If you are at all familiar with Michael Pollan, author of Omnivore’s Dilemma, you’ve likely heard his mantra, “Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” It is a shockingly simple prescription for health, and its efficacy can be assumed by applying the proof of contradiction principle or inverting the mantra: If one eats a diet of processed food products, a tremendous amount of them, and little produce, the health picture looks grim.

 

It seems unlikely that someone who regularly extols the virtues of beef ribs, sausages, and a perfectly medium-rare steak would adhere to this maxim, but I am a firm believer that 1 or 2 mostly veggie dinners each week stabilizes weight – or, at least, prevents it from reaching gargantuan proportions. Veggie dinners make me feel, in mind if not in body, more healthful, and they are so agreeably easy and quick to make on a frantic weeknight.

 

Below are a couple of my favorite combinations and preparations for a ‘mostly veggie dinner:’

 

Click here for a printed version of both recipes

Roasted Asparagus with Prosciutto, Serves 2

Note: The ingredients can easily be doubled to accommodate larger quantities. Cooking times will remain the same.

 

 

Ingredients:

1 Bunch Asparagus

2 Tbls. Olive Oil

1/2 Tsp. Kosher Salt

1/2 Tsp. Pepper

3 Tbls. Grated Parmesan

2 Tbls. Good Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

1/4 Lb. Best Quality Prosciutto

 

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 400°.

 

Prepare your asparagus by breaking the end off of one spear; line this spear up with the rest of the bunch, and cut the ends of the remaining spears off at the same breaking point. Place the asparagus on a cookie or baking sheet covered in tin foil; douse the asparagus with the 2 Tbls. Olive Oil (it needn’t be expensive, as any delicate flavor would be destroyed by the intense heat). Sprinkle the salt and pepper, and grate the parmesan over the asparagus.

 

 

Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes. The ends should have a good crackle to them, the parmesan melted and slightly toasted over the asparagus, and it should smell wonderful. Like a caterpillar to a butterfly, roasting vegetables always seems to turn them into something entirely distinct – and far superior – to the fresh version.

 

Plate the asparagus, and add a few slices of prosciutto on the side. A nice piece of crusty bread would complete this meal, or simply devour as is.

 

 

Roasted Cinnamon Carrots with Greek Yogurt, Serves 2

Ingredients:

 

3 Carrots, chopped into ½ inch pieces

3 Tbls. Butter

2 Tsp. Cinnamon

1 Tbls. Raw Sugar

Salt

Pepper

8 oz. Good Greek Yogurt

 

Preparation:

 

Preheat the oven to 400º.

 

Put the chopped carrots onto a baking pan lined with tin foil (for easy cleaning), dot with the butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar, salt, and pepper. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes.

 

 

Plate and serve with greek yogurt. Serve with a fruity bread (cinnamon raisin, cranberry, etc. would be delicious) to round out the meal.

 

Note: I’ve always preferred imported prosciutto to domestic; it’s a bit more expensive (though you rarely eat a lot of it), and it tastes more authentic and has a greater depth of flavor, whereas I’ve always found domestic prosciutto to be rather salty-tasting.