Easy Roasted Fall Vegetables (AIP, Paleo)
Fall is finally here! Take that season shamers. I can officially talk about fall without you verbally abusing me. Fall is my favorite season, and October is my favorite month! Really, it’s more than just my favorite month… it’s my favorite everything. I love the weather, I love the attire, I love the food. Yes, I am one of those people. As a foodie and a veggie lover, I love fresh seasonal fall veggies like brussels sprouts, butternut squash, and the lovely purple sweet potato!
In the food blog and cookbook world, it’s easy to fall int the trap of wanting to find super composed recipes for complete dishes… which are great. However, not every night can be a cookbook night. Sometimes you just need protein + veggies + fat. That’s why I love making simple, roasted veggies like this dish! It’s easy, delicious, and super nutrient dense.
Veggies Should be the Base of Your Diet
Regardless of what paleo and autoimmune paleo seems like, meat should not the base of your diet. Rather, it should really be vegetables, and balanced with healthy proteins and fats. Vegetables are full of phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals necessary for maintaining your health.
Our paleo ancestors ate meat, yes. However, they also ate tons of vegetables. Meat is what people seem to dwell on, but it should not be the base of your diet.
How Many Servings of Vegetables Should You Eat a Day?
Serving sizes vary and are often argued, but according to one of my favorite protocol, the Wahl’s Protocol, you should aim for at least 9 cups of vegetables a day.
Dr. Terry Wahl’s who healed her MS through eating mounds of veggies recommends 3 cups of sulfur rich (brussels, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.), 3 cups of leafy greens, and 3 cups of colorful veggies (purple cabbage, beets, etc.). Mainly, I think it’s important to focus on getting as much greens as you can rather than just leaning on the starchier veggies.
Benefits of Eating Vegetables As the Base of Your Diet
Veggies being the base of your diet shocks a lot of people… however, when I start to help people transition to eating more veggies, the benefits are amazing!
- More energy
- Better nutrient status and absorption
- More mental clarity and lessened brain fog
- Better digestion
- More regular bowel movements
- Less cravings
So really… eat your veggies.
How To Make Easy, Delicious Veggies
You may hear 9 cups of veggies and freak out… I know I would’ve a few years ago. But it’s about seeing the goal and working towards it… not transitioning over night.
Salads are the obvious way to get more vegetables into your diet, and I’m sorry… but, yawn. They’re not always the most exciting. We need something different every now and then.
That’s why I love roasting vegetables to make them fast, easy and delicious! For roasting vegetables, all you need is the following…
- A vegetable of your choice
- A healthy cooking fat of your choice
- Salt, and herbs to taste
It really doesn’t have to be complicated! It can be anything you want it to be, and is incredibly versatile and delicious.
That’s why I love this current combination that I’ve been making every week. It’s fast, easy, and helps me get tons of servings of vegetables at multiple meals.
Butternut squash is the perfect balance of sweet, brussels sprouts are amazing roasted and halved, and purple sweet potatoes are literally my favorite variety of sweet potato. The texture of purple sweet potato is completely different from orange! They’re more dense and crisp up amazingly! And paired with flavorful herbs like sage and rosemary, this veggie side dish is an easy fall favorite.
PrintEasy Roasted Fall Vegetables (AIP, Paleo)
Ingredients
- – 1 lb brussels sprouts, halved
- – 1 medium butternut squash, cubed
- – 1 medium purple sweet potato, peeled and cubed
- – 1 tbsp ghee (or coconut oil for strict AIP)
- – 1/2 tsp sea salt
- – 1 tsp sage
- – 2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
- 2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the veggies on the sheet. Add the melted cooking fat onto the veggies along with the herbs and salt and mix to combine.
- 3. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until veggies have softened and crisped.
- 4. Remove from the oven and serve along with chicken, beef, pork, or even fish!
More Seasonal Fall Vegetables
Fall veggies thrill me. It’s super important to try to eat as seasonally as possible as it’s the true natural and paleo way to do it. I’m a member of a CSA (community supported agriculture) that delivers fresh, organic veggies weekly and I am dying over fall. So what’s in season?
- Squashes
- Radishes
- Brussels
- Pears
- Apples
- Cauliflower
- etc!
There’s so much nutrient rich goodness out there… go enjoy it!