Oven Roasted Broccolini Recipe

Looking to try an easy, delish new vegetable side dish with dinner tonight?

I’ve got a yummy idea for you: Oven Roasted Broccolini!  

I’m sharing this one with you to simplify your family’s dinner tonight.

It’s hard enough to follow a clean eating lifestyle these days, trying to think of healthy sides, night after night. So this one is about way more than the tasty side dish, created with very little effort.

(Though the fact that this recipe takes only 15 minutes is a fun plus!) 

It’s that this shiny green veggie is so dang good for us!

The nutritional benefits of Broccolini are numerous, with it ranking high for both Vitamins C & A (both of which are super important for strengthening our immune system, helping our bodies in fighting off both virus-caused sickness and the common cold!) So important that we’re intentionally eating for immunity! Now, more than ever.

Oh and hey, did you know that getting enough Vitamin C through your foods is a great way to boost your body’s absorption of iron? (No? Ok, to be real, I didn’t either until I was researching for this post!) This is a really beneficial thing for all of us, but especially for those of us eating plant-based - as we’re possibly getting less iron into our bodies!

Here’s how to easily make it...

Oven Roasted Broccolini

Take 1 Bunch Broccolini (per 2-3 eaters) and wash, shake off water, and trim off about an inch from the end of the stalks.

Set the oven to 425 degrees and prepare a large cookie pan by lining with aluminum foil for easy cleanup.

Lay the Broccolini stalks around the pan, then drizzle generously with olive oil (may use your hands to mix the oil evenly into stalks) and grind fresh black pepper and pink salt over it.

Bake for around 10-15 minutes, or until crispy and browning on edges.

This is the “base recipe,” but you can always change it up, and add one of these fun variations on flavor:

• 2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

• Squeeze a half to whole fresh lemon over the Broccolini (to taste)

• Mince 3-4 fresh cloves of garlic and sprinkle over it before baking

• 1 Sprinkle of preferred Chili powder, chili flakes, or small smear of chili paste mixed in well

• Sprinkle handful shredded sharp cheddar cheese over it in final 3-5 minutes of baking

Well, are you inspired to try this easy, peasy recipe for dinner this week?

Looking for more recipes and ideas for clean, healthy living for your busy family? Join the conversation in our community!

Easy, Healthy Vegetable Side Dishes You Can Cook

Do you ever find yourself perusing the fresh foods section of the grocery store, wondering what the heck you’re to do with all those great-looking veggies? 

You know you are supposed to eat more of them, you hear about the benefits to that all the time, but just don’t know how to fix them?

Today, I’m going to give you a few ideas on how to make easy and fast veggie sides for dinner.  No, not the pop-in-the-micro kind!  Those can be a great backup plan, but let’s explore these dishes and let you decide which ones sound truly delicious to you!

Here are a few ideas to try

Greens Made Easy

Cooking greens used to intimidate me, but after a couple practice tries, this dish is now a constant go-to in this house! 

Besides being rich with benefits, like iron, antioxidants, and minerals, collard greens are also very tasty and filling. I even get a couple of the kids to dig into this one!

How to make them:

Ingredients:  

• 1 head collard greens,

• half fresh lemon, squeezed over the greens

• ready-made real bacon bits

• ¼ sweet onion, diced

• 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced

• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Instructions:

1. Slice up the greens in thin ribbons of about ½ inch thick, and 3-4 inches long, set aside.

2. Place large sauté pan or wok over medium to high heat, add oil to pan.

3. Add onions, garlic to hot oil, sauté for about a minute.

4. Add in the greens and bacon bits, allowing the greens to wilt for about 2 minutes.

5. Squeeze the fresh lemon over the wilted greens, stir one or two more times, remove from heat. Serve!

Sweet Potato “Fries”

A favorite at our place, and we were so glad to discover that sweet potatoes are a super-food, packed with many healthy benefits! 

Carotene (which is Vitamin A and gives the potato it’s orange color), and minerals like magnesium, potassium, zinc and iron give this great-tasting treat it’s superpower! 

We love it many ways, but the oven-roasted “fries” are a fave of the pickier eaters around our place!

Ingredients:  

• 1-2 large sweet potatoes, sliced into thin strips (1/4 inch by 2-3 inches)

• 2 Tbsp olive oil

• Himalayan pink salt (or ANY salt to your taste)

• Fresh cracked pepper

Instructions: 

1. Roll the fries in the olive oil until coated gently

2. Salt and pepper them, then roast at a high heat (375-425 degrees, depending on your oven) for about 10-15 minutes, or until crispy and done.
   
   Too easy, too delicious, very healthy as a side dish or snack!

Black Bean & Sweet Corn Salsa

Over time, corn (esp sweet corn!) has gotten a bad rap in the health-eating industry ... but you may be happy to know, it is STILL healthy (as is most every other God-made food!)

Because it is a veggie higher in sugar content, it is better to eat it it in small amounts.  We mainly enjoy corn as one ingredient in a dish instead of the main dish.

Corn contains many health benefits for your body, like lutein (which fights macular degeneration in our eyes!) as well as several vitamins and minerals such as magnesium and phospherous.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sweet corn (you can use frozen, just allow it to thaw)

• 1 can rinsed and drained black beans

• ¼ sweet onion, diced

• 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro

• 2 Tbsp Italian dressing OR 2 fresh limes, squeezed & stirred into mixture

Instructions:

1. Mix all the ingredients together.

2. Refrigerate for two hours or more before serving for flavors to mix and blend.

Hopefully you are encouraged now to try these yummy, easy and yes, healthy dishes in your own kitchen. 

Healthy veggies sides can (and should!) be vibrant, easy and enjoyed by the whole family!  Let me know what you think of these helpful ideas in the comments below.