Here are some of our favorite sides. As I add new ones, I'll put them at the top.
Sautéed Veggies
We pick whatever veggies we have around (like these pictured here, or any kind of pepper, plus garlic) and we cook them in some extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) over medium heat for several minutes. If we use tomatoes, we add those in at the very end.
Pita and Hummus
Yum! We use whole wheat pita (made with whole wheat flour and limited other ingredients) and store-bought hummus. For the pita, we spread a little EVOO on the top and sprinkle it with a little garlic powder and then bake toast it in the oven on broil for just a few minutes. We have found several brands of hummus that use only "real" ingredients (chickpeas, olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, salt), and we sprinkle it with red pepper. Someday I want to start making our own hummus.
Sweet Potato Fries
We make these ALL THE TIME. They are easy to make and they are so delicious it feels like an indulgence. Sweet potatoes are very very nutritious, and this side dish lets us eat them without necessitating all the brown sugar, etc. to make them taste good when they are mashed. We just cut the potatoes into strips, toss them in a plastic bag with EVOO, pepper, and a little bit of cayenne pepper and salt, and then bake them at around 400 degrees for maybe 30 minutes, turning occasionally. If we had a cookie cooling rack, I would bake them on that in the oven so I wouldn't have to turn them.
Greek Salad
We love Greek salad. We use baby spinach/baby arugula mix, and top it with red onion, tomatoes, cucumber and feta cheese. Because store-bought salad dressing is so unhealthy (veg. oils!), we make our own and it's really easy: equal parts EVOO, lemon juice and red wine vinegar, then we sprinkle in some dry basil or any Italian herb and a little salt & pepper. Mix vigorously and pour over salad immediately. We only make enough for one meal because the EVOO congeals and looks disgusting if you try to store it in the fridge.
