I am going to keep this recipe very easy-breezy for you. You literally do not need to measure anything, and you can choose whatever vegetables you love. We all know that raw vegetables are the most nutritionally dense. But once we start cooking them, we take away some of the nutritional value. Let’s face it though, unless you are dipping your raw vegetables into a fattening dip or ranch dressing … very few broccoli florets are getting ate. It goes without saying that we need our food to taste good, and veggies are no exception!

Steaming is probably the best method of cooking your veggies. Pan sautéing is another great option, and both of these methods keep quite a bit of the nutritional density that vegetables provide. As long as you are not ‘over-cooking’, then steaming, sautéing, or roasting are all great options to getting tasty veggies.

I love the flavor of roasted vegetables, and make them 2-3 times a week, religiously. There is no self-sacrificing when it comes to the yum-factor of your food, when including a pile full of ‘Tracy’s Roasted Vegetables’ onto your plate. They are DELICIOUS!!! Your spouse, your kids, and even your dog will like these. At my house, if I pull a pan full of my roasted veggies out of the oven, set them on the counter and walk out of the room, when I return … the pan is about empty. The rest of the family starts snacking on them as if they are the next best potato chip! I kid you not! Try it!

The beauty of these veggies – you get to pick what vegetables you want. There is no real recipe to follow and no rhyme or reason to what you add in. One thing to bear in mind, however – some veggies are higher carb. What this means is they have more sugar content and are higher on the glycemic index. They are still packed with tons of nutritional value (fiber, vitamins, phyto-nutrients, water, etc.), they are just going to lean more into the ‘starchy’ carb category than the ‘fibrous’ or ‘cruciferous’ category. Fibrous and cruciferous carbohydrates will not generally get you into any trouble when it comes to weight-loss, or weight maintenance. On the other hand, starchy carbohydrates, even in vegetable form, can pack on pounds if they are over consumed. So the old saying, ‘Even a good thing can become destructive if taken to excess’ can apply to vegetables .. believe it or not.

Let’s get educated, shall we?

Types Of Vegetables

Starchy vegetables include several types of roots, bulbs, and kernels. Corn, peas, parsnips, potatoes, pumpkin, squash, zucchini, and yams (sweet potatoes) are all examples of starchy vegetables. These should be eaten in moderation, if you are looking to lose weight. If you are at a maintenance weight, you can play around with how much starchy vegetables you can have on a daily basis. If I have too many, my weight goes up. Others however, may have not have this problem, at all.

Non-Starchy vegetables (fibrous + cruciferous) are typically flowering parts of the plant. Lettuce, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, spinach, mushrooms, onions, peppers and tomatoes are all considered non-starchy vegetables. I can pretty much get away with as much on a daily basis as I want with these veggies, and it makes no dent either way in my body weight. I tell my clients that they can have unlimited amounts of these vegetables, minus the peppers and tomatoes. Although peppers and tomatoes are not considered ‘starchy’, they do have a higher sugar content. Therefore, I don’t recommend overdoing them. Eating a whole container of Cherry or Grape tomatoes everyday may be too much of a good thing … let’s put it that way. I know that specifically speaking, tomatoes are a fruit. But, in my book … it’s all how you slice it. I treat my tomatoes as a vegetable source.

Carb Content

Starchy Vegetables provide approximately 15 grams of carbohydrates per serving, versus non-starchy vegetables that usually have less than 5 grams. A single serving of starchy veggies is about 1/2 cup or 4-ounce serving, whereas one serving of non-starchy vegetables is 1 cup of raw veggies. Since non-starchy vegetables can be eaten raw or cooked, a 1-cup serving of raw non-starchy vegetables is equivalent to 1/2 cup of cooked non-starchy vegetables.

Calories

Starchy vegetables have more calories than non-starchy vegetables. One serving of starchy vegetables provides approximately 80 calories, versus a single serving of non-starchy vegetables that has a minimal 25 calories. For example, you can have 1/2 cup serving of mixed peas and corn for 80 calories, or swap it for 1/2 cup of sautéed spinach and tomatoes, which has 25 calories.

There you have it – Veggies 101

As for ‘Tracy’s Roasted Vegetables’, I hope you enjoy the printable recipe below. As you will see, there is no real measuring. This will be determined by how many meals you are making to cover a couple days. I will generally eat a good serving of these veggies along with a quality protein source two to three times a day. When it comes to meal prepping, I always make it a goal to prep for two days worth. For example, if I am meal prepping on a Sunday, I will make enough veggies to cover my meals for Monday and Tuesday. If I don’t have my meals all set aside for Sunday, or the day I am prepping, I will make sure I prepare enough to eat some that day.

When making, add in whatever sodium-free spices or fresh herbs that you wish. The tree nuts will give a nice flavor to your veggies. Garlic has many health benefits, and adds wonderful flavor .. the more, the merrier. Play around with this recipe and get creative. I love to add green onions, when we have them. Heck, once I even threw in some leftover turkey bacon crumbled up. Delish!!! There is so much you can do with this recipe.

For the Roasted Veggies that I made to take these pictures, I used broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, green beans, colorful bell peppers, a zucchini, a summer squash, and some green onion. This was a lot of veggies. Generally, I stick to 2-3 vegetables, when making my roasted veggies. But, for today’s baking session and meal prepping, I made two full pans. This will cover two days of meal prep for my husband and myself, as well as feed the rest of the family.

Add a nice portion of protein to these veggies and you will have a perfect nutritionally, well-balanced meal. Check out my Printable Salmon Recipe, here

Hop on over to today’s Snapchat and you can watch me make ‘Tracy’s Roasted Vegetables’ in action. I also share today’s workout with you, and some tips for vegetarians trying to get enough protein in their diet. Username: tracy_hensel

Happy Roasting!!!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Tracy's Roasted Vegetables

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Be creative and use whatever veggies you love!

Author: Tracy Hensel

Recipe type: Vegetables

Ingredients

• Vegetables (any) - refer to blog post for 'types' of veggies that lean more 'starchy', and those that are more 'fibrous & crucifous'
• Tree Nuts (Pecan pieces, Walnut pieces, Almond-chopped)
• Fresh Herbs (optional)
• Fresh Garlic (pressed)
• Mrs. Dash (any) or any sodium free spices
• Himalayan Pink Sea Salt
• Pepper
• Coconut Oil (organic, cold-pressed)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Line a baking sheet with Aluminum Foil
3. Chop Veggies, put in colander and rinse under cold running water
4. Pour clean veggies into large mixing bowl
5. Add all other ingredients to your preference (except Coconut Oil)
6. In pan or microwave, melt a couple tablespoons to ¼ cup Coconut Oil (depending on how many veggies you are making)
7. Pour Coconut Oil over veggies, nuts and seasonings
8. Immediately toss and pour onto Aluminum Foil lined pan
9. Bake (you can toss at the half-way baking point, but it's not necessary).
10. The overall time will be determined by how you like your veggies

3.5.3208