Simplify Your Dinner

After reading THIS POST, I know you’re excited to incorporate more warm, cooked foods into your diet.  If you want a quick and simple way to fire up your digestive system, look no further than roasted vegetables. Fall and winter vegetables are fresh, in season, and were made to be lightly roasted.  Here’s a recipe for one of my favorite roasted veggie mixes - sweet potato, beet, and fennel. Not only is this a tasty mix, its nutritional properties will keep your digestion humming and give you a much needed energy boost. Check out how amazing these ingredients are:

• Sweet Potato - packed with Beta-carotene, sweet potato helps your body repair itself at a cellular level
• Fennel - warming, detoxifying, and aromatic, fennel helps increase circulation and distribution of nutrients in the body. 
• Beet - improves circulation and quality of the blood while benefiting the liver and helping as a natural mood-booster. 
• Asparagus - slightly bitter, asparagus helps balance water in the body and can act as a natural diuretic

INGREDIENTS:

In the pan, ready for roasting

• 1 medium sized sweet potato (yam will also work)
• 3 small or 1 large golden beet (you may also use red beets if you prefer)
• 1 large fennel bulb, stalks intact
• 10-15 asparagus stems
•  coconut amigos (optional)
• sesame seeds (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 425  (use “roast” setting if you have a convection oven), cover roasting pan with aluminum foil.
2. Thoroughly wash all vegetables.
3. Chop sweet potato and beets into approximately 1 inch cubes
4. Chop fennel bulbs in half lengthwise, then slice widthwise into 1 inch pieces
5. Chop fennel stems into 1 inch pieces. Remove fennel fronds (thin green leaves) for garnish
6. Chop asparagus stems into 1 inch pieces. Set aside. 
7. Place chopped beets, sweet potato, and fennel on roasting pan and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Roast 15-20 mins until starting to brown (check frequently, your oven temp may vary and require a different cooking time)
9. Add chopped asparagus to the beet/potato/fennel mix and roast for another 8-12 mins, until asparagus begins to brown.
10. Remove vegetables from oven. Serve as-is, or spoon over rice, quinoa, or your favorite grain. Garnish wth a few douses of coconut aminos, some sesame seeds, and the fennel fronds. 

Dinner is served!

And, in less than 45 minutes, you have a delicious, nutritious, in-season dinner! Plus, this saves really well and makes an excellent lunch the next day.  Just sayin'