Simple Goodness of Roasted Squash and Cauliflower

When looking to fix a simple meal that is just as pleasing to the palate as it is nutritious to all of the cells of your body, you might follow this loose set of suggestions for roasting some squash and cauliflower. If you have some broccoli on hand, you can include it along with the cauliflower. Total prep time is somewhere around 25 minutes. One hour later, you'll have on your plate a lovely combination of roasted vegetables that will leave you and your loved ones healthier and fully satiated without feeling bogged down.

On this particular day, I had access to a butternut squash, acorn squash, cauliflower, and a few red onions. Right here in this humble gathering of common plant foods, you have an abundance of carotenoids, vitamin C, and indole-3-carbinol, which happen to be three of the best cancer-fighting nutrients that you can put into your bloodstream to protect your cells against excessive free radicals and exogenous toxins that make it into your body via your GI tract, lungs, and skin.

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Use your best knife to cut your squash in half. Remove their seeds with a spoon, then lay them cut-side up in a baking tray or large casserole dish. Season the exposed sides with your favourite condiments - I added sea salt, freshly-cracked black pepper, and cinnamon on the advice of a friend with ties to South Africa, where I'm told cinnamon and squash go together like raspberries and blackberries. Drizzle a bit of extra-virgin olive oil on top, and that's it for the squash - just put your seasoned tray of goodness into the oven and allow to roast for 50 to 60 minutes. Your squash is ready when you can easily poke through its flesh with a fork.

After putting your squash in the oven, clean and cut your cauliflower, and red onions into appealing portions for serving up to your loved ones and place them in a baking tray or casserole dish.

Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and season with sea salt and black pepper. If you enjoy a refreshing tang to your vegetables, add a splash of fresh lemon juice along with the olive oil. Bake for about 30 minutes or until you see the tops of your cauliflower brown up a bit. You can check for tenderness with a fork. Typically, prepping this tray takes me about 20 minutes, so I put it in the oven beside the squash which has been cooking away and both are ready to eat at around the same time.

Serving is as simple as divvying up portions of food and presenting them like they are $250 dishes as seen on Chef's Table @ Netflix. In our home, we rarely devour roasted vegetables without some creamy avocado slices on the side - avocado adds the feel of a dollop of good butter without the casein for those whose bodies can't make use of dairy protein.

Here's a look at a batch of broccoli, cauliflower, and red onion that I made two days later using the method described above:

And a look at butternut squash made in the same way as described above but in edible chunks, which reduced the cooking time to about 35 to 40 minutes:

I left the skin on, as I was pressed for time on this occasion, but our boys were more than happy to peel and gobble. :)

If you have a favourite simple way of preparing root and cruciferous vegetables, please consider sharing in the comments section below. Many thanks, and happy healthy eating!