Oven Roasted Vegetables
Oven Roasted Vegetables
Oven roasted bell pepper, carrots, zucchini, mushrooms
Why are oven roasted vegetables so tasty?
I have for sure met my fair share of picky vegetable refusing patients in my ten years of being a bariatric dietitian. Many would attribute their pickiness to struggling with staying on a healthy diet. They expect me to be frustrated but the truth is no one is more frustrated than they are!
When a patient is really not feeling vegetables, I ask them if they have tried oven roasted vegetables (or grilled).
If they have had roasted vegetables it is SO common that they change their tune and say “oh, okay, yes, I do like it when they are roasted.” It may still depend on which vegetable but we have at least found a method of cooking they can focus on.
Roasted vegetables have such a great texture and they bring out the best flavors of the vegetable. Most of the time the picky eater is more appalled by the mushy texture which takes away any desire to find some flavor.
So versatile – pick your veggie, pick your seasoning
Once you start trying roasted vegetables at home (assuming you haven’t already) you can easily get the rhythm down so you are roasting different vegetables with different seasonings to keep them exciting.
My favorite seasoning is Montreal Steak Seasoning (made by McCormicks). I keep a Costco sized tub in my pantry! Asparagus in particular is wonderful roasted with their seasoning.
For this recipe I toss several options with light Italian dressing a little bit of parmesan cheese. The cooking time was longer than if I had been roasting thin asparagus; primarily because of the density of the carrots.
What to do with leftovers
If you’re a bariatric patient not cooking for more than one or two, this recipe will make a lot of vegetables for you. While I do think they re-heat well, you may still get tired of them before you’ve made it through the batch. What are some options?
1 – cut the recipe in half or roast a couple of the veggies listed instead of all four
2- freeze half of the vegetables and same them for a winter time soup. This recipe in particular added to chicken breast, broth and some seasonings would be worth trying!
This is a recipe where I used leftover grilled vegetables that I had frozen:
*Disclaimer: the recipe above is locked for members to the site. You can also find this recipe in my eBook “Instant Pot eBook for Weight Loss Surgery Patients.”
Oven Roasted Vegetables
Ingredients
- 1 pint whole mushrooms
- 1.5 cups baby carrots
- 1 yellow bell pepper cut into 8 strips
- 1 medium zucchini cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1/4 cup Light Italian Dressing
- 2 tbsp reduced fat grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat oven to 450.
- Prepare vegetables. Toss with Italian dressing and spread out onto large baking sheet. Sprinkle grated cheese over the top.
- Roast for 30 minutes; toss halfway through. Remove from oven and let sit until cool enough to scoop into serving dish.