If you eat out a lot, chances are you are not eating enough vegetables. Even if you are a diehard salad fanatic, it is often difficult finding a side salad with anything other than head lettuce, a slice of tomato and 2 shavings from a carrot. You know what I mean. To be perfectly frank, you might be better off just drinking a glass of water, since head lettuce has almost no nutritional value.

Since head lettuce is cheap, it is unlikely you are going to find much variety in a side salad from a less expensive or chain restaurant. That doesn't mean you can't make it taste a whole lot better. You can make your own Veggie Blend of flavor to add to any salad. Combine the following: 2 teaspoons each of basil, chervil and marjoram, 1 teaspoon each of celery seed and tarragon. Dried herbs are better than ground. Mix them up and put them in a spice jar with a shaker top and keep that in your purse. Try it at home first and adjust depending upon your likes and dislikes.

Although I like to mix up a variety of veggies in my salads, I also like picking a particular vegetable and trying to spruce it up flavor wise. Asparagus is a great veggie. It is low in sodium and calories and high in vitamin A. Try it with orange slices or bacon bits in a salad. Sauté asparagus with peanut oil and chopped scallions. Add wedges of tomatoes and soy sauce and serve over pasta. Mushrooms also go well with asparagus. Add some toasted sesame seeds and lemon juice to asparagus for a side dish. Eggs and asparagus are a great combination for breakfast. Spice them up with savory, tarragon and chives.

Broccoli is another vegetable that is very low in calories and high in vitamins A and C. It also contains calcium and iron. I like a blend of mustard and cheese with broccoli. It makes a great dip if you want a healthy vegetable-based appetizer. As a side dish melt a little butter in a pan and add some cheddar cheese and mustard to taste. I use a similar blend to "devil" my eggs. Don't fuss taking the yolks out and blending them with mayonnaise. Just cut the eggs in half lengthwise and dribble them with a heated mustard and low fat canola butter combination for simplicity. For those of you who love crunch in their food, add toasted almonds and celery to your broccoli side dish.

Carrots are not just for rabbits. Add cinnamon and cloves to a little melted butter and perk up those cooked carrots. Add pecans or some tart apples for even more crunch. I used to dip raw carrots in peanut butter as a snack, when I was in college. Now I use carrots mostly when I'm making a stew or soup in the crock-pot.

These combinations should get you thinking and experimenting with your vegetables. They don't have to lie in your plate naked. Dress them up. Remember that sweet vegetables combine well with a contrasting hot spice, like paprika, cayenne, chili powder, curry powder or onions. You may also use complementary sweet spices, like cinnamon, cloves or ginger. No matter what you use, your body will thank you for finding just the right "outfit" for these fashionably flavorful foods.

Copyright 2011 by Linda K. Murdock. Linda Murdock is the best-selling author of A Busy Cook's Guide to Spices, How to Introduce New Flavors to Everyday Meals. Unlike most spice books, you can turn to a food, whether meat, vegetable or starch, and find a list of spices that go well with that food. Recipes are also included. To learn more go to http://bellwetherbooks.com/

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What's for Dinner Tonight? Stuffed Mangoes looking like a work of art!

Way back when, I was the type of kid who would not eat anything that did not look pleasing to the eye. So, to my mom, presentation was everything in order to have her picky child attain good nutrition. The way she made stuffed mangoes was like Michelangelo creating the David - but of a slightly lesser omnipotence. My children do not appreciate their Grandmother's work of art in the kitchen as much as I, but in any event, I made them take a second (or two) to admire the construction of their deliciously filled, bulbous entr?e before "digging in". As a side note: I refer to this dish as stuffed mangoes, they are probably more properly known as stuffed bell peppers, but in honor my family tradition, I will continue to refer to this dish as stuffed mangoes.

Let's get back to the ingredients and preparation of this art. At the grocery store, my mother would select mangoes that are shiny and robust in color that are also firm and heavy in proportion. No wrinkles or bruises. She also took in consideration the size of the pepper to the diner, so when I was little I had a cute child's sized stuffed mango. At home, she cooked rice in a stock pot, browned ground beef (fat deleted as much as possible) with diced onions and chili powder to taste in my skillet and added a dash of salt. While those fixings were steeping, Mom used her paring knife and cut off the top of the mangoes or the "pepper pan"; remove the insides; put the washed mangoes in a casserole dish filled with about 1/3 cup of water; then she'd cover up casserole dish and let the mangoes steam for about 3 minutes. Going back to the ground beef, she mixes the rice in its skillet. The ground beef-rice mixture is then spooned into the warm mangoes with just a little overflowing the neck of the fruit. She adds a dollop of ketchup on the top and puts the delectably filled capsicums into the preheated 300 degree oven. After 20 minutes, a mango is put in the center of its own individual plate with more of the ground beef-rice mixture surrounding it. The baked ketchup on top of the mixture (while some part of its sweetness seeped through the rice) looks like a swirled cap or stem that has been re-attached to the mango. So now you see a shiny, rich green, yellow or red apple-like edible bowl with coppery brown ground beef and rice spewing out, like confetti, topped with a dollop of red sauce as its cap. The steam strings and curls toward my nose and the aroma is nothing but mouthwatering. Simply: A work of art.

So, a great meal was had by all. No left-overs again. Therefore that leaves me wondering, what will be for dinner tonight, tomorrow?

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