Roasted Root Vegetables (2 WW Points)

12 servings

We visited our dear friends in Chicago this past weekend. As tends to happen when visiting a city like Chicago, we ate a ridiculous amount of ridiculously fabulous food. I came home feeling like all I wanted to eat for the next week was veggies. Obviously, that hasn't happened, but I have had an unprecedented ability to resist the holiday treats.

The one healthy thing we ate while in Chicago were roasted root vegetables, prepared by our hosts, as a side to a wonderful beef stew dinner. (If I ever make this, I'll make sure to post. You won't want to miss it!) I decided to make up a giant pan of these tonight, to have for meals at work this week. I also thought it would be nice to share with our next door neighbor who loves veggies even more than I do and is always cooking for us. You could use any veggies you want, and any quantity. This is just what I bought, and how much I ended up with when I chopped them all up.

Ingredients

24 cloves garlic cloves (peeled, whole)
5 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 cups carrots, peeled and chopped
3 cups raw parsnips, peeled and chopped
4 cups rutabagas, peeled and chopped
4 cups turnips, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp olive oil

Chop everything up, toss with olive oil.



Bake at 350 for and hour and a half or so, until veggies are tender.



Let me just say, YUM. A tasty fall side dish, or a nice light meal.

To be perfectly honest, before preparing this dish, I had never in my life purchased turnips, parsnips, or rutabagas. I had absolutely no clue how to prepare them, so I did a little research. In case you are like me, and somewhat clueless when it comes to the less common root vegetables, I will pass on my newfound wealth of knowledge. Rutabagas need to be peeled prior to cooking. Young turnips can be washed and trimmed, and not peeled. If they are more mature, peel. Parnsips, if small, can also just be trimmed. Medium and large ones should be peeled. This is also true for carrots - and I know with carrots so perhaps with other veggies, if you can avoid peeling you retain a lot more nutrients. Just give them a little scrub.