Steamed vegetables: easy to do with a handy steamer

Steamed vegetables supposedly are healthier for us because important nutrients don’t have as much chance to leach out during steaming as they do during heavy boiling. I also find steaming a relatively quick and easy way to prepare the increased amount of veggies I’ve been eating since my angioplasty-induced low-fat, low-salt, low-sugar diet.

A steamer is a must-have kitchen appliance for doing veggies quick and easily. We have two, a smaller steamer for everyday meals and a larger one when we’re cooking ahead or preparing food for guests.

I bought this steamer at a church rummage sale and it works great. I use it almost nightly.

Steaming is simple as you can see in the photos I’ve posted here. The bottom of the steamer is filled with a small amount of water and a plastic plate goes over it. A see-through plastic basket is where you place the veggies. For broccoli, for example, cut off the stems and trim as you like. Put them in the basket, rinse them off a bit, and then cover and set the timer to whatever cooking time your particular steamer recommends.

Start with fresh broccoli, cut off the bulky stems and trim as you like

Put the trimmer broccoli in the steamer basket, cover and set the timer to the recommended cooking time.

If you like, you can add lemon, garlic or other aromatics to the water for whatever it is you plan to steam. Larger steamers often have two baskets, one which fits over the other, that you can use when making larger meals. A larger steamer can cost about $40, a smaller one less. I bought the Black & Decker model pictured here at a rummage sale for only a few dollars and it works great.
John