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Salt And Pepper Roasted Green Beans

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These salt and pepper roasted green beans are a deliciously simple way to improve your digestion…

salt and pepper roasted green beans

Sea salt is awesome. I don’t think it’s on the official superfoods list, but it should be. Did you know that if you don’t have enough salt, your body gets dehydrated? And if you are getting the right amount of salt, then your energy levels will improve. So, try these salt and pepper roasted green beans… they are a quick, delicious fix!

I’ve learned to put a big pinch of sea salt into my water in the morning. I’ve been doing this for years and now I’m seeing that this salted water is becoming an “in” thing. Maybe that’s because sea salt contains some really great minerals (think magnesium, calcium, potassium, zinc, iron, and iodine).

Now, don’t start telling people that I said salt is awesome. I said SEA salt is awesome. Don’t go buying what passes for salt in the supermarket. “Table” salt is not sea salt. Buy real sea salt!

My favorite type of sea salt is pink Himalayan salt. I know, as I’m typing this, I’m thinking to myself that all this talk of salt is probably boring you to tears. But, it’s so important, so I’m just going to continue on… Himalayan sea salt is good for your bones, sleep, libido, muscles, and heart. Really. Ok, my rant is done.

Now, on to this recipe for salt and pepper roasted green beans. It’s so simple. It’s the perfect side dish. In my house we eat these beans with everything. For awhile I was making my recipe for Sesame Green Beans. A lot.  But sometimes Asian tastes don’t go well with what I’m serving, so enter these simple roasted green beans that are just so good and have so much flavor — and it’s all from salt and pepper.

Try these beans and you’ll be hooked like I am!

salt and pepper roasted green beans

These salt and pepper roasted green beans have so few ingredients but they are so good for you:

Green beans have a lot of fiber, vitamin A, vitamin B, and iron. Eating green beans can help rid the body of toxins and can help regulate metabolism. They also can help relieve that feeling of excessive fullness in your stomach and excessive belching. In Chinese medicine, green beans are eaten to clear up chronic diarrhea and even for some lower back pain.

Sea salt, as discussed above, contains magnesium, calcium, potassium, zinc, iron, and iodine — all minerals that are necessary for a healthy body. Himalayan sea salt is good for your bones, sleep, libido, muscles, and heart.

Black pepper is a Chinese herb (Hu Jiao). It’s used to control vomiting and diarrhea and is good for some stomach pains. This common herb also can help the body more easily absorb nutrients, and it is sometimes prescribed to lessen the symptoms of respiratory ailments.

salt and pepper roasted green beans

Salt And Pepper Roasted Green Beans
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Recipe type: vegetables, roasting, beans, green beans
Cuisine: paleo, vegan, vegetarian, whole30
Author:
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
This is the easiest, most delicious, and healthiest side dish ever! Just try it and you'll be hooked!
Ingredients
  • 1 lb.fresh green beans, trimmed
  • 2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
  • kosher-style sea salt and black pepper to taste (use a generous amount)
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 400°F convection setting, or 425° regular bake setting.
  2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
  3. Spread the beans onto the sheet. Don't pile them up; spread them out.
  4. Drizzle the oil on top of the beans.
  5. Sprinkle a generous amount of sea salt and fresh ground pepper onto the beans. Mix them up with your hands or tongs.
  6. Roast in the oven 20 minutes, or until the edges start to brown and the beans are crisp-tender.
  7. Enjoy!

salt and pepper roasted green beans

Pomegranate Glazed Beets

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These pomegranate glazed beets will make a beet lover out of anyone!

pomegranate beets (vertical on paper)-3736

Every morning Steve and I take our dogs (Maggie and Sadie) to Central Park for a walk. It’s really an amazing thing to do. Before 9:00am all dogs are allowed off-leash in the park. It’s like a sci-fi movie — it’s the dogs’ world and we just live in it. Literally hundreds of dogs are running around playing and sniffing and all of them get along. It’s really quite incredible and awe-inspiring. It’s an hour of pure wonder.

Today, my plan was to go to the gym as soon as I left the park. But, it was one of those mornings… so, here I am still in my kitchen. In my gym clothes. I mean, it’s just sooooooooo hot outside and it’s so cool in here…

And, it may not be logical, but I really wanted to make beets. I know, it doesn’t have anything to do with the park or my lack of exercise, but I really wanted beets.

This recipe for pomegranate glazed beets is delicious! And it’s really, really, easy. And the color is awesome.

