Veggies

The many different mushrooms at your supermarket are all prized for their deep earthy flavours and unique textures. These distinctive vegetables are uniquely the above-the-ground fruit of a below-the-ground fungus. Mushrooms are at their meaty best in a batch of slowly simmering barley cooked like a batch of classic risotto. You’ll fill more than Half Your Plate with this hearty dish!

Bok choy is a type of Chinese cabbage prized for its sweet tender flavour and off-the-charts nutritional density. This beautiful vegetable forms heads of tightly clustered light green stems with dark green leaves. This simple dish is our favourite way to cook one of our favourite vegetables and fill Half Your Plate!

Spaghetti squash is known for its distinctive inner threads and their unique resemblance to cooked pasta. That unique texture and sweet flavour anchor this dish and its group of familiar Mediterranean flavours. I love the convenience of the one baking-pan method too. A tasty and easy way to fill Half Your Plate!

Leeks are milder cousins of the onion with a sweet neutral texture that absorbs any flavour and complements everything on your plate. They’re a long cylinder of bundled leaves, easy to cook and a deliciously simple way to fill Half Your Plate.

Green Beans are one of the tastiest and healthiest vegetables in your kitchen repertoire. They’re also one of the easiest, kids love them and steaming beans is super simple. Craving an upgrade though? It’s equally easy to add the addictive scent of sage and garlic toasting in brown butter to the works. What a great way to fill Half Your Plate with classic deliciousness!

There are many, many ways to serve up healthy vegetables but perhaps none as easy or versatile as a classic salad. Here’s how to transform a few simple ingredients into a memorable salad that will easily fill more than Half Your Plate with homemade goodness!

This is a delicious condiment to add to your grilling or snacking repertoire. Like any great salsa it’s packed with big, bright, balanced taste that easily complements other ingredients. What a great way to fill Half Your Plate with zesty flavours!

Parsnips are a root vegetable, the way a plant stores sunshine as sugar. They keep well which makes them a traditional winter vegetable. Their sweet earthy flavour and firm texture means they’re great for slow cooking, especially when they absorb the flavours of a delicious glaze along the way. Parsnips are a great way to fill Half Your Plate with root vegetable goodness.

You can fill more than Half Your Plate and create your own salad with this recipe. Chefs know that the art and craft of filling a salad bowl is one of the greatest expressions of the culinary arts. Home cooks love how easy it is to cram the salad bowl with healthy flavours. Everyone enjoys emptying the bowl. You’ll love knowing you have plenty of delicious dressing leftover for the next salad and nothing beats impressing yourself in your own kitchen! This one was custom created by Honorable Lawrence MacAulay with Chef Michael Smith’s coaching!

Zucchini is the perfect summer vegetable for filling Half Your Plate. Not only is it seasonally fresh, packed with flavour and nutritionally dense but it’s simple to grill. Its firm texture easily handles the heat while absorbing lots of delicious charred flavours. This side dish is equally delicious hot off the grill or chilled for later making it ideal for grilling season.

This classic pasta dish is an easy way to show off the flavours of spring and fill Half Your Plate with lots of delicious asparagus. The super-simple sauce and streamlined method lets you cook the veggies and pasta at the same time. You’ll love the tangy bright flavours and watching bowls empty all around you!

There’s nothing quite like a steaming hot soup bowl brimming with intense vegetable goodness. But not a fan of pale promises? Vegetable soup that’s more filler than flavour? No worries. You can fill more than Half Your Plate with true broccoli flavour by following this super simple recipe.

As with any simple soup recipe a few easy options are included too:
>Bacon and cheddar for even deeper flavour that’s guaranteed to satisfy any picky veggie-averse eaters.
>Your choice of liquid so you can control how rich the results are.
>How to make a pure vegetarian version.