America, Roast Your Vegetables

Vegetables are good for you.  Everyone says so: Oprah, your grandmother, the FDA, Dr. Oz.

The trouble is, to paraphrase the great Paul of Tarsus in his Letter to the Romans: "the vegetables that I would eat, I eat not; [but] the brownies I would not eat, I do" (7:19).

For, alas, the brownies are soft, sweet and beckoning, while the vegetables are hard, bitter and require preparation.  However, I am here to tell you, there is a way to have your vegetables be both soft and sweet, and yet still nutritious.  The way, my friends, is to roast them. 

And to roast a lot of them at once.  I like to do about 3 pounds of vegetables at once; this provides about 6-8 servings.  Between me and my roommate, this can last us about 3-4 days.  Once roasted, they're incredibly versatile-- I toss them with pasta, eat them as a side dish, stuff them in quesadillas or pile them on toast.  They reheat well and usually taste better the next day.  The cleaning, chopping and baking can take a while. If you're feeding yourself and kids doing a weekly batch that's big enough to last a few days can seem daunting.  However, word on the street is that frozen vegetables roast just as well as fresh.  So load up on prechopped frozen broccoli, cauliflower, etc to save some time.  The frozen stuff should take 5-10 minutes longer than the fresh; you can do separate pans of each and mix them all together when they're done.

Roasted Squash & Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients
1 acorn squash, peeled and chopped into 1 inch chunks
1 lb. brussels sprouts, halved
1-2 large onions, in large chunks

1/2 lb. baby bella mushrooms, halved
1/2 medium zuchini, chopped in large chunks
2-3 Tbsp olive oil

2-3 tsp balsamic vinegar
garlic powder
1 Tbsp dried tarragon
1 tsp dried oregano
salt & pepper to taste

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. Clean, peel and chop the various vegetables.  For the squash, I've found it's easiest to it into chunks and then remove the peel with a knife.  For the onion, chop it into quarters, then take each quarter apart layer by layer with your fingers, tearing the larger layers into chunks.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the chopped vegetables, olive oil and spices.
4. Line two large roasting pans with aluminum foil.
5. Spread the coated vegetables evenly in the foil-covered pans.
6. Bake at 400 F for 20-25 minutes.


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Limeade

I'm trying to kick my 4 cans per day diet cola addiction.  Not because I'm one of those everything-must-be-organic-artificial-sweeteners-are-the-devil people (not that there's anything wrong with that).  Or because I think a minor caffeine addiction is a problem.  I drink my two cups of coffee every morning serene in the knowledge that said cups are full of antioxidants and also allow me to string words together in coherent sentences (left to its own devices, my brain wakes up around noon).  But, being white, female and small-boned, I'm concerned about the carbonation inhibiting calcium absorption.

The problem is: I hate water.  Yes, it quenches thirst.  But it doesn't taste good.  At best, it tastes like nothing.  At its worst, it tastes funky.  And that's with the water filter.  And while my time in the UK gave me a taste for splenda & skim builder's tea, I can't seem to get behind iced tea as a full-time diet coke substitute.

Then I tried limeade.  I've always loved lime juice, and when I make it with diet sweeteners, it's everything I want when I crave a diet coke: sweet, tangy, refreshing and low calorie.

Diet Limeade
4 cups water
1/2 cup sucralose
1/2 cup stevia (I recommend Stevia in the Raw, which you can buy in big bags at Krogers)
3/4 cup lime juice (bottled or squeezed)

In a pitcher, combine the water, sweeteners, and lastly the lime juice.  Stir and serve!
serves: 4
calories per serving: 9