The next time, I want beets, I’m going to substitute them for the sweet potatoes in my recipe for Sweet Potato Spaghetti Marinara.

pomegranate beets (horizontal bowl)-3720

Here are a few great reasons to make this recipe:

Beets are SO good for you. I try to find ways to fit them into my meals as much as possible. Really… many times a week. Beets nourish blood and tonify the heart. Athletes are starting to drink beet juice as a form of endurance therapy. They are anti-carcinogenic, good for anemia, and relieve constipation. I also think it’s a great idea to eat them raw sometimes because their amazing goodness is even more pumped up this way.

Pomegranate seeds nourish the blood. In Chinese medicine, we know that many illnesses and conditions are caused by the body making poor quality blood. Pomegranates and their seeds are great at helping the body make good quality blood. They are also good to combat diarrhea, anemia and incontinence. These beets are glazed with pomegranate molasses… if you are going to go sweet, go pomegranate!

pomegranate glazed beets

Pomegranate Glazed Beets
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Recipe type: vegetables, root vegetables, side dish
Cuisine: American
Author:
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
These beets are so easy. They are sweet and tart and simply delicious. This has become my favorite side dish!
Ingredients
  • 4 medium/large red beets, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
  • sea salt and black pepper
  • 2 Tbs pomegranate molasses
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
  2. Toss the beets with the oil.
  3. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Now toss them with the molasses.
  5. Spread the glazed beets out on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, making sure they are not touching each other.
  6. Bake until tender, about 50 minutes.
  7. Enoy!

pomegranate glazed beets

Slow Roasted Salmon With Smoked Salmon Rollups

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Salmon helps fight illnesses… and this slow roasted salmon with smoked salmon rollups is a double dose of salmon!

slow roasted salmon with smoked salmon rollups

This is truly a simple recipe. It only looks a little fancy because when I was done with my go-to simple slow roasted salmon, I rolled up some smoked salmon and put it on top. One of my favorite sushi rolls at our local Japanese restaurant is a fresh salmon roll with smoked salmon inside. So, when I opened my fridge and I saw a package of smoked salmon, the lightbulb went on over my head…. hmmmm….. this has got to be good…. And, it really is!

My son just graduated from college and is back in New York with us, which makes me very happy. Ever since he was a child, I have made sure to always have a package of smoked salmon in the fridge for him. It’s no different now, even though he’s all grown up. So, we ate his lox and it was awesome paired with this juicy slow-roasted salmon. Now, slow roasted salmon with smoked salmon rollups will be a staple in my kitchen, even if it does mean there may not be any left for him…

Even if you don’t want to use the smoked salmon, trust me when I tell you that the method in this recipe is the way you should always cook your salmon. It keeps the fish moist and flavorful; you can’t get it better in any restaurant. Trust me on this…

Unless, of course you use my other favorite salmon recipe: Roasted Salmon Sheet Pan Dinner.

slow roasted salmon with smoked salmon rollups
slow roasted salmon with smoked salmon rollups

Here are some of the ways this recipe can heal you:

Salmon is the perfect food to nourish the blood and the yin. It’s especially great for women because it raises fertility levels by promoting a healthy endometrial lining. Salmon is also great for anyone who is in need of additional iron. Be sure to buy wild salmon because the levels of mercury are lower than in farmed salmon. This beautiful fish also contains large amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, making it a good food source to combat breast cancer, Alzheimer’s, asthma, depression and diabetes. Lately there’s also been a lot of evidence that salmon is great at reducing intestinal inflammation and that it’s also good for your joints and muscles.

Dill is considered a chemoprotective herb that can help neutralize some carcinogens and it’s also an antibacterial herb.

Lemons are good for your digestion, they help detoxify your body, they balance your pH, and they act as an antibacterial. They also can soothe a sore throat, lessen a cough, and hydrate the body.

slow roasted salmon with smoked salmon rollups

Slow Roasted Salmon With Smoked Salmon Rollups
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Recipe type: seafood, easy, roasting
Cuisine: seafood, fish, salmon, American
Author:
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
This salmon is slow-roasted with lemon and dill and then topped with smoked salmon slices -- two delicious salmons in one dish... so easy... so delicious.... so healthy.
Ingredients
  • 1 lb salmon fillet
  • sea salt and black pepper
  • 1 cup fresh dill (use the whole fronds; no need to chop)
  • 1 lemon, sliced
  • 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 oz smoked salmon, thinly sliced and rolled up
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 200°F.
  2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the fish, skin-side-down, on the paper.
  3. Season the fish with salt and pepper.
  4. Arrange the lemon slices and dill on top of the salmon.
  5. Drizzle the oil on top.
  6. Roast until the salmon is still a bit rare in the center, about 30 minutes.
  7. Cut the fish into serving portions and top with the smoked salmon rollups.
  8. Enjoy!

slow roasted salmon with smoked salmon rollups