Roasted Broccoli with Parmesan and Lemon

Joanna came across this recipe recently, and it’s quickly become a staple in our household.

I take that back, it’s become more of an obsession for us. We’ve had it as a side dish almost every night during the last two weeks. Joanna’s even taken to eating it for a mid-morning snack, for lunch – she even ate it for breakfast the other day.

When it comes to broccoli, roasting is the way to go. If you still steam your broccoli, stop. Please, you’ll be doing yourself a favor. Roasted broccoli is so much more interesting-tasting that steamed florets.

Adding parmesan and lemon juice right after pulling the broccoli from the oven takes the taste to another level. The lemon, in particular, adds a brightness to the dish that makes it instantly addictive.

I could go on, but I think I’d rather roast another pan of broccoli…

But, before I do, here’s the recipe:

Roasted Broccoli with Parmesan and Lemon

• 3 to 4 heads of broccoli, trimmed into bite-sized florets
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup of parmesan (use the real stuff, not the powder)
• 1/4 cup of lemon juice (or more if you prefer)

Pre-heat the oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with tin foil.

Place the broccoli florets in a large mixing bowl, then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss until the broccoli is well coated.

Transfer to the lined baking sheet and roast for 10-15 minutes, or until the broccoli starts to brown.

Pull from the oven and sprinkle with parmesan and lemon juice. Serve while still warm. Rinse and repeat…

Healthy Asian Meatballs

Here at the J. Watwood household, we’re continuing our detox from Thanksgiving – slash – prepping for some diet changes come the new year.

Two years ago, Joanna and I did “The Whole 30” diet for the month of January. We honest-to-goodness didn’t cheat either. It was one of the toughest, most rewarding lifestyle challenges I’ve ever done. If you’ve ever tackled The Whole 30, you’ve got my respect (insert digital fist bump here).

If you’re not familiar with The Whole 30, you’ll probably start hearing a lot about it come January 1. It’s similar to “Paleo,” which might be recognizable to more people. Basically, with The Whole 30, your diet focuses on meats, veggies and fruits – or whole foods. Dairy, grains and added sugars are out. And yes, that means beer, too.

The point of The Whole 30 is to “reset” your stomach, then once the 30 days have passed, to slowly start to add dairy, grains and some sugars back in. When done correctly, the add-in process should clearly show you which foods your body isn’t designed to handle. This can help people who might have a gluten intolerance, for example, but never knew it, discover a diet that dramatically improves the way they feel day-to-day.

As you can imagine, a common side effect of The Whole 30 is weight loss. Joanna and I both lost close to 25 pounds each the first time we did The Whole 30. Starting the year off with such a dramatic diet change helped us lose the pounds gained during the holidays, but more importantly – in my opinion – it helped us start the new year off with something that required serious discipline and focus, which had an impact on the way we chose to live out the rest of the year.

We did a modified version of The Whole 30 last January, eliminating bread and sugar for the month, but keeping dairy in the mix.

We plan to start off 2015 in a similar way.

One of the toughest parts of The Whole 30 was the lack of readily-available meal choices. We felt as though we were eating the same thing all the time. For instance, I love hard-boiled eggs, but I quickly hit an egg-eating wall during The Whole 30 and just couldn’t stomach another one. Sadly, I even got to the point where bacon – one of the saving graces of The Whole 30 – was no longer appetizing.

Getting ready for January, I started researching some The Whole 30 or Paleo-style recipes to see what was available. Happily, I stumbled upon Michelle Tam’s awesome blog Nom Nom Paleo, which has a whole section devoted to The Whole 30 recipes. All of the food on her blog looks awesome, and I’m quickly discovering that it all tastes good, too. Oh, and she has her own action figure, which is super cool.

I tried her sweet potato hash recipe for breakfast earlier in the week, and it tasted great. Then, tonight, we had her Asian Meatballs. Delicious!

Michelle even has a cookbook that I”m hoping to get my hands on this Christmas. It’s titled Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans.

Here’s my rendition of her Asian Meatballs recipe, modified using ingredients I either had in the pantry or could find at the grocery store:

Healthy Asian Meatballs (recipe borrowed from Nom Nom Paleo)

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 container Shitake mushrooms, finely chopped (should yield between 1 and 1 1/2 cups)
• 3/4 cup finely chopped sweet potatoes (word to the wise, chop these super fine or they won’t cook through completely and your meatballs will be crunch!)
• 1/4 white or yellow onion, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh or dried cilantro
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt

Pre-heat oven to 375. Lay out a sheet of tin foil on a large cookie sheet (preferably with rimmed edges, instead of the flat “air-bake” sheets).

Mix together mushrooms, sweet potato, onion and cilantro in a small bowl. Add in ground beef, tomato paste and fish sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

Mix together with your hands, sort of like how you’d mix together the ingredients for a hamburger patty. Once combined, roll small meatballs from the mixture, roughly the size of a golf ball. The mixture should yield a lot – 20 or more.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, then serve warm. Best enjoyed with a side of roasted broccoli with parmesan and lemon!

Asian meatballs with sweet potato hash and roasted broccoli

 

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Raisins

For the last few days, our household has been on a self-prescribed food detox regimen. Thanksgiving, and the days leading up to it, included an abundance of delicious – and very rich – food. By the time Saturday rolled along, our stomachs were crying “uncle.”

We needed a break from the butter, the sugar, the starches – all the things that make Thanksgiving so tasty. Thankfully, we had plenty of veggies in the house, bought to be used at Thanksgiving, but untouched up to that point.

Joanna attacked the broccoli, roasting and eating it for breakfast and lunch both Saturday and Sunday. I craved leafy greens, and made salads or added heaping piles of lettuce to my turkey sandwiches.

Last night we made sautéed brussels sprouts.

Building Blocks: Grits

Grits sum up Southern culture perfectly.

They are as polarizing as a Southern politician – you either love ‘em, or you hate ‘em. They are thick and steamy, just like a humid Southern summer morning. They are hearty, just like the people of the South. And just like iced tea, they go well with nearly everything.

Good grits, that is.

As a kid, grits were a breakfast staple not just on the weekends, but most weekday mornings, too. A heaping ladle-full of cheddar grits – strings of cheese stretching from the spoon to the serving bowl – is a great way to start off any morning.