Roasted Vegetables: healthy & delicious

About roasted vegetables

Year round you can find tasty, budget-friendly produce that is ‘in season’, particularly in the autumn and winter months to prepare roasted vegetables. Roasted vegetables make a great crowd pleaser for parties or an everyday ordinary dinner with the family. If you’ve not tried them before, you’ll be pleasantly surprised! Roasting vegetables draws out their natural sugars, creating a crunchy, browned outside and a juicy, tender inside.

How-to prepare roasted vegetables

To begin your roasted vegetables dish, line a roasting pan with foil and spray it generously with non-stick cooking spray or simply choose an aluminum oven-ready pan. Slice/cube variety of seasonal root/winter veggies (that you have washed to remove dirt and debris) for your roasted vegetables side dish. Good choices include parsnips (peel them first), sweet, white, Yukon or baby new potatoes, carrots, onions (sweet onions work well and color), cauliflower, eggplant, Brussels sprouts, butternut squash and any other hearty veggies you enjoy. Be sure to slice/cut the vegetables in fairly uniform pieces for even cooking. Prepare more than you think you will need/be very generous with your ‘mound’ of cut-up veggies. Since vegetables have a very high percentage of water, dry cooking methods, such as roasting, removes much of the water and shrinks them. This concentrates the flavor though the volume decreases significantly. Post-roasting, you will end up with a smaller mound of roasted vegetables.

Drizzle the veggies generously with olive oil and add a sprinkle of your favorite dried herbs, such as rosemary, basil, oregano and thyme (fresh herbs will ‘burn’ in the hot 420-degree oven). Toss well with your hands to coat all of the veggies and spread in the pan in a fairly even, single layer (as best as possible). The last step is to add a pinch of sea salt and a generous grind of pepper. ‘Roast’ in a 400-degree oven for about 40 minutes. Pair your delicious roasted vegetables with roasted chicken, pork tenderloin or any main meat.

Zucchini and Yellow Squash Medley

This fresh vegetable-forward summer squash recipe is reminiscent of the south of France with the addition of Herbes de Provence, an herb blend that typically includes dried basil, fennel seed, marjoram, rosemary, sage and thyme. If unavailable, you can substitute 1-2 tsp of these herbs instead.

Ingredients:
2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 large zucchini, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 large yellow squash, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tsp. Herbes de Provence
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
Salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven broiler. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté 3 minutes. Add zucchini and yellow squash and sauté 5-6 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 2 more minutes.

Add Herbes de Provence, cherry tomatoes and salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer mixture to a casserole dish. Sprinkle with feta cheese. Place under the broiler for a few minutes, until cheese melts. Less than 100 calories and 3 g fat per serving.

Onion Health Benefits

Onions are chock-full of healthy nutrients and plant chemicals, phytochemicals, that promote health and fight disease. One specific phytochemical group are polyphenols which contain a sub-group known as flavonoids. A specific flavonoid, quercetin, is among the most widely occurring polyphenols in nature.

Onion is known to have the highest quantity of quercetin. Quercetin has anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, anti-diabetic, and anti-viral properties. The molecule can cross the blood-brain barrier, (BBB) to protect against neurodegenerative diseases.

Onions and other members of the allium family (bulbous plant that includes onion and its relatives), such as leeks, shallots and scallions, may protect against the development of high blood pressure, heart disease, high cholesterol and other conditions. Red and yellow onions have the highest flavonoid content.

Idea: Pickle them. Very thinly slice 1 red onion with a mandolin. Place them in a mason jar. Set aside. In a small saucepan, whisk together 3/4 cup organic apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup water, 1 tsp sea salt and 1 – 2 TB honey or sugar. Cook over medium-high heat until mixture reaches a simmer. Pour the mixture over the onions, screw on the lid and shake to coat the onions. Let marinate for 30 minutes, occasionally pushing the onions down into the liquid with the back of a spoon.