Roasted Sweet Potato, Sesame and Arugula Salad with Honey-Balsamic Dressing

Everyone has a different idea of what constitutes eating “healthy”.
Some people abstain from meat, for others it’s just red meat, some give up cheese or gluten (ehm...me?) or fat — I mean, you name it, there’s a eating plan out there that promises that you can live forever just by giving up ice-cream. You know, just to throw a totally random example.

As humans, we like to think of ourselves as beings of reason and logic. We also have the presumption that “my logic is better than yours”. And when it comes to food we love to tell the world when, how, and what they should eat.
You hear people saying things like “this is good for you”, “this is bad for you”, “you should drink five gallons of water each day”, or “eat that and you will live forever!” everywhere. While waiting in line to check out at Whole Foods, in the subway, at the gym (well, especially at the gym), and at the office — I still find fascinating how coworkers have an opinion about everything.

No matter what people say, the truth is that nutrition science is an active, changing, growing body of knowledge, where scientific findings seem often to contradict one another or are subject to conflicting interpretations.
There’s a degree of uncertainty that isn’t likely to go away anytime soon.
Yet, many facts are known to a certain degree of accuracy. For instance we know that focusing on whole unprocessed foods, lots of veggies/fruit, good fats, lean protein, and drinking less alcohol and sugary drinks is a good thing to do. Some goes for crossing junk food off your menu.

But then again, your healthy is different from my healthy, so even if I were to tell you to just eat healthy food such as steamed broccoli, mashed sweet potatoes, raw kale, grilled chicken, blueberries, and brown rice, many of you wouldn’t agree with me.
Besides, that is not the point of this blog.
I think the point of this blog is to show things that make you excited about eating healthy. Things that you haven’t made yet or have never thought of before.
Some things you may like, some things you may not like.
If I can spark your interest or just a reaction, I’m happy.

But really, I didn’t mean to talk in general about healthy eating. What I meant to get to was the fact that this here: roasted sweet potatoes, arugula, and radishes served with a toothsome dressing and toasted sesame seeds, is the very definition of the food I consider healthy and I like to feast upon.
As you know salads are my favorite way to get all the food I want to eat all on one plate.
And lately I want to eat sweet potatoes and a ton of arugula.
Let me rephrase that, all I want to eat is warm sweet potatoes tossed with a to-die-for honey-balsamic dressing served over arugula with a ton of other good stuff.
I mean, that right there is healthy, nutritious, and delicious food. Agreed?

Roasted Sweet Potato, Sesame and Arugula Salad                                                     Print this recipe!

with Honey-Balsamic Dressing

Ingredients
Serves 4

2 medium sweet potatoes, diced (either peeled or unpeeled)
½ red onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
½ teaspoon chili powder
Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
Salt and pepper
6 cups baby arugula
4 medium radishes, sliced paper thin
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives (optional)

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
4 tablespoons cup extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Toss the sweet potatoes and onion with the vegetable oil, chili powder, cayenne, salt and pepper.
Place on a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, stirring gently every 5 to 10 minutes.
Increase the heat to 400°F (200°C) and roast for another 5 to 10 minutes until the sweet potatoes are golden brown. Continue to stir the sweet potato pieces as needed to prevent over-browning. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.
In the meantime, whisk together vinegar, honey, mustard, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
In a medium bowl toss together arugula, sliced radishes, and chives.
In another bowl toss sweet potatoes with honey-balsamic dressing.
To serve, arrange arugula mixture on plates. Spoon sweet potatoes over arugula, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and serve.

Nutrition facts

One serving yields 233 calories, 17 grams of fat, 20 grams of carbs, and 2 grams of protein.