Sweet potato, Courgette, and Large cap mushrooms with fresh garden herbs & potato ramblings
Oven roasted vegetables can take approximately 40 minutes in the oven; here is a speedy twist for the time sapped athlete.
Sweet potatoes are rich in beta carotene amongst other vitamins and minerals. Courgettes well I am not sure how much nutrition these boys provide but they are a low-calorie vegetable choice and large mushrooms; these are the bad boy big guns of taste and helpfully versatile as a carbohydrate substitute for those watching their carbohydrate intake (they make super burger bun options and bread options for breakfast omelettes and smoked salmon lunches.
Sweet potatoes are rich in carotenoids, B6, Vitamin C, Biotin, Copper, manganese, potassium and fibre; see here for more details regarding nutrition (FYI a super vegetable to make home-made potato cakes ala Skratch labs for the bike).
Sweet potatoes have unique strengths over the humble spud; notably beta carotene content, Vitamin C content and fibre content. However don’t ditch the regular potato as these have many health and nutrition benefits notably their rich potassium content and from a carb and calorie perspective there isn’t a whole lot of difference between the two types of potato.
I say vary them up and make sure to use healthy cooking methods. We roast our potatoes often with virgin olive oil and a lot of fresh garden herbs, but bear in mind that this does raise your fat intake. This is not a concern for the active athlete however if calories do matter you may wish to spend your healthy fat allowance elsewhere and choose instead to steam and bake your spud. Roasting tends to please the palate of fussy eaters so try this if you struggle to feed your loved ones plain boiled or baked potatoes.
Click here for a link comparing the two and also click here for a video from Charles Poliquin on this same topic
Here are some photos of various ways to prepare sweet potato for another time, another meal, batman 🙂
Steaming, baking and roasting in different shapes and sizes are all super ways to prepare your sweet potato. Remember that the finer you cut your sweet potato then the quicker it will cook. This is a handy tip for when you are in a hurry!
Mushrooms: Here’s a little more on mushrooms: We use large capped or Portobello mushrooms often in our meals. They taste absolutely delicious fried with fresh herbs and when baked or grilled whole act as a super platform for home-made burgers, meat fillets, or fish. Place them under fish when you foil bake white fish and well I am sure that you will come up with some new ideas. I believe that mushrooms make a tasty dip also. See here for more tips.
And courgettes; here is the low down! I try to buy the yellow ones when I see them as these have carotenoids (antioxidants) in the yellow pigment contained in the skin. Courgettes are a favourite veggie of mine and I often roast them, spiral them, grate them or steam them. They get chucked into bread recipes also to add texture and flavour and are a lovely tasting ingredient in home-made soups such as vegetable (with other veggies) and mushroom (with courgette).
Ingredients for your quick roasted veggies:
This recipe, as all of mine, are S U G G E S T I O N S to get you started making your own tweaks; other fast roasting veggies include fennel, asparagus, red peppers, and I am sure there are more but they elude me; oh cabbage! yes roasted cabbage quarters taste amazing!!
- Sweet potato – thinly sliced
- Large capped or Portobello mushrooms – wiped clean and left whole
- Courgettes – washed and sliced into large angular chunks
- Fresh garden herbs finely chopped – for example thyme, lemon thyme, oregano, rosemary (dried mixed herbs if not available)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt and pepper to serve
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 200-220 ° C.
- Place the veggies on a large stainless steel baking tray.
- Chuck in a good glug of extra virgin olive oil and your chopped herbs and shake through to spread.
- Bake for approximately 15 to 20 minutes or until done to desired levels of roasting.
- Enjoy with meat or fish of choice.
The cooking time of this dish gives you perfect opportunity to foil bake or grill some portions of fish, poultry or steaks.
Happy eating,
Love Andrea
