Roasted Carrots and Sweet Potatoes

We're continuing our healthy eating theme. Plus, orange is a fantastic color and the combination of carrots and sweet potatoes together in bright goodness makes me want to eat them even more.

I've discussed previously my love of sweet potatoes and how I should just eat them plain at Thanksgiving because they taste delicious on their own. I was considering trying to make home fries with my remaining sweet potato but alas, an experiment for another day.

This ended up being a snack rather than a side but you could do either. I think the veggies would also be great as a salad topper. You chop two carrots and one sweet potato (more if you're more than one person) into bite sized pieces. While the oven is preheating, the vegetables are tossed with a little bit of corn oil, honey, cumin, and pepper. I mixed the marinade in a separate bowl before pouring over the veggies and doing some shake 'n bake action.

You can roast these spread out on a baking sheet or in a Pyrex dish, whichever you prefer. But make sure they aren't in a giant pile. These cook in about 20  minutes but keep an eye on them, they're done when you pierce them easily with a fork. The carrots will take a little longer than the sweet potatoes so try to test on the carrots. Mine came out a little under-cooked but I didn't mind so it's really up to you!

These are best when warm but I also enjoyed them cold. So again, with your preference. So far so good on this whole non-baked goods front but my birthday is coming up so there will, of course, be cupcakes in my future!

Recipe

• 2 large carrots
• 1 medium sweet potato
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil (or olive or corn)
• Sprinkling of pepper
• Sprinkling of cumin

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Set aside your baking dish or Pyrex, whichever you are using.
2. Peel and chop the carrots and sweet potato into bite-sized pieces. Place in a mixing bowl.
3. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients to make the marinade.
4. Pour the mixture over the vegetables. Toss to coat. I used a mixing bowl with a lid so I could really shake this up but gentle stirring works too.
5. Pour the coated vegetables into the baking dish, spreading out so they aren't on top of each other.
6. Roast the vegetables for about 20 minutes. If the carrots aren't soft yet, continue to bake.
7. Remove from the oven when the veggies are easily pierced with a fork.
8. Enjoy warm or serve cold. Great as a snack or as a side!