How Easy is That?

When it comes to eating healthy, you've got to keep it simple.

A few veggies here, a dash of olive oil there, a sprinkling of seasonings and....voila! Dinner is done.

In the words of Ina Garten, "How easy is that?"

Tonight we invited our friend Alli over for an evening of vegan-style feasting: Quinoa Burgers, roasted veggies, and Peanut Butter Blondies (straight from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar). This menu alone provided reason #347 why you shouldn't be afraid to prepare vegetarian meals for your meat-lovin' pals.

They'll love the food just as much as you do. Promise.

Allow tonight's recipe to serve as motivation for anyone who has set a 2011 "healthy living" resolution. This roasted veggie dish is colorful, flavorful, and heavy in the vitamin department (Please step away from that bottle of Flintstone Chewables. Who needs a pill when you can enjoy your vitamins roasted and peppered?).

You can serve your roasted veggies as a filling side dish, as a hearty salad mix-in, or on a toasted hoagie bun with cheese. Bottom line: Cut 'em, Roast 'em, Eat 'em and...Keep it simple :)

Roasted Veggies (for your New Year's Resolution)
(adapted from a recipe given to me by Mike G., my former boss and veggie-loving buddy)

Feel free to mix it up with the veggies. The original recipe calls for brussel sprouts, pears, and beets, which I didn't have on hand tonight. So, I just improvised with the bell pepper and apple. Turned out lovely just the same!

Ingredients:

• 4 sweet potatoes, or 1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 2 bell peppers, sliced
• 1 large onion, sliced
• a drizzle of olive oil
• a drizzle of pure maple syrup
• a sprinkling of dried rosemary
• salt and pepper to taste
• Pecans, toasted and chopped for garnish

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

2) Toss veggies together in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and maple syrup and toss to coat. Sprinkle with rosemary, salt and pepper; toss to coat. Arrange veggies in a single layer on the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, toss veggies, and return to oven to bake for another 15 - 20 minutes, or until thoroughly roasted. Top each serving with toasted pecans.