I love using tiny potatoes and baby carrots, which makes this recipe insanely easy. That said, sometimes tiny potatoes cost a minor fortune. If that’s the case, save money by using larger boiling potatoes. You’ll have to spend time cutting them into cubes, but it might make sense. You don’t have to use the nonstick foil here if you have a really good nonstick roasting pan, but it makes cleanup almost nonexistent, so I swear by it.

　　

Ingredients

makes 6 servings

　　1 1/2 pounds baby carrots

　　2 pounds red or white potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes

　　1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

　　Sea salt and pepper

　　One 1 3/4-pound trimmed top round roast

　　5 1/2-ounce can tomato juice (I used Campbell’s)

　　2 teaspoons dried thyme

　　2 medium onions, trimmed, peeled, and cut into quarters

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a large roasting pan with nonstick aluminum foil. Add the carrots and potatoes. Drizzle 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of the olive oil over the vegetables and season them with salt and pepper. Toss just to combine, then distribute them in an even layer in the bottom of the pan, leaving room for the roast in the center.

　　

Step 2

Rub the roast all over with the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil, then season it with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set it in the center of the veggies and pour the juice evenly over all. Sprinkle the thyme over the top. Roast the meat, carrots, and potatoes for 18 minutes. Then, stir the potatoes and carrots (if using nonstick foil, be careful not to tear it). Separate the onion quarters into pieces. Scatter them over the potatoes and carrots. Continue roasting until a meat thermometer inserted in the center of the roast reads 125°F; for medium rare, about 15 to 20 minutes more.

　　

Step 3

Carefully transfer the roast to a platter. Loosely tent the roast with foil for 10 minutes while the juices redistribute internally. If the veggies are not tender, rotate them one more time and continue roasting, up to 10 minutes more.

　　

Step 4

Slice the meat into thin slices against the grain and serve immediately with the veggies.

　　

nutrition information

Step 5

Each (about 4 ounces beef plus 2 cups vegetables) serving has:

　　

Step 6

Calories: 345

　　

Step 7

Protein: 33g

　　

Step 8

Carbohydrates: 42g

　　

Step 9

Fat: 8g

　　

Step 10

Saturated Fat: 2g

　　

Step 11

Cholesterol: 58mg

　　

Step 12

Fiber: 7g

　　

Step 13

Sodium: 310mg

　　Reprinted with permission from I Can't Believe It's Not Fattening! by Devin Alexander. Copyright © 2010 Devin Alexander. Published by Clarkson Potter Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.Devin Alexander is the author of The Most Decadent Diet Ever, Fast Food Fix, and coauthor of The New York Times bestsellers The Biggest Loser Cookbook and The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook. She was a chef on NBC's The Biggest Loser and the host of Healthy Decadence on Discover Health and FitTV.