Serves: 5

Vegetables, poor, sad, always-to-blame, rarely-loved, vegetables…What did they ever do to us? All they want to do is nourish our bodies, and sure, they may not be the prettiest things all the time, but I think they deserve a little more respect than they have been getting. The poor things are the object of much disdain, even the tears of children, but for what? Just for innocently attempting to make us more healthy. They really are the unsung (sometimes cursed) heroes of the dinner table. So today let's celebrate vegetables…all of them…even the brussel sprouts!

In our home vegetables tend to be relegated to the side dish I feel obligated to make in order for my children to get their daily whining quota met. I know this isn't how it should be, but after hundreds of meals that became the template. Recently my husband and I made some big changes and for a few weeks you might have thought we had asked out oldest son to eat bugs. He was horrified by most of what was on the table. We did try to make different accommodations for him so that he had more familiar things to eat even though his parents were eating such absurd things as asparagus and spinach (insane, right?), but we still got an earful while we all tried to adjust and find common ground.

After our fair share of revolt we finally started to see something amazing happen…our kids started trying new vegetables. That might not sound earth-shattering to you, but then you haven't met my kids have you? To this mom, it was a fantastic change. I am not even going to pretend that we are all veggie loving health nuts at this point, but we have come a long, long way. Little by little we might just convince our kids that vegetables are really tasty. Who'd have thought?

We want to share some of our favorite recipes for boosting the veggie intake – without hiding them on the sidelines!

More Recipes from the 2012 HomeCook'n Collection Cookbook:
HEADLINE RECIPE: Tortellini Soup
TOP ARTICLE: Dress Up Your Veggies
TOP ARTICLE: Customizing Groups in Cook'n
TOP ARTICLE: Doing Your Job with Excellence
FEATURED RECIPE: Chunky Vegetable Casserole
FEATURED RECIPE: Veggie Shepherd's Pie
FEATURED RECIPE: Baked Sweet Potatoes with Ginger and Honey
FEATURED RECIPE: Vegetable Garden Soup
KITCHEN REMEDY: 2 Quick & Healthy Ways to Use Your Noodle!
KITCHEN REMEDY: "Sweet"-en Up Their Valentine's!
KITCHEN REMEDY: Dinner's Unsung Heroes
TABLE TALK: Wok It Off
TABLE TALK: Winter Wonderland of Vegetables
TABLE TALK: 7 Simple Steps to Keep You on the Slim Down
TABLE TALK: Another Way to Eat Vegetables...Japanese Style
JEST FOR FUN: A Lot Has Changed
JEST FOR FUN: Hospitals
JEST FOR FUN: Area 51
REFRIGERATOR DOOR: Champagne Shrimp with Pasta
REFRIGERATOR DOOR: For Our International Friends
Heart Shaped Pizza
Easy Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Tempura Dipping Sauce
Roasted Cauliflower
Tempura Batter
Mushroom and Peppers Linguine
Pasta with Baby Broccoli and Beans
Roasted Root Vegetables
Chicken Stir-Fry
Champagne Shrimp with Angel Hair Pasta
Broccoli Beef Stir-Fry
Spiral Noodles with Greens and Beans
Spinach Omelet
Hearty Vegetable Lasagna
Going Green Breakfast Smoothie
Red Bell Pepper Soup