Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Broccoli with Israeli Couscous

Memorial Day weekend here in Boston seemed to bring with it a barrage of temptations for the vegan in me: burgers, hot dogs, lobster rolls, ice cream....the list goes on. To get back on track this week I whipped up a super quick salad as an easy "work-day" lunch.

Ingredients:

Two sweet potatoes

2 heads of broccoli

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup of Israeli couscous

1 tablespoons of pesto

Preheat oven to 425'. Trim and cut broccoli into small florets. Peel & dice sweet potatoes into one inch cubes. Toss sweet potatoes with half of the olive oil and spread onto a baking sheet (I sprayed mine with a non-stick olive oil spray for good measure). Cook for 10 minutes. Toss broccoli with remaining olive oil and salt, and add to the pan after 10 minutes. Cook for an additional 15 minutes, until sweet potatoes are tender and broccoli is crisp.

Meanwhile, cook Israeli couscous according to package directions. Once tender, mix the couscous with the pesto. Top with the roasted vegetables and voila - a filling, healthy, vegan lunch. This made around four large servings for me.

Sweet Potato Leek Casserole

Yesterday, my first day off the BPC cleanse, was spent eating salads and fruit…until dinner when I splurged a bit. But we won’t talk about that. I woke up feeling good this morning and ready to start cooking some vegan dishes!

This recipe is from the Skinny Bitch cookbook…the casserole does not sound all that appealing to me but the very short ingredient list won me over. I am babysitting for my sister tonight so it is an easy dish to prepare at home in advance and then pop in the oven over at her house.

Sweet Potato Leek Casserole
(Serves 4)

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp grapeseed oil

3 medium leeks

1 garlic clove - crushed

3 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

Salt and petter to taste

2 medium red skinned sweet potatoes - peeled and sliced 1/8inch (3mm) thick

1/2 cup (60g) breadcrumbs

1/3 cup (75ml) vegetable broth

Method

Preheat oven to 200C/400F

Coat a medium casserole dish with the olive oil. Heat a skillet with the grapeseed oil over medium heat. Cut the dark green tops off the leeks and discard. Halve the leeks lengthwise. Make sure to thoroughly wash any dirt residue off the leeks. Chop the leeks and sauté with the garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper until soft. Arrange one-third of the sweet potatoes across the bottom of the casserole dish. It is fine if they overlap and do not fit perfectly in the dish. Spread one half of the leek mixture on top of the sweet potatoes. Then arrange another third of the sweet potatoes across the leeks. Repeat, ending with a layer of potatoes. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top. Pour the vegetable broth over the casserole. Cover and bake 30 minutes.