Last night I watched the first episode of “Food Revolution” and it really struck a chord with me. I was teary-eyed during most of the show and actually had to walk away from it for a little while to take a breath. I knew the show was about Jamie Oliver going into a town and helping change their eating habits, but seeing how most American children eat on a daily basis was very difficult to watch. I’m so thankful Jamie is willing to go against the mainstream and help people make a change.
Whether you’ve been reading for a while or it’s your first time here, I want you to know you’re the complete reason I write this blog. I truly want to help you succeed in the kitchen and enable you to feed your family healthy, delicious, homemade meals. Seven years ago, I was a normal “supermarket shopper,” looking for convenience, good taste, and price. I didn’t understand people who only ate organic foods or ground their own wheat, so if you’re just starting out, I really do understand. I understand this can all seem overwhelming and some days you’ll want to throw in the towel, but I assure you that making even small changes can have a huge impact on your health and well being.
As many of you know, I have acookbook coming out this fall. The true motive behind writing the book was to enable more people to cook organic meals their whole family will love. I really don’t care how many books I sell or how many “hits” I get a day on my blog. As long as I’m helping and teaching you to cook healthy meals at home, I’ve succeeded. If you need more guidance or help, please feel free to email me and I’d love to give you more advice or point you to helpful sources so you can continue on your journey to healthy eating.
I’ve had many friends tell me they don’t enjoy eating vegetables and I’ve found one of the most simple ways to add more veggies to your diet is roasting them in the oven. It’s simple and the high heat brings out the sweetness in any vegetable (in fact, many vegetables I don’t enjoy raw or sauteed are fantastic when roasted). I’ve received tons of parsnips in my produce box lately and we all loved them tossed with coconut oil, salt and pepper and roasted until golden brown and crispy.
Roasted Parsnips
Serves 4-6
6 large parsnips, washed, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 tablespoon coconut oil (click hereto read more about this oil)
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper
Preheat oven to 425 degrees and adjust oven rack to middle position. Toss parsnips with coconut oil and season generously with sea salt and pepper. Pour out onto an oiled baking dish in a single layer. Roast for 15 minutes and then stir parsnips. Roast for another 10 minutes until golden brown. Serve immediately.
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i discovered a couple of months ago that i like parsnips a lot!!! i'd never had them and decided to try them. boy was i surprised!!! i LOVE them! in fact, i roasted them in the oven with a chicken in my new (got for Christmas) AllClad roasting pan with the roasting arm. i'll cut them the way you did and do a smaller batch. i'm trying to get my family to try new veggies because i'm tired of the same handful we eat all the time. CAN'T wait for your cookbook to come out!!PS. i have been making lots of baby steps towards fresher, whole cooking. not there yet but on my way! i count myself as a success story of your classes.
Delicious way to prepare them. I love parsnips. They are very hard to find here in Dominican Republic.Thanks to this pictures At least I could imagine their deliciousness!
Yes, roasted parsnips, and rutabagas and cauliflower and broccoli and carrots and asparagus and….. and…. and…..Basically all vegetables can benefit from roasting. And thanks for doing what you do. I really love your blog.
Rebecca T: I'm so proud of the steps you've made! I'll never forget seeing your face at the cooking class when I said I was using fresh ground wheat. You've come a long way!! haha…
Wait a minute…how'd you watch Food Revolution??? Did I miss it??? I thought it came on this Friday.I've been so excited to see this show. (The only cooking show my husband really likes to watch is Jamie's….it's so fun that he'll watch that with me!!)So, what's the deal here…am I in "la la land" (as is often the case) or are you like, Jamie Oliver's neighbor or something (with a special sneak preview)?? he he he.Oh, and your blog is GREAT and so appreciated. Can't wait for the cookbook!! Woo-hoo!
Hey Carli: I wish I had a way to get a sneak peek! It comes on on Sunday evening (at least it did here!) You can watch it on hulu…love that site! Any show you miss you can just watch on your computer! Hope you are doing well!
