Brought to you by the letter "F"

A few of my favorite F words... 

Fall, Food, Friends! 

Dressed for dinner at Carnivale (I'm in the middle).

I am lucky enough to have a great group of friends in Chicago who are big foodies! We are always discovering great restaurants around town. If you're ever in the city, we all agreed Carnivale was incredible, even for dietary restrictions, the vegetarian dishes were out of this world! Megan, a friend and fellow food blogger (domesticdivamd.com) said her steak was literally the best she had ever eaten. And it truly looks like a carnival inside, bright colors, huge glass lighting fixtures, and a knowledgeable, attentive waitstaff.  Do not wait. Make a reservation now. Try the guac. 

Dinner at Carnivale... Braised short rib, cheese polenta, carrots and candied pepitas.

Last night, we were all able to get together to celebrate my favorite F words... fall, food and friends. We had a potluck! But...potlucks are always challenging when you are trying to eat healthy.

In my friend Ashley's words, "I am bringing a pumpkin roll, hope that's not too many carbs for you, I personally don't think there is such a thing." 

And there were carbs and pumpkin galore. It was Fall themed after all! Eight busy doctors, who all love their food, make for a potluck combination of pies, cookies, cakes, breads (all of which were pumpkin and delicious!)...and a veggie tray.  We rarely have time to get together, let alone cook.

My potluck plate! 

Getting the food ready

Don't fear! I have the perfect set it and forget it veggie recipe for your next potluck (or any meal). There is nothing undercover about these carrots though. The best part of this recipe is letting the veggies speak for themselves! And a secret finishing ingredient that makes these the best roasted veggies you've ever tasted!

Roasted Fall Veggies

Recipe adapted from Health magazine

Hands on time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 

What you need:

• 1 lb each: carrots and parsnips peeled
• 1 red onion cut into wedges
• 1 bunch of beets peeled and cut into wedges
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1 head of cauliflower (changes your life) cut into florets
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive Oil
• One half of a fresh orange --- SECRET INGREDIENT! DON'T LEAVE IT OUT! 
• Sprigs of fresh rosemary (I brought mine home from Michigan, my boyfriend's mom grows it and I've used it in every meal this week!)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Peel all your veggies and slice them up. Put them into a large bowl with about 3 Tbs of Olive Oil, a few good twists of your pepper mill and about one tsp of salt. Toss everything together. Spread your veggies out onto two cookie sheets. Mine were pretty crowded but you want one layer of veggies with as much space in between as possible. Place the garlic cloves throughout the trays and top with your sprigs of rosemary. Put the trays in the oven for 30 minutes.

During this 30 minute break -- I took a nap. I was up before the sun to get some gym time in! Good Morning America on the treadmill during a rainy morning. A pretty nice way to start the day.

After 30 minutes, flip the veggies over and put them back in for another 20 minutes. This time, I folded my laundry. Multitasking at it's finest!

The most important step: Take the veggies out of the oven when they are tender but have a nice brown to the edges... Juice half an orange over both trays! 

The secret to juicing is holding the orange with the flesh side UP (not down, it's counter intuitive). That way no seeds get lost in your food.

What you get:

An easy, delicious, no carb potluck dish! PACKED with vitamins! A few we haven't talked about yet...Beets contain a compound that may help to lower Homocysteine in your blood. Homocysteine promotes clotting and plaque build up in arteries. Heart healthy (and we've got garlic in this recipe, SUPER heart healthy)! Beets also have lots of vitamin C, vitamin B and folate. Carrots, everyone knows, are good for eyesight. This is because the beta carotene is broken down into a vitamin A derivative, retinal, that is used in your...yup retina! Parsnips, in my opinion, are an undervalued vegetable. They have a rooty, hearty flavor, all the health benefits of vitamin C and B, and they are a great source of fiber. Eat up!

The whole group at our fall potluck!