Well let me start off by saying I am not a nutritionist or an expert in food in general. I know that after turning 50 things start to work a little differently in the old temple. When I was younger there was never a worry about weight, I was in all kinds of sports and ate anything I wanted. After having my first child and putting on 70 lbs that was my wake up call for the old love handles a coming.
Now I know what I eat makes all the difference in the world in my attitude and energy with eating "well" being at the center of the two attitude and energy.
For me this is my favorite thing that makes me fell good and helps me to get my daily 5 with little or no trouble.
Roasting vegetables, in my opinion is one of the best ways to enjoy them without butter or sauces, using a little extra virgin olive oil and sesame oil will enhance any of the flavors naturally without the calories as long as it's in moderation.
To keep the addition of oils in moderation I use a Ziploc type of baggie to put my veg in and then a teaspoon of oil in and smoosh them around so the oil can cover all the veggies.So as I sit here and smell all the wonderful aromas coming from my kitchen as I type, I'll show you how to cook said roasted vegetables which include brussel sprouts; anise or fennel; onion; garlic; and oriental beauties which are white flesh sweet potatoes.
I begin by using the sesame oil on the only thing in my veggie/oil blendable baggie that will have it on mainly and that is the fennel or anise as it is also called. I think the licorice flavor and smell blend nicely with the sesame oil. You could put soy sauce in the baggie for all you saltoholics, but I like it plain.
Next is the brussels sprouts which to most people only a mother could love but, when you roast it with EVOO and Kosher salt it is quite good.
First you have to cut the tough end and let the outer leaves fall off and place the sprouts in the same bag you used for the fennel add a teaspoon of the EVOO and Kosher salt and smoosh around to get oil on all the sprouts. Don't worry there might be some sesame oil in there it will only add another flavor texture to the sprouts.
I like to lay my vegetables on a seasoned stoneware baking dish and do not mix them up. I add the different things for a reason so I can get really different flavors.
Next I thinly slice an onion and smoosh it in the baggie adding maybe a tiny bit of EVOO.
My all time favorite vegetable to roast is sweet potatoes. You wash them and can peel them or not, I prefer the texture of the potato that is not peeled. After washing and peal or not you slice them about a 1/4 in and put them in the baggie. How much EVOO you add depends on how many you are smooshing but about a teaspoon per 2 sweet potatoes. I also like to add pepper to the sweet potatoes. This is one I found at our Christmas Tea. It's smoked and has bourban and maple flavoring and it really makes the sweet potatoes taste good.
This is an oriental beauty sweet potato don't let it's deeper darker coloring fool you, it is a white flesh sweet potato. When roasted as above, it has a sweeter and creamer flavor and less stringy texture like it's orangey colored cousin. It is very good.
Last but not least is garlic you don't need to put oil on them just throw them on top of the mix and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. You don't need to turn them they are wonderful with a little bit of brownness on them especially the brussels sprouts.
So let the vegetables cool, get you a big glass of unsweetened iced tea with lemon and peel some garlic and you can eat it all off the baking dish with your fingers!
