Healthy Eating

Sunday, January 29, 2012
If you've been reading my blog all month, you'll notice that the recipes have been a little healthier lately.  With the exception of last week's teenager-produced chocolate cake (and how could I not have written about that?), this month's output has consisted of three soups and a vegetarian pot pie. And today I'll be rounding off January with roasted vegetables served on barley.

I hope that January kicks off a year of healthy eating in the Pollock house.  Although we do try to eat well, you wouldn't know it from the cornucopia of dessert recipes I post.  And my promise for 2012 is this: at least as many non-dessert recipes as sweets.

Let me leave you with this delicious and healthy recipe for Balsamic Roasted Vegetables and Barley.  This has everything that a healthy recipe should, including the most important thing: great flavour.  If you eat this, you won't feel like you're giving anything up.



Balsamic Roasted Vegetables and Barley
(adapted from Brick Kitchen)

For the roasted vegetables:
2 – 3  medium zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch thick half moons
1 small red onion, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
1 large red pepper, chopped
8 ounces button mushrooms, halved

For the dressing:
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

For serving:
1 cup pearl barley
3 cups vegetable broth or water
handful of basil leaves, cut into chiffonade
crumbled feta

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine broth and barley in a medium saucepan.  Cook according to package directions.  Drain any excess liquid, if necessary.

Meanwhile, whisk together dressing ingredients in a large bowl.  Add vegetables to bowl and toss to coat.  Using a large slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to a baking sheet, reserving remaining dressing.  Roast for 20 minutes or until tender.

Arrange vegetables and barley on plates and sprinkle with basil.  Serve with remaining dressing and feta.

53 comments:

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

I can tell there is lots of flavor in the tasty dish! Looks delicious to me!

Tasha said...

Yay, I'm so glad you tried and enjoyed another one of my recipes! This one one is a favorite of ours. Hope you are you doing well, Beth!

Beth said...

Tasha, it's great to see you on-line again! I've been making a few of your recipes lately and loving them. Hope everything is well with your family!

Angela said...

That looks really beautiful! I am especially entranced by the mushrooms - wishing I had bought some on my shopping trip yesterday:(

Jemi Fraser said...

Looks yummy! My whole family loves veggies so this is a good one to add to our menu :)

Belinda said...

Love that you are continuing to eat well - always looking for flavorful ways to eat right!

Valerie Gamine said...

I'll miss the bounty of desserts that you write about, but I'm excited to see more 'real' food. :)

Barley, mushrooms, red pepper, feta...this sounds scrumptious!

Natalie Aguirre said...

Thanks for the healthy recipes. I do appreciate them. I'm adding this to the pot pie to try.

Achu's Amma's Kitchen said...

Awesom healthy recipe

Bonnie said...

Each recipe this month has inspired me. I do love seeing your dessert recipes. With just the two of us. I seldom make desserts. I do love cookies though....and ice cream....oh, and cup cakes. Okay, back to vegetable. It looks delicious and simple. The best! Bonnie

Pam said...

Wow - this dish is filled with wonderful flavors and textures. It looks delicious.

Yummy said...

This looks delicious! I've been trying to eat healthier as well.

Anonymous said...

Looks delicious! I eat lots of healthy meals to help balance out the baking. I'm envious of your photo -- I don't put a lot of savory dishes on my blog because they look so much better in person than in a photo.

Carol said...

Looks delicious! Lots of flavor in a nice hearty dish, I'm all for for healthy these days, too!

Joanne said...

I love making a meal out of veggie dishes like this. Often in the summer, our suppers will consist only of fresh veggies and fruits ... So Good!

sally said...

I like a good balance of sweets and healthy dishes, so I'm looking forward to your posts this year. These veggies look fantastic!

Elaine said...

These vegetables must be so delicious with the balsamic vinegar. It may be a healthy dish, but it also looks like a hearty one.

Anonymous said...

Anything tastes good with basalmic- and I really think these veggies would be no exception. Yay for healthy!

Elisabeth said...

Beth-I'm totally drooling over your balsamic roasted vegetables, with those yummy onions, and mushrooms. Love the pairing with barley, and the feta. Yumm!...my kind of healthy dish!

Miriam said...

I am going to LOVE making this one!! Thank you :), Miriam@Meatless Meals For Meat Eaters

Justine L said...

Good for you! I'm struggling to make healthier choices here, too ... mostly our meals are good, but it's what I eat in the evening that negates all of the good choices! (That, and I worry that my readers will dump me if I stop making cupcakes. ;)

Janet Johnson said...

Wow, this looks yummy. And I've been wanting to learn how to roast vegetables. Sadly, I have no clue. Thanks for the recipe!

Joanne said...

