You wouldn’t expect a plate full of mostly veggies to feel deeply
delightful, but it does. It’s also a great way to get some color into your
diet if that’s something you struggle with!
Growing up, one of my favorite dinners was what my mom called “Vegetable Night.” It’s exactly what it sounds like: a plate full of vegetables (and fruits, though that didn’t make it into the name). I’m not sure why we didn’t do them very often; maybe because my dad and siblings weren’t as thrilled by the concept as we were. But I loved picking my little plastic plate (usually blue or pink) and carefully arranging my vegetables in the sections. I took Vegetable Night with me to college, to Europe, to my own apartment. It’s versatile; it can be as low or high-effort as you want. It can be seasonal, cheap, expensive, fast, slow. It can be whatever you need it to be. That’s the magic of Vegetable Night.
This isn’t a regular recipe, but more of a formula. Take it and tailor it to your tastes. Here’s what you need: 1 potato item; 1 other cooked vegetable; 3 raw vegetables or fruits; and 1 dip that goes with as many of them as possible.
Here are some notes and ideas to get you started:
Potato: In this picture I show smashed potatoes with wing sauce and ranch (kind of a lazy girl’s version of Chrissy Teigen’s crispy buffalo smashies) but you’ve got plenty of options. Cheddar ranch baked potatoes or cajun shoestring fries would be great, but really you can do whatever you want. Roasties, hash browns, mash, casserole—all of it is good. And don’t limit yourself to regular potatoes, either—sweet potatoes would also be a great option.
Cooked veg: I love fried pickles so those often make an appearance on my vegetable night. Corn, broccoli, green beans, and brussels sprouts are also great options.
Raw veg: Anything that doesn’t have to be cooked! This is a great place to incorporate some fruit into the plate, too. Tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, raw broccoli, carrots, snap peas, grapes, apple slices, peaches, berries.
Dip: You guys know I love ranch, but other dips like tzatziki and hummus are also great.
Note: Sometimes I use the word “vegetable” loosely, so feel free to incorporate things like tortilla chips (corn!) and pico de gallo.
You might not expect a plate full of vegetables to feel fun and filling, but it is. And it’s a great way to get some color into your diet if that’s something you struggle with!
I hope you love Vegetable Night as much as I do! If you’re looking for other easy veggie-heavy meals, try bean & cheese burrito bowls, veggie bagel sandwiches, or chicken tortilla bowls with cilantro ranch.
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