliflower into rice, use one of the following three methods: In a food processor: Add the cauliflower to the food processor. Be careful not to pack the food processor too fully; do it in a couple of batches. Turn the machine on and process until the cauliflower is chopped into what resembles rice. In a Vitamix dry: Add a handful of cauliflower florets to the blender. Turn it on to level 2 and use the tamper to push the cauliflower down toward the blades. Once all the cauliflower is finely chopped into what resembles rice, empty the container into a bowl and go again. Repeat until all the cauliflower is chopped. In a Vitamix wet: You can also chop the cauliflower by adding water to the blender until the florets float and then turning it on to level 2. I found that my cauliflower got chopped a bit too fine when I used this method, but it still tasted delicious, and this is a super-quick way to do it.

2. Add the coconut oil to a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and sauté for 3 minutes, until translucent. Add the cauliflower and spinach, sprinkle with salt, and sauté for another 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the cilantro and lime juice. Serve hot alongside your favorite fish or topped with any beans or lentils you like and avocado.

*Cauliflower Booster: Cauliflower is another member of the cruciferous vegetable family, and, like its siblings, it is rich in cancer-preventing compounds. Its taste and texture also make it a fantastic substitute for more starch-loaded white foods such as rice and potato. Raw cauliflower is a great source of vitamin K and C.

Pumpkin & Kale Salad

I love the combination of roasted pumpkin, pumpkin seeds, and pumpkin seed oil. It's just such a fun way to really use the whole vegetable. Here they all come together on a bed of kale, one of the dark, leafy green vegetables that are easy to find in the winter and hearty enough to handle some roasted winter vegetable action. The stems are great for making green juice or vegetable stock.

Serves 2

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the pumpkin or winter squash on a baking sheet that's been greased with a little olive oil. Drizzle a little olive oil over the pumpkin and place in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the pumpkin cubes turn golden and soft.

2. Add the kale to a large mixing bowl and sprinkle with the olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Massage the kale with your (very clean) hands until the leaves turn bright green and soften. Place the kale in a salad bowl.Once the pumpkin is done, let it cool; then add it to the kale. Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds over and drizzle with the pumpkin seed oil, chopped parsley and some fresh ground pepper.

Steamed Cabbage With Dulse Butter

This is such a simple dish, and it brings me right back to my childhood in Norway. Fresh cabbage, lightly steamed, with a big dollop of butter was a staple on our spring dinner table. This is a great side dish for any fish or on top of cooked grains such as buckwheat or quinoa.

Serves 4

Preparation

1. Ahead of time: Take the butter out of the fridge far enough ahead that it has time to get really soft. Then add it to a small bowl with the dulse. Stir until well combined.

2. When you're ready to prepare the recipe, cut the cabbage into eight equally sized wedges. In a pot, bring 1 ½ cup of water to a boil and add a steam basket. Add the cabbage, put the lid on, and steam for about 5 minutes, until the cabbage is fork tender.

3. To serve, place two pieces of steaming hot cabbage on each plate and add 1 tablespoon of butter on top. Let it melt down over the cabbage.