Well, you know I always love good healthy food! Especially a big plate of roasted veggies..yum!

grace said...

ooooh, balsamic vinegar. it's amazing what that one little item can do to enhance the simplest of ingredients!

Claudia said...

I do love roasting vegetables - I don't feel as if I am "trying to eat healthy and boring" - I just love them. Even put on wonderful bed of barley I can hear my husband saying, "Where's the beef?"

Kristen said...

Those mushrooms have my mouth watering. What a lovely dressing on top, too. YUM!

Kitchen Riffs said...

Roast veggies and balsamic vinegar is one of the world's best combinations. Really nice assortment of vegetables, and I like the idea of pairing it with the barley. OK, you've been exceptionally good this year - time to cut loose with a big gooey dessert! (Actually, although I enjoy the sweets, I prefer the healthy recipes. I'm weird, I know.) Anyway, nice recipe - thanks.

Charlie N. Holmberg said...

Well jeez, if it has feta on it, of course it's going to be good... ;)

Unknown said...

I love your desserts but I love savory dishes as well, these mushrooms look just delicious and now I'm sorry I didn't pick up any at the market today;-)

Stina said...

*wipes drool from side of mouth* :D

MTeacress said...

Oh my, that looks wonderful. I hope one day my kids will come to enjoy such a dish. I'm especially a fan of feta. :)

Have a good week, Beth!

Rita said...

What a great mélange of goodies; everything in this recipe are ingredients we love. I pinned it and will make it soon.
Rita

Simply Life said...

oh this sounds and looks like it has so many great flavors!

Vicki Bensinger said...

Such a great vegetarian dish. I could be a vegetarian but my husband likes meat so I end up eating it as well. Love this dish and the addition of the barley. Very healthy and light. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

You had me with roasted veggies and balsamic, but you really put me over the edge with the feta. This looks like a great anytime meal.

Mary said...

Wow. As much as I LOVE balsamic, how is it possible that I've never roasted vegetables with it? I just made a note on my meal plan to try it next time. Thanks!

julie said...

That dish sounds wonderful Beth! I love the addition of feta. Knowing me though, i would rationalize that such a wonderful and healthy dish would certainly qualify me for dessert. :)~

Barbara said...

Love that combination, Beth. The balsamic deepens the flavor and adding the healthy barley is perfect. I really have to use barley more often.

Lorraine said...

My family and I have been trying to eat healthier too, that is "trying" with a capital T..lol This dish sounds wonderful with many of my favorites like mushrooms and zucchini, and I bet the balsamic adds a delicious flavor. Thanks for sharing it:)

Chiara "Kika" Assi said...

That looks really yummy. I'm eating very heakthy these days, so this is right down my alley!

Anonymous said...

I have definitely been trying to eat better as well. This recipe looks like the perfect way to mix health and happiness!

Golden Eagle said...

It looks great! :) I love mushrooms.

Neesie said...

Hi Beth,
I hope you will be pleased because yesterday I received the Liebster Blog Award and was so thrilled, but you may wonder why I'm writing to tell you this?
Well hopefully I have good news because guess what? I have to now award 5 blogs that have under 200 followers to promote their blogs. To pass on the love etc.

You've been such an inspiration to me and my blog. So helpful with visiting, commenting and encouraging me that I thought it was a nice way to pay you back a little.

If you could nip over to my blog sometime to receive your award and the details. I hope you don't mind :D

Have a great day and 'Congratulations'

shaz said...

Love the sound of this. It does look yummy, very important criteria for a healthy recipe :)

Katerina said...

This is such a beautiful veg dish Beth! I love it and the balsamic glaze adds a lot to its flavor!

Anna said...

We have the same goal this year - balance out the sweet recipes with the healthy meal ideas! I think all the sweets make people think we eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner so it'll be good to show the other (larger) side of our diets :)

Anonymous said...

I love vegetable and barley soup, and the two sound wonderful cooked this way as well. I haven't tried barley with roasted vegetables.

Judy said...

I've made roasted veggies with a similar marinade. Absolutely delicious.

Anonymous said...

I never think to do anything with roasted veggies after I roast them. I love both the dressing and the addition of barley and feta. Yum!

Anonymous said...

Company's coming and I'm going to try it tonight. It looks yummy and hopefully easy enough for me. I regularly burn the rice AND pot - maybe I'll be luckier with barley!

Amy said...

Roasting vegetables is my favorite way to eat them!

Julie said...

We love, love, love roasted vegetables. Our new stove has a convection oven which makes roasted veggies even better. This recipe looks delicious.

Deanna - Teaspoon of Spice said...

Totally bookmarking this because I love mushrooms and barley and never seem to make them enough - enjoying perusing through your blog :)

Post a Comment