Steamed vegetable recipes and other healthy food recipes are wholesome and tasty, when prepared properly. Using a vegetable steamer helps retain nutrients, enhancing healthy food recipes including clam, lobster, and flounder recipes. You can buy vegetable steamers in any household store. Chef's Resource Online (chefsresource.com) has a microwave vegetable steamer for only $11.95. You can't get much easier than to prepare a vegetable or healthy food recipe in a microwave.
Bamboo vegetable steamers are especially nice, since the wood inhibits water condensation. You can use bamboo vegetable steamers in a wok. A wide variety of seafood and vegetable recipes can be prepared using steamers.
Black and Decker® has some quality vegetable steamers online. Their Flavor Scenter Steamer Plus® has a divider to cook two vegetables at once. You can use vegetable steamers to cook your favorite vegetable recipe, rice, or seafood.
This wholesome method of cooking adds no fat or calories. So seafood and vegetable recipes cooked with steamers are nutritious, can help you lose weight, and are simple to prepare.
Healthy Food Recipes and Vegetable Recipes
Try a Carolina Clambake (or call it a New England clambake) with steamed seafood, chicken, potatoes, corn on the cob, whole onions and garlic. There are multi-tiered steamers available that allow you to create a clambake right on your stovetop or using an outdoor cooker (even cook these on the grill)-clambakes don't have to take place at the beach on blankets (although isn't that a nice thought?) If you'd like to try the TRUE beach clambake recipe, here is a recipe and how-to from Food Network.com.
In clam, lobster, and flounder recipes, you want the juice from the seafood and other meats to drip down on your vegetables-that really packs a flavor punch, but adds calories. You can also boil the vegetables and seafood together in a big pot. A New England clam boil might include clams, potatoes, onions, hot dogs, sausages, linguica, chorizo, and/or lobsters. You can buy mesh bag kits to cook items separately, then remove as they get done.
Here is a link to excellent steamed vegetable recipes from Cooks.com.
How to Steam Vegetables and Other Healthy Food Recipes
Bring one to two inches of water to a boil on high heat. Once the water is boiling, start preparing your vegetables. If you cut them in uniform sizes, it helps them cook evenly. Place them in the steamer or on the steamer rack and cover with the lid.
Vegetable and fish cooking times will vary, but generally a few minutes is all that is necessary for cut vegetables while potatoes could take up to 20-30 minutes. For your clam recipe, steam clams in the covered pot for 5-10 minutes, or until shells open.
Cooking fish (Steamed flounder recipe): Put pieces in top portion of steamer. Steam for 20 minutes (2 lbs. flounder) or until fish flakes with fork. When cooking fish, look in your steamer manual--other types might take only 5 - 15 minutes.
Serve your vegetable, fish, clam, lobster and flounder recipes as soon as possible after steaming to retain best flavor, nutrients, and texture.
Put your scallions, onion, and garlic from your vegetable garden to good use with these healthy food recipes, and splurge with real butter.
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Copyright© May 2006 by Sally Morton.
