New Years Goals- In Search of more vegetables!

Canyon Lake TX

We have put the jacks down in the Hill Country of Texas for awhile. How long? Not sure, all depends on the weather. We had a couple days of rain and cold but today the sun is back out and it is warming up so we may stay a while longer or we may scoot further west. Taking this winter day by day.

I’ve been thinking for awhile about this blog and where I want to go. I want to continue to share with you recipes and our journey. The journey is not a static thing, no journey is so as we learn and go along we may take detours along the way and change up things as we feel the need. John is my researcher and really the driving force behind the scenes but for me it is all about implementation. Knowledge without action gets you nowhere fast. However I also know my shortcoming and realize I am often the Queen of Good Intentions and my follow thru has something to be desired, but I have resolved to be better.

One of my big goals, that I have to drag John along on, is vegetables. Neither of us grew up in a household that ate a lot of vegetables consequently they have never been on our favorites list or on our plates a lot until the last few years. We have made strides here but I think we have a long way to go. I want to get to the point where grabbing some veggies for a snack is normal and that veggies are on every lunch and dinner plate. One of the things that means is learning how to cook vegetables and prepare things that we like and look forward to. 

A couple years ago I found a recipe on Pinterest that was labeled “If you have never liked broccoli then you need to try it like this”. I don’t mind broccoli though it had never been my favorite but John really didn’t like raw or steamed broccoli. I asked if I tried this new recipe would he be willing to give it another taste test? Yup, he was on board. I tried to find the exact recipe so I could give it credit but I failed. I have changed it just a little to make a little simpler so here it is:

Roasted Broccoli:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Cut up broccoli into small bite-sized pieces as evenly sized as you can

Place on on parchement lined  baking pan (you want sides or the oil dribbles off the sides)

Drizzel with olive oil and toss to coat

Roast in oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

The edges may get a little brown but thats ok.

Remove from oven and drizzel with fresh lemon juice and sprinkle (I just grate it over it) parmesan cheese.

John’s reaction was “this is amazing” and now it has become one of our favorite recipes. It also opened my eyes to roasting all kinds of vegetables. I’ve roasted green beans, cauliflower, snap peas, potatoes and carrots. What is really great about this technique is  the veggies stay crisp, no more soggy veggies! 

I think now I need to try more and different vegetables and find fun recipes that fit into our eating plan (no fructose or seed oils) and give them a try. I have been using Pinterest with abandon and I’ll keep you posted on things we deem a success. 

I will end with that today but I have been experimenting with new bread recipies and I want to share that with you soon too. My blogging has always had its up and downs, so don’t be surprised if there are some long pauses but the Queen of Good Intentions is trying to become the Queen of Getting Follow Thru.  :)