Roasted Vegetables

I just ate roasted broccoli for lunch and it was crazy good. It is based on this recipe: http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2008/11/the_best_brocco.html  But I used less olive oil and left out the second dose of it, I used less lemon juice to taste, and left out the pine nuts and parmesan cheese to keep it diet friendly.  

Pre-heat oven to 425 F. Take a bunch of broccoli washed, dried, and cut into small, bite-sized florets. Toss with extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper. Press about 5-6 cloves af garlic over it (I had a lot). Roast in oven about 20-30 minutes until tips are brown and crispy. Sprinkle with a little lemon juice (Optional). I cooked this on convect roast so it went faster. It was so good the way it was that I only sprinkled a tiny bit of lemon juice. For the original recipe, when you take it out of the oven you toss more olive oil, lemon zest and juice, roasted pine nuts and fresh grated parmesan cheese. These additions may be important for traditional broccoli haters, but I loved it without.

This recipe is being added to some of my favorite roast vegetables.

Krispy Kale: Preheat oven to 400 F. Wash and dry, cut out stems and toss with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt (you can use regular salt, I just like the flavor and texture of kosher better). Lay out on baking sheet and bake at 400 F about 10 minutes. Watch it closely. There is a fine line between crispy and burned. My kids eat this like chips. You could spice this up with some garlic or pepper, but it's just fine without it.  Here's a link: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-kale-chips/detail.aspx . Allrecipes also has a version with salt and vinegar that I have not tried, but it looks good: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/kale-chips/detail.aspx  They have others that involve cheese and other spices but I like to keep it simple.

Roasted Brussells Sprouts: More of the same. Preheat to 400-425 F. Wash sprouts, cut in half and remove choke. Toss with olive oil. Spread on pan and sprinkle with kosher salt. Roast until browned and outsides are crispy - about 30 minutes.  I have always hated brussell sprouts. Now I make these regularly. This recipe leaves them whole, I like them crispier so I cut them: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/roasted-brussels-sprouts/detail.aspx   They also have one with roasted pecans which looks yummy.

Finally, another hint I haven't tried yet but will: When roasting vegetables, put the pan in the oven to preheat along with the oven. When you add the veggies to a hot pan they will carmelize/roast faster.

As for BFL, I suppose I 'should' eat vegetables raw or steamed, but the little bit of olive oil I add to this to make them delicious is a healthy fat, of which I am getting very little in this low fat plan.

My food log today:
Breakfast: Smoothie made with frozen strawberries, piece of banana, frozen spinach, water and chocolate protein powder (Muscle milk is the best). The vitamix completely purees the spinach so there are no pieces. Even my son wants spinach in his smoothies, now.
Lunch: 3 small plums from the tree (they are bite size, yummy yellow plums), small lean hamburger patty, and possibly a little too much roasted broccoli. Yum!
Snack: 1/3 of a protein bar and 2 more bite size plums.
Dinner: 1/2 chicken breast, sauted zucchini and krispy kale, both from the garden.
Snack: the last couple bites of that protein bar.