Holiday meals, between meal snacking, munching on a road trip - the reasons go on why we need to take some serious steps to upping the health-factor of our meals come this new year.

A simple place to start is by adding more vegetable side dishes to your favorite dinners. Here are just a few suggestions (several found in Fitness Magazine) to get the ball rolling and hopefully the holiday weight gain dropping:

Edamame Succotash! I like to combine edamame with corn, diced fresh tomatoes, chopped broccoli, and chopped cauliflower. The edamame is a sparkling flavor surprise.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts! I've mentioned these before, but must mention them again because they're so very good. I roast them with some garlic powder, and then after roasting I chop them up, add a smidge of butter, and a light sprinkle Parmesan cheese. WOW!

Italian Roasted Snap Peas! Roast snap peas with thinly sliced leeks and cherry tomatoes. Then serve with some fresh-basil-flavored butter. This is a winner.

Gingered Broccoli! Quickly saute broccoli with fresh ginger, rice vinegar, and fish sauce to add Southeast Asian flavors.

Cheese-Topped Cauliflower! Lightly steamed cauliflower is so good alone, but when topped with a rich-tasting cheese sauce, it can't be beat. Gruyere is a good choice to use when making a cheese sauce.

Roasted Baby Bok Choy! Roasting any vegetable really adds a WOW-factor, but bok choy is one vegetable that really shines with this approach. I like to drizzle mine with a little lemon-flavored butter.

Steamed Green and Yellow Beans with Mushrooms! I dunno, what more is there to say? This flavor combination is terrific.

Roasted Bell Pepper Salad! Roast assorted colored bell peppers, add some sun-dried tomatoes, and your favorite olives. This is simply elegant in taste as well as presentation.

Fresh Garlic and Rosemary Mushrooms! This is amazing alone as a veggie side dish or served atop cooked rice. I've even added it to a white sauce and served it over fettucine. Be still my heart!

Source:
www.fitnessmagazine.com