How do you steam vegetables.

[Skip Brutale]

I noticed I was getting a bit of a beer belly alright. Now if your fat equally all around thats one thing, but being thin except for the stomach is another. That just says hey I eat like [censored] and am a problem drinker.

So I decided I'd not eat fast food, not drink soda, stay away from complex carbs, foods high in acidity and sugar, and nothing processed or created in a factory or lab by mad scientists.

This brought me to buying some broccoli and some other vegetable I forgot. Problem is, I dont know what to do with them. Ive heard about steaming it but what does that mean exactly, I'm well acquanted with boiling water and putting food in it for a period of time, but steaming?

I was going to try it today but just opted for a banana instead. Now I know fruits dont have all of the vitamins and minerals of vegetables (too bad cause vegetables suck) so I need to learn to steam them and stuff. How is this done? Thanks.

[rmarotti]

Avoid posting here ever again and use Google every time you have a question.

Thanks.

[Skip Brutale]

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Avoid posting here ever again and use Google every time you have a question.

Thanks.

[/ QUOTE ]

I would do that. I would, only you didnt say please. So Im not going to. How does it feel to not get what you want because you have no manners? Did your mother raise you that way?

[rmarotti]

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You are now ignoring this user. You will no longer see the body of any of their posts.

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[ripdog]

[ QUOTE ]
I noticed I was getting a bit of a beer belly alright. Now if your fat equally all around thats one thing, but being thin except for the stomach is another. That just says hey I eat like [censored] and am a problem drinker.

So I decided I'd not eat fast food, not drink soda, stay away from complex carbs, foods high in acidity and sugar, and nothing processed or created in a factory or lab by mad scientists.

This brought me to buying some broccoli and some other vegetable I forgot. Problem is, I dont know what to do with them. Ive heard about steaming it but what does that mean exactly, I'm well acquanted with boiling water and putting food in it for a period of time, but steaming?

I was going to try it today but just opted for a banana instead. Now I know fruits dont have all of the vitamins and minerals of vegetables (too bad cause vegetables suck) so I need to learn to steam them and stuff. How is this done? Thanks.

[/ QUOTE ]

Get a small colander, put the colander inside a larger pot, fill the pot with water to a point where it just barely doesn't touch the veggies. Cover the pot and steam away. I prefer a tablespoon of olive oil and several cloves of garlic and stir frying, but if you're determined to steam something, broccoli would be my choice too. Oh, and my wife just read me a passage form a childcare book that says you can get all of the vitamins you need from fruit alone.

[peachy]

in a steamer

[Gin 'n Tonic]

Steamers (http://www.tefal.co.uk/tefal/products/family/index.asp?category%5Fid=200&dept%5Fid=220&mscssid= P2S72K56K6RB8JLAU5GKNBMK0SPX12U5)

and

FAQ (http://www.tefal.co.uk/tefal/services/faqs.asp?category_id=200&dept_id=220)

[dsm]

[ QUOTE ]
in a steamer pot

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Yes they look like this:


http://rds.yahoo.com/S=96062883/K=steam%2C+pot/v=2/SID=w/l=IVS/SIG=12ncpcqam/EXP=1117272736/*-http%3A//www.alibaba.com/photo/10315466/Stainless_Steel_Steam_Pot.jpg

It's like a pot within a pot, where you fill the bottom pot with about an inch of water (not tap water, yuck). Then you put your washed vegies in the upper pot, which has a bunch of holes in it (see bottom photo), that allows the steam from the bottom pot to enter and cook. A directions packet should come with the steamer for exact times to cook whatever type of vegies you like.

I like to steam Chicken shu mai from Trader Joe's (in the frozen food section, see photo below). They're small chicken dumplings, which I put a bunch of soy sause on after cooking. I have a steel steamer, so I have to spread cooking oil (on the pot with holes in it) to keep them from sticking. But you can get a steamer pot made of non-stick surfaces, like the one in the photo below.

http://www.hkepoch.com/image/pot_9903.jpg

http://images.healthclub.com/branding/ck/runtime/updates/51.jpgTrader Joe's Chicken Shu Mai

[Nick-Zack]

Use a big cereal bowl, put the frozen vegetables in, add 1 tbls of water, put a dinner plate on top to seal the top. Microwave for 6 minutes stirring after 3. Be careful taking the plate off or you will get a steam burn.

[on_thg]

You can also buy a collapsing metal basket with a bunch of holes in it, for about $4.

E.g. this (http://acmehardware.com/product_detail.aspx?sku=3420338)

[jakethebake]

http://www.wasteoftechnology.com/articles/kramer.jpg

Also you can just bring them with you in a hot shower.

[Skip Brutale]

[quote Oh, and my wife just read me a passage form a childcare book that says you can get all of the vitamins you need from fruit alone.

[/ QUOTE ]

You mean I dont have to eat vegetables? Why have I been lied to all this time when I could just be eating bananas and oranges and stuff.

