Roasted Vegetables for a Healthy Winter
Fitness is about far more than just exercise. It is also about nutrition, and mental well-being. As we enter the thick of winter, our bodies’ desire for raw vegetables and cold sandwiches wane and our senses enjoy roasted meats, soups thick with vegetables, and hot apple cider.
Though I am not a vegetarian, the more I research, the more I am convinced that we should be eating far more fruits and vegetables than most of us do. Even roasted with olive oil, vegetables contain minimal calories and maximum nutrients. When it comes to health, fitness, and weight loss, vegetables win time and time again.
The problem, at least for me, is the preparation. I am busy, as most of us are. Who has time to make elaborate, healthy meals? That’s why I love roasting vegetables. It is super easy, and even my preschool children like them.
You can roast just about anything—and it always tastes so darned good! Why? The natural sugars caramelize, intensifying their flavors. Below is a chart about vegetable roasting, arranged by time in the oven. If you want to cook up a batch of various veggies, put the ones in first that take the longest while you prep the next ones.
For example, if I am going to roast sweet potatoes, asparagus, and cauliflower, I prep the sweet potatoes while the oven heats, and lay them out on my first cookie sheet. They’re going to cook for about 30 minutes, but the cauliflower only needs 20 to 25 minutes. So, when I put them into the oven I set the timer for five minutes. Then I cut up my cauliflower into florets, toss them in olive oil and lay them on half of my second cookie sheet.
About this time the timer goes off and I add them to the oven, setting the timer again but this time for 10 minutes. I trim the asparagus, spray them with olive oil and clean up the kitchen. When the timer goes off again, I add the asparagus to the empty half of the cookie sheet. Then I flip the sweet potato chips over, close the oven door and set the timer for 15 minutes. Then I go do something else until the timer goes off for the last time.
Voilà! A big batch of roasted veggies to accompany dinner tonight and be a healthy lunch/snack/or repeat dinner tomorrow.
Weaver’s Way has a beautiful selection of fresh, locally grown vegetables to choose from. They also have a perpetually expanding options in prepared foods, so you can let them roast the veggies when you don’t have time to! But whether you get your veggies from Pathmark, Yu’s Farms Market, or Weaver’s Way, here is a reference to how you can roast them.
Now for the how to. Baste veggies with olive oil (I like to put veggies in a plastic container with a lid and drizzle olive oil on them. Then I shake it up and spread the veggies on a cookie sheet, and bake at 400 degrees. I make a lot all at once so that my family has roasted veggies for a couple meals. They’re easy to re-heat in a toaster oven, skillet, or microwave (though microwave is least desirable), and even taste good cold. See the pictures for some serving ideas.
Vegetarian, Raw and Vegan with Bill & Sheila
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