One of the many reasons that I love Fall are all of the comforting and warm seasonal foods: sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, apples, squash! With endless combinations of vegetables, my favorite thing to do is roast them all together and add a grain, making a warm bowl of coziness and deliciousness.

This week I am making exactly that: a roasted vegetable and quinoa bowl that is really nutritious, but will melt in your mouth with amazing flavor as well.

One of the things I like about this recipe, is that you don’t have to add every ingredient, and you can also add your own. If you don’t like fennel, swap it out for sweet potatoes, or if you don’t like quinoa, use a whole grain orzo or other pasta instead!

Before you start making the dish, there is a lot of prep required. You have to wash and chop each of the vegetables, which took me about thirty minutes. At least you’ll get to work on your knife skills, (which I desperately need) so try to make all the pieces of one vegetable the same size. For the brussels sprouts, unless they are really big, you do not need to chop them.

One of my favorite vegetables in this recipe is the squash. I used yellow squash, but you can use whatever kind you like; they all have the same health benefits.

To chop them, cut the squash in half and then into thick half moons. Squash is high fiber, potassium, and extremely low in fat and cholesterol, which helps prevent heart disease. Also, the rich number of nutrients in the squash helps to prevent cancer, keep your skin clear, and relieve stress.

Similar to the squash, carrots also keep your skin glowing and protect you against cancer. However, they have their own special characteristics like improving vision and keeping your teeth and gums healthy.

Another really delicious vegetable in this recipe are brussels sprouts. These little green kings have hardly any cholesterol, but are chock full in antioxidants and vitamins. Also, brussels sprouts are high in Vitamin K, which helps keep your bones, body tissues and organs healthy.

Fennel is the final ingredient in our vegetable and quinoa bowl. Raw, fennel tastes very strongly, like licorice, but roasted, it tastes sweet, with a little kick of licorice at the end. Fennel looks like a flower bulb and should be cut into wedges after the top and bottom are chopped off.

Fennel protects against heart disease and cancer, but it also helps to prevent indigestion, can lower your blood pressure, and increase your brain function.

In this recipe, high calorie pasta is replaced with heart healthy and hardy quinoa. It is climbing the ranks in super food popularity because it is filled with protein, fiber, minerals, and is gluten free! Also, quinoa seems to have all of the minerals that most foods are not high in, including magnesium, potassium, and zinc.

In addition, quinoa can speed up your metabolism and is also loaded with antioxidants.

Besides the prep, this recipe was pretty easy to make—just be careful when cutting and remember to try to make the pieces of vegetables the same size. After the meal cools, you can put it in the fridge and store it for up to a week. I hope that this bowl gives you a cozy taste of Fall…Enjoy!

Roasted Vegetable and Quinoa Bowl:

Ingredients: For the roasted vegetables

-1 medium fennel bulb

-1 small yellow onion

-4 carrots

-2 small yellow squash

-1/2 pound of brussels sprouts

-3 tablespoons of olive oil

-3/4 teaspoon of sea salt

-freshly ground pepper

-2 teaspoons of Italian herb blend—you can use whatever spice you want (I used truffle salt)

Ingredients: For the Quinoa

-1 cup of quinoa

-1 3/4 cup of vegetable broth

-a few big handfuls of kale

-2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar

-2 tablespoons of olive oil

-1/3 cup of pine nuts

-1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚.
2. Wash and slice all of your vegetables and divide them into two baking trays. Drizzle olive oil, salt, and pepper over the vegetables and toss well to coat.
3. Bake for 20 minutes, turn the heat up to 425˚ and bake for twenty minutes more, until the edges of the vegetables are browned and crisp.
4. While the vegetables are roasting, put the quinoa and broth in a pot; bring it to a gentle boil and lower the heat down to simmer. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
5. Turn of the heat, fluff the quinoa with a fork, and add a few handfuls of kale to the pot, leaving the lid just ajar so the kale becomes tender.

Once the quinoa is room temperature, drizzle in the olive oil and red wine vinegar, and add a pinch of salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl, mix with the vegetables, and top with feta cheese and pine nuts.