Last fall, when I read through the Ultimate Healthy Living bundle, I was surprised to find that The Veggie Book was one of the two or three books that comprised my favorites in the bundle!

Surprised because, well, it’s veggies.

I’m not really a big vegetable fan, to be honest.  I have a few favorite vegetables, and the rest I can do without.  (Never mind convincing my husband or kids to eat them!) But just reading through this book got me excited about trying new vegetables, and new ways to cook “old” vegetables.

Anything that gets you excited about eating vegetables is a good thing, right?

What is The Veggie Book?

The Veggie Book is a compilation of vegetable recipes – and cooking tips – by Sara Shay, Danielle Tate, and Debra Worth.  These ladies all believe in real food, so that’s what you’ll find here.  No margarine or other yucky stuff that mainstream sources sometimes call “healthy,” in place of truly healthy foods like real butter!

This Sautéed Kale with Garlic is one we tried, and found we didn’t mind.  Now, I’m not saying it became an immediate favorite or anything, but given that we all hated kale before this, “not bad” is pretty good!

There are recipes in the book for using:

• asparagus
• avocado
• broccoli
• cabbage
• carrots
• green beans
• leafy greens (including, but not limited to, kale)
• peas
• sweet potatoes
• tomatoes, and
• zucchini.

Because different types of cooking release different flavors in the veggies, if you don’t like one, try a different one and you just might like it.  (My family and I, for instance, don’t like heavily-cooked greens.  It’s why we’ve never liked kale.  But lightly sautéed like this it tastes completely different.)