Roasted Vegetables: Beets, Potatoes and Zucchini

 I know it's really hot outside, but if you can deal with it, you need to make some roasted vegetables. There are many great choices at the farmer's markets right now:  beets, potatoes, zucchini.

 The best part is, that once you make it through the roasting, you'll have plenty leftover for upcoming meals. You can serve these veggies as part of a green salad, as a pizza topping, or just on their own, cold with some salt and pepper.

Roasted Vegetables: Beets, Potatoes and Zucchini

You can cook all the veggies at once, but I prefer to do them individually so that they each keep their own flavor.

Ingredients:

• 4 to 6 zucchini sliced into rounds
• 8 to 10 beets, peeled and cut into chunks
• 10 yukon gold potatoes sliced into rounds
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and place an empty jelly roll pan in to heat up at the same time.
2. Once the oven has preheated, carefully remove the tray from the oven, pour 1/4 cup of the olive oil onto the tray and place the zucchini on top.
3. Turn the zucchini slices over several times to coat in the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until the pieces have browned and softened.
5. Repeat this process with the beets and the potatoes.

Juice Cleanse....Two Great Raw Juice Recipes

I tend to do a cleanse once or twice a year. This is the first time it's a full-on juice cleanse, with no solid foods for 3 days. My friend and I are in this cleanse together. I made it 66 hours total, pretty close to the 72 hours I had committed. I've been keeping myself going on store-bought raw juices, coconut water, herbal tea, and a small amount of probiotics.

When I re-read that last sentence, I realized just how crazy this cleanse may be. Even though I'm an avid meat eater, there is something I love about eliminating everything but raw veggie and fruit juice for a few days. The challenge of making the smoothies taste good enough to satisfy my desire to eat keeps me going.

I make smoothies regularly, but they always have almond or rice milk in them. I'm using coconut water for the cleanse smoothies. As long as there is some avocado mixed in the texture is similar to the ones I usually make. Nice to know that I can eliminate the milk from the smoothie and not miss the flavor, but cut down on the calories.

The way I see it, if I can get in the habit of making one or two smoothies a day that are primarily veggies and good stuff, I can eat all the other stuff I love without worrying about getting all my nutrients in.

I do have to say that so far I feel great and very calm. That might just be because I'm a little crazy from not eating, but I think it has to do with giving my system a rest. Your body uses up a lot of energy trying to digest meats, grains and processed sugars. Eating this way always gives me perspective on how much and how often I eat or snack. It's a kickstart to remembering portion control and being more aware of my eating habits.

Not to worry, the mouthwatering meats, gluten and dairy free treats and all the other wonderful dishes I love to make will be back shortly. I'm sure to have a new appreciation for them!

Raw Beet, Avocado, Basil, Peach, Nectarine, Ginger, Cucumber, Celery Juice

Ingredients

• 1/2 avocado, skin removed, cut into chunks
• 1 small nectarine, pit removed, sliced
• 1 small peach, pit removed, sliced
• 1 beet, skin removed, sliced
• 2 stalks celery, cut into pieces
• 1 small cucumber, sliced
• 4 basil leaves, roughly chopped
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground ginger
• 1 cup coconut water
• Ice cubes

Method:

1. Put all the ingredients in a blender or drink mixer with a good blade.
2. Pulse on high until everything is chopped up.
3. If you want the juice to be thinner, add more coconut or regular water to the mix.

Raw Spinach, Carrot, Beet, Avocado, Peach, Strawberry and Banana Juice

Ingredients

• 1/2 avocado, skin removed, cut into chunks
• 15 to 20 spinach leaves (a small handful)
• 1 beet, skin removed, sliced
• 2 carrots, skin removed, cut into rounds
• 1 small peach, pit removed, sliced
• 1 banana, sliced
• 2 strawberries, hulled, sliced
• lime juice (about 1/4 of a lime)
• 1 cup coconut water
• Ice cubes

Method:

1. Put all the ingredients in a blender or drink mixer with a good blade.
2. Pulse on high until everything is chopped up.
3. If you want the juice to be thinner, add more coconut or regular water to the mix.

Enjoy!

Beet Salad with Oranges

 Gran Fran knows her way around beets. She would make them for us on a regular basis. Her salad involves only some olive oil and vinegar. And, she also cooks her with the skin on, removing it after cooking. Her method involves roasting the beets in the oven individually wrapped in foil (Gran Fran, let me know if I'm wrong here). Skinning the hot beets made me stay away from beet cooking for a good long time. My hands not only turned red from the juice, but also were slightly burned each time I tried to de-skin one of the beets.

My sister Danielle taught me this method, which turns your fingers red immediately, but leaves you with fewer burn marks on your hands. I think I end up with more beets, too. Using a vegetable peeler allows you to remove just the brown skin and preserve more of the good stuff.

I cook the beets in what will become the dressing for the final product, too, which gives you a really flavorful dressing. And, you are able to eat these hot, if you want to, without having to waste any time peeling off the skin.

The addition of oranges and sunflower seeds to this salad make it the perfect Spring-is-Here dish. It's fruity and earthy with just a little bit of crunch.

Featured on The Fruit Guys website.

Beet Salad with Oranges

INGREDIENTS

• 3 beets, skins peeled off, greens removed, cut into eighths.
• 1 small shallot, cut into quarters
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 orange cut into small pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon sunflower seeds
• Salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Place the beet and shallots onto a rimmed baking sheet, or into a baking pan large enough to allow space between the pieces.
3. Mix together the vinegar, oil, salt and pepper and pour the mixture over the beets, making sure to coat all sides of the beets.
4. Roast the beets in the oven for 40 minutes, or until fork tender, turning the beets every ten minutes or so.
5. In a large bowl, mix together the warm beets with the orange segments.