Green Side Dishes

Below are recipes for a number of easy-to-throw-together side dishes, perfect when you’re looking for an easy dinner. Enjoy any of these sides with a piece of protein or enjoy them with cooked legumes, quinoa, brown rice or zucchini noodles. Throughout pregnancy, the aim is to enjoy nutrient-dense meals and snacks made from whole and real foods. Adding these sides to your plate will help you achieve this goal and help to nourish you and your baby.

Asparagus and Snow Peas

½ cup steamed asparagus cut into 5cm lengths

½ cup snowpeas

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp lemon juice

Grated parmesan

Toss to combine

Broccolini and Hazelnuts

1 bunch broccolini

2 tbsp coconut oil or olive oil

Chopped hazelnuts roasted at 200°C for 8 mins

(Also tasty with slivered almonds)

Spinach and Frozen Peas

Sweat 2 cups of finely chopped silverbeet or spinach in butter with 1/4 finely chopped red onion and ½ cup frozen peas

Fennel

Add 1 ½ cups of sliced fennel to a small baking dish scattered with ¼ cup parmesan and bake at 180°C until golden. You could also also use cauliflower.

Green Beans

Fry 1 cup of green beans in 1 tbsp butter and sprinkle with slivered almonds. Try adding dijon mustard, thyme or chilli for extra flavour.

Zucchini

Grate or finely slice (in rings) 1 zucchini and mix with a squeeze of lemon juice, a splash of olive oil, sprinkle of chilli flakes and chopped mint leaves or ¼ cup grated parmesan.

Bok Choy and Sugar Snap Peas

Stir-fry a bunch of bok choy (each frond cut in half diagonally), 1 cup sugar snap peas with 2 minced garlic cloves and a splash of tamari or homemade teriyaki sauce. Throw in 1 tbsp cashews for extra crunch.

Quick Collared Greens

Ingredients

1 large bunch collard greens

1 ½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt to taste

2 medium cloves garlic, minced

pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

a couple lemon wedges, for serving

Method

To prepare the collards: Cut the thick center rib out of each collard green. Stack the rib-less greens, roll them up and then slice them as thinly as possible. Give them a few chops horizontally to create shorter strands.

In a large frying pan, heat the oil. Once hot, add all of the collard greens and season with a pinch of salt.

Stir until all of the greens are lightly coated in oil, then let them cook for about 30 seconds before stirring again. Continue stirring in 30-second intervals until the greens are wilted, dark green, and some are starting to turn brown around the edges (this is delicious). This will take between 3 to 6 minutes.

Once the collards are just about done, add the garlic and red pepper flakes (if using). Stir to break up the garlic and cook until it’s fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat.

Immediately divide the cooked collards onto plates, and serve with a wedge of lemon.