[theBruiser500]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I noticed I was getting a bit of a beer belly alright. Now if your fat equally all around thats one thing, but being thin except for the stomach is another. That just says hey I eat like [censored] and am a problem drinker.

So I decided I'd not eat fast food, not drink soda, stay away from complex carbs, foods high in acidity and sugar, and nothing processed or created in a factory or lab by mad scientists.

This brought me to buying some broccoli and some other vegetable I forgot. Problem is, I dont know what to do with them. Ive heard about steaming it but what does that mean exactly, I'm well acquanted with boiling water and putting food in it for a period of time, but steaming?

I was going to try it today but just opted for a banana instead. Now I know fruits dont have all of the vitamins and minerals of vegetables (too bad cause vegetables suck) so I need to learn to steam them and stuff. How is this done? Thanks.

[/ QUOTE ]

Get a small colander, put the colander inside a larger pot, fill the pot with water to a point where it just barely doesn't touch the veggies. Cover the pot and steam away. I prefer a tablespoon of olive oil and several cloves of garlic and stir frying, but if you're determined to steam something, broccoli would be my choice too. Oh, and my wife just read me a passage form a childcare book that says you can get all of the vitamins you need from fruit alone.

[/ QUOTE ]

is stir frying unhealthier than steaming?

[Blarg]

You can either get an insert for a pot that is kind of like a collander, buy a steamer/pot combination set up to do that, or just get one of those unfolding stands that fits various size pots, which you could find in most grocery stores probably.

The key to making steamed vegetables interesting enough to eat is putting at least a couple of tasty ones in there, getting variety and enough protein, and using sauces. You can eat moderate amounts of rice and potatoes and still not worry much about starches, and eat sauces with a moderate amount of butter and oil without worrying about calories, if you're eating a mostly vegetarian diet, because your overall diet will still be incredibly low in calories.

I've found that adding your common, cheap mung bean sprouts to steamed vegetables adds a lot of flavor; for some reason they have much more flavor cooked than raw. Peppers, eggplant, mushrooms, onions, and garlic can also add a lot of flavor.

It takes practice to get everything with just the right degree of softness and crunch. Learn to put different vegetables into the steamer at different times, without lifting the pot lid too many times.

A simple dressing made of butter and/or olive oil, soy sauce, garlic, and lots of pepper makes for a strong flavor additiive. You can afford some butter and oil without much worry, as the meal is basically so healthy and low calorie, as noted. You can eat an unbelievable amount of steamed vegetables and still have the weight practically dripping off your body. You will get very lean very fast, and never be hungry. It's a great way to go.

Be sure to get enough protein; most vegetarians supposedly bungle their protein intake badly; maybe that's why so many people in health food stores look like hell. Luckily, tofu does that very well. Its taste is pretty much invisible steamed, and if you want to fry it, it will get a little more texture and become more noticeable. You can try to get a proper protein balance out of just vegetables and beans, but it's much harder to really do right, and every vegetarian I've ever known gets fed up with trying to manage their protein properly and just starts eating the vegetables they like pretty much at random, screwing up their protein intake. It's ironic how vegetarianism can be so healthy, until it gets left in the hands of the vegetarians.

Feel free to eat skiness chicken and fish, too, since it sounds like being a vegetarian isn't your goal, but losing weight is. They are both high quality, high protein foods, and even a little goes a very long way to give you an easily balanced diet.

Remember that you can also eat an enormous amount of salad without gaining weight too, for some variety in taste and texture, as long as you use low-calorie dressing and stay away from high fat ingredients like cheese. Try simple lemon juice or rice vinegar for a dressing -- there are actually many different types, though regular supermarkets may have only one kind, in a tiny, overpriced bottle. Asian supermarkets have many varieties, though. A simple vinegar and oil dressing works, too.

Whatever you do, learn about herbs. Americans, at least, use very few herbs, but they add a great deal of powerful flavor, and let your food have greatly varying tastes.

Most people are just lazy bums and won't experiment or make a real effort at learning to eat differently, but it can be fun to uncover new tastes and ways of doing things. And if you make steamed vegetables and salads with ultra-low calorie dressings a regular part of your diet, you can eat like an absolute pig if you like, and still lose weight. Good luck, though you won't need it.

[DBowling]

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in a steamer

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this is the most intelligent post i have ever seen from you peachy. maybe you're not all troll after all.

[Blarg]

Yes, but way tastier, too. You don't have to use much oil, either, if you use a wok, or non-stick cooking spray. Use olive oil, and you're actually getting a very healthy oil into your system, too.

You can mix steaming and frying/stir-frying too. Slow-fried caramelized onions or mushrooms add a huge punch of flavor to steamed veggies.

[OtisTheMarsupial]

no no no, don't bother with special equipment...

In order to change your food lifestyle permanently you need SIMPLE, EASY solutions.

Use a microwave
Put cut up raw or frozen veggies in a microwave-safe bowl
add a little water
cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a lid
nuke for a few minutes

practice and you'll get the hang of it.

-OTM, healthy eater