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Roasting Vegetables

Roasting caramelizes vegetables, thus enhancing flavor while retaining crunchy textures.  Roasted veggies make excellent snacks or sides for children.  Well known nutritionist, Marion Nestle writes –”…one thirds of all vegetables consumed in the USA come from just three sources: French fries, potato chips and iceberg lettuce.”  Roasted veggies can take the prime spot for healthy and ‘yum’ food.

Roasting has to be just right, so that vegetables are cooked, but firm, not overcooked and squishy

Place them in a single layer on a roasting pan/ heavy bottom skillet or on a baking sheet when roasting in the oven.  Veggies should not be crowded together, or else they will steam up and lose their crispness.

Cut vegetables to the same size for uniform cooking.

Even though some of the water soluble vitamins, such as Vitamin C and the B group vitamins, are lost to some extent in the cooking process,the nutrients in food are better assimilated by the body when food is cooked.

Veggies can also be roasted on stove top using a heavy bottom pan / skillet

Broccoli

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
• Lightly spray/drizzle baking sheet with oil.
• Cut broccoli into florets.  Trim spears by peeling the tough skin on the outside and toss them in.
• Roast 10 minutes. Pull out oven rack a little and turn broccoli florets over with spatula.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Roast 6-7 minutes more.  Pierce stem with knife to check.

Delicious as Simply Broccoli!

Green Beans

• 1 pound green beans , trimmed
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
• Snap off tips of beans at both ends and peel off any fibrous strands that come with it.
• Place in single layer on lightly oiled baking sheet.
• Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Toss to coat
• Roast for 5 minutes.  Stir, and roast for 5 minutes more.  If beans are too dry, throw in a quarter cup of water.
• Remove from oven.  Squeeze a few drops of lemon / lime juice.
• Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.

Children love it dotted with a little butter.

For those with dairy allergy, serve with a light vinaigrette dressing.

Cauliflower

• 1 medium head of cauliflower cut into florets
• 1 pound unpeeled red potatoes, diced.
• 2 Tablespoons butter/ olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
• Place florets and potatoes in single layer on a lightly greased baking sheet, and roast for 10 minutes. 
• Stir, roast for 5 minutes more.  If still hard but caramelized, drizzle with 2-3 Tablespoons of water and cook for a further 3 minutes.
• Remove from oven, cut up butter and toss onto hot cauliflower.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Carrots

• 1 pound baby carrots / 2 inch cut carrot spears
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon melted butter / margarine with 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees
• Toss in baby carrots drizzled with olive oil and roast for 10 minutes.
• Drizzle with butter and maple syrup dressing and roast for 5 minutes more.

Great accompaniment with meat and potatoes!

Carrots and Parsnips

These are good pan roasted

Ingredients

• 3 medium carrots. washed, peeled and cut into 1/2 “ cubes.
• 3 medium parsnips cut the same way
• 2 Tablespoons butter / olive oil
• 1/2 cup raisins

Method

1. On medium heat, in a large skillet, melt butter / add olive oil and toss in carrots and parsnips.
2. Sauté for a minute.  Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add 1/4 cup water. lower heat.
4. Cover and cook for 7-8 minutes more
5. Add raisins to hot veggies.
6. cover and set aside for a few minutes.

Serve warm.

Roasted Grapes

Make your servings even more tasty colorful and interesting by adding roasted fruit to complement the dish.

• 2 cups red seedless grapes
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• Heat oven to 450 degrees.
• Place grapes on baking sheet.  Drizzle oil to coat.  Bake 10-12 minutes or till color deepens and skins begin to split.

Serve with lightly roasted yellow peppers.  Bright colors will tempt young palates

Combine other roasted fruits with veggies.  Hard fruits like apples and pears roast well and are delicious caramelized.  Canned pineapples combine well with broccoli and red peppers.

Peaches

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
• Cut peaches into halves and remove stones.
• Fill in half a teaspoon of brown sugar into each half and smear it into the fruit with the back of a spoon.
• Place peach halves on a lightly oiled baking sheet, cut side facing down.
• Bake 8-10 minutes, or till fruit is soft.
• Serve warm roasted peaches with a meat entrée, or reserve, warm again and serve with ice cream for dessert

Roasted asparagus, grilled zucchini, squashes make healthy and tasty side dishes.

Enhance nutrition and appearance by topping with caramelized sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chopped dates, raisins, roasted fruit, dried blueberries, cranberries—just think color, texture, combine and create your own veggie sides.  Then watch all the goodness go down with relish!

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