healthy laps

My friend Wendy of Give Love Create Happiness wrote a post about cooking her family brussel sprouts the other day and it gave me the idea to post my own recipe!  It just so happens that I bought brussel sprouts and was planning on making them this week for dinner, so this works out perfectly.  I look forward to brussel sprouts in the winter months, and since we are in the midst of their peak growing season, there is still lots of time to eat them!

Wendy has a very simple roasted brussel sprouts recipe which sounds very simple and delicious, but I like my brussel sprouts a little bit on the sweet side!  I love to add maple syrup or brown sugar and bake them in the oven so that the sugar creates a crunchy coating – YUM!  Many people shy away from brussel sprouts, but I urge you to give these recipes a try to see which you like best- it may surprise you!  My husband said he would never eat a brussel sprout until I made him try one of these :).

Roasted Brussel Sprouts in Mustard Sauce

adapted from Shape Magazine (Nov. 09) and Tina at Carrots N’ Cake!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound brussels sprouts
• 1 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup stoneground mustard
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• Freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Take brussel sprouts from package, put into a strainer and run cold water over them until all dirt is removed.

fresh from the package

before being rinsed

• After they have been washed, cut the ends off of each sprout and remove the outermost layer of leaves.  That outer layer is usually really tough, so remove as much as you want!

with the ends cut off

much prettier after the outer leaves are removed!

• Cut the brussel sprouts in half; set aside.

• Combine sesame oil, mustard, salt, pepper, and brown sugar in a small bowl; stir until blended.

• Pour the brussel sprouts into the bowl and stir, making sure every last one is coated with the mixture!

• Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake until tender, about 20-30 minutes. (tonight they cooked for 25 minutes).  Turn once during cooking if you prefer.

• Once cooked, you should be able to stick a fork into them without problems.  I prefer them on the crunchier side, instead of being softer.

• Remove from the oven, and serve!

These really did taste delicious!  They were cooked just right – tender, but will a crunch to them.  We really loved them!  We ate the brussel sprouts with some multi-colored potatoes, seasoned with herbs and spices, that we picked up and barley with lemon, garlic, salt and pepper.

pretty potatoes!

seasoned and ready to bake

In addition to brussel sprouts tasting good, they are also very good for you:

1. Full of phytonutrients, which have been shown to help fight cancer.
2. High in both Vitamins A and C.
3. Potassium
4. Folate
5. Iron
6. Fiber

And, they taste great!  If anyone has another recipe for cooking these delicious veggies, let me know!

Filed under: Eating Laps, Recipes | Tagged: brown sugar, brussel sprouts, Eating Laps, mustard, nutritious, Recipes, vegetables |