How-to 4: Make lower fat roasted vegetables

Delicious roast veg... yummy!

After doing some calculations about our diet, me and my husband realised that if we were getting enough good oils in our diet from foods such as avocado, nuts and seeds (which we have been working on) then the quantity of oil we cook with must be an absolute minimum so as not to amount to too much fat and/ or calories. Deep frying and even shallow frying is now totally out, and roasting has to be done with as little oil as we can manage. Not wishing to waste money on spray oils, which are not usually, in my experience, very good quality oil and also relatively expensive, we decided simply to use a pastry brush to control the amount of oil used.  Another tip is top roast quite watery veg such as courgettes or peppers, as the juices will help to roast them. Add some whole tomatoes and a sprig of fresh rosemary or thyme and you have a truly gourmet experience! I reckon that by roasting veg like this, I have halved the amount of oil I used to add to roast veggies, so if you're interested in doing the same, read on:

1: Chop your veg (I used courgettes here) a little bigger than usual- this gives a smaller surface area to volume and decreases the proportion of the veg you brush with oil.

2: Using just about a tab of good oil that has a high smoke point, use a pastry brush to take up some of the oil.

3: Brush a thin layer of oil over your roasting tin (a non-stick one means you can use even less oil).

4: Brush a fine layer of oil over the veggies in the tin.

5: Roast at about 200C in the middle of the oven.

6: You will need to turn the veg halfway through cooking.

7: And after 20 minutes or so, there you have it! Yummy roast veg with less fat. Try not to over- brown the veg either, as it's bad for your health (carcinogens increase).

PS: That wonderful source of food facts, www.livestrong.com, has a great article about not using any oil at all when roasting.