Another tip for roasting veggies: If you're roasting something else (e.g. chicken, beef), toss the veggies into the roasting pan for the last 30-45 minutes. The vegetables roast *and* flavor the sauce/gravy. If you're basting, you can toss the veggies into the roast at the same time.And remember that many folks will buy parsnips with woody cores. A CSA will deliver them in season and without those cores, but buying them from a grocer is a crapshoot. You may need to core the parsnips to prevent having a horrible, wooden middle. Cutting the parsnips into quarters length-wise makes coring them easy.We're somewhat recent (2 seasons) parsnip converts. So amazingly good…
What is a produce box and where can I get one? I've been hearing bloggers talk about organic produce boxes. Sounds intriguing. I'm guessing you have to be a member of something?-GailP.S. I've never tried parsnips but now I want to give them a whirl!
Gail: I get my produce box through Abundant Harvest; a company in CA. If you check http://www.localharvest.org you can search with your zip code and find out about your local CSA. If that doesn't help, just start asking around and you'll probably be able to find some kind of organic coop. Hope that helps!
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i discovered a couple of months ago that i like parsnips a lot!!! i'd never had them and decided to try them. boy was i surprised!!! i LOVE them! in fact, i roasted them in the oven with a chicken in my new (got for Christmas) AllClad roasting pan with the roasting arm. i'll cut them the way you did and do a smaller batch. i'm trying to get my family to try new veggies because i'm tired of the same handful we eat all the time. CAN'T wait for your cookbook to come out!!PS. i have been making lots of baby steps towards fresher, whole cooking. not there yet but on my way! i count myself as a success story of your classes.
Delicious way to prepare them. I love parsnips. They are very hard to find here in Dominican Republic.Thanks to this pictures At least I could imagine their deliciousness!
Yes, roasted parsnips, and rutabagas and cauliflower and broccoli and carrots and asparagus and….. and…. and…..Basically all vegetables can benefit from roasting. And thanks for doing what you do. I really love your blog.
Rebecca T: I'm so proud of the steps you've made! I'll never forget seeing your face at the cooking class when I said I was using fresh ground wheat. You've come a long way!! haha…
Wait a minute…how'd you watch Food Revolution??? Did I miss it???
I thought it came on this Friday.I've been so excited to see this show. (The only cooking show my husband really likes to watch is Jamie's….it's so fun that he'll watch that with me!!)So, what's the deal here…am I in "la la land" (as is often the case) or are you like, Jamie Oliver's neighbor or something (with a special sneak preview)?? he he he.Oh, and your blog is GREAT and so appreciated. Can't wait for the cookbook!! Woo-hoo!
Hey Carli: I wish I had a way to get a sneak peek!
It comes on on Sunday evening (at least it did here!) You can watch it on hulu…love that site! Any show you miss you can just watch on your computer! Hope you are doing well!
I completely agree that roasting vegetables is a great way to get people to love, or tolerate, veggies. Congrats on the book!
Another tip for roasting veggies: If you're roasting something else (e.g. chicken, beef), toss the veggies into the roasting pan for the last 30-45 minutes. The vegetables roast *and* flavor the sauce/gravy. If you're basting, you can toss the veggies into the roast at the same time.And remember that many folks will buy parsnips with woody cores. A CSA will deliver them in season and without those cores, but buying them from a grocer is a crapshoot. You may need to core the parsnips to prevent having a horrible, wooden middle. Cutting the parsnips into quarters length-wise makes coring them easy.We're somewhat recent (2 seasons) parsnip converts. So amazingly good…
What is a produce box and where can I get one? I've been hearing bloggers talk about organic produce boxes. Sounds intriguing. I'm guessing you have to be a member of something?-GailP.S. I've never tried parsnips but now I want to give them a whirl!
Gail: I get my produce box through Abundant Harvest; a company in CA. If you check http://www.localharvest.org you can search with your zip code and find out about your local CSA. If that doesn't help, just start asking around and you'll probably be able to find some kind of organic coop. Hope that helps!