Roasted Vegetable Medley: It BEETS All the Rest!

There are lots of us that eat our veggies out there, like salads, carrots, zucchini and steamed broccoli (thank goodness most restaurants now provide this as a side choice!) but there are also a lot of wonderful veggies that get skipped over.  These are some of the more 'robust' vegetables and maybe not our first or most easiest cooking options.  One of these is beets.  Beets have so many healthy benefits, but are rarely served nor a usual staple to accompany dishes.  And let's face it, they look like a gross root in the grocery store.  But they're so good for us!

The benefits of beets can include lowering blood pressure, can increase stamina (by 16%), decreases inflammation, has powerful phytonutrients and anti-cancer properties, are rich in Vitamin C, fiber, potassium, manganese and Vitamin B folate (helpful against birth defects), and they purify your blood and liver.

When I first started exploring beets, I found that the most popular recipes included goat cheese.  In all fairness, I did try one of these and not only did the dish look like a bloody mess (I'm not using a British expression when I say bloody) goat cheese is just not my thing and I ultimately never made it again.  But I wasn't going to give up on beets.  

I found out that simply spicing them and roasting them made them absolutely delicious, and actually rather sweet, like carrots.  And I found that I loved roasting beets and carrots together.  With a few more experiments I came up with all the following to use in various combinations to make assorted medleys:

Beets, carrots, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, *mushrooms & zucchini and sweet potatoes.

The following beet recipe includes the first three from the list that I made on this particular day, but with the exception of *mushrooms and zucchini, you will follow this the same way.

Vegan, Vegetarian, Dairy Free, GF - for 1 serving

Calories-135 | Total Fat-7g | Trans Fats-0g | Saturated Fats-1g | Polyunsaturated Fats-1g | Monounsaturated Fats-5g | 
Protein-3.75g | Carbohydrates-14g | Fiber-5g | Sodium-90mg

Ingredients - makes 4 servings:

*3 beets, greens removed, ends removed, peeled and chopped (large)

8-10 Brussels Sprouts

1/2 head of cauliflower (cut into bite sized 'trees')

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Place beets in one bowl and other veggies in a separate bowl (beets will 'bleed' their deep red color over everything when raw, so keep them separated until after they cook.)
3. Pour 1 tbsp.extra virgin olive oil into each bowl
4. Cover the bowls with Saran wrap and shake vigorously (keeping veggies enclosed in the bowl) to coat each piece with the oil 
5. Lay out veggies on a baking sheet and season with sea salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.

6. Roast in oven for approximately 30-45 minutes.  
7. Remove from oven, let cool for about 5 minutes, and transfer to a serving bowl, mix veggies all together and serve...Enjoy!

*Tips: 

1. If you choose to add mushrooms or zucchini to your medley, note that these do not have to roast as long as the more hardier veggies in the above recipe, or carrots and sweet potatoes; therefore add those in for the last 15 minutes of your roasting time.
2. Beets 'bleed' a lot of pink to red coloring and it's easy for it to get all over everything.  I
   
   recommend wearing an apron and using plastic gloves.  If you don't have plastic kitchen gloves, you can also drape a piece of Saran wrap over the vegetable while you peel and chop it.  If you do have some red on your fingers, simply wash thoroughly with warm water, soap and a light loofah or scouring pad.  If you get any on your kitchen surfaces, wipe immediately with a damp disposable cloth, wipes or paper towel.  If it gets on your surfaces and sets, usually a kitchen cleaner with bleach will lift the stain.
3. I personally thoroughly clean Brussels Sprouts, cut their ends and peel the top layers off the buds, and then clean thoroughly again.  I do this to make certain all 'exposed' layers to dirt have been removed.