I wanted broccoli but I’m bored with simply nuking frozen or steaming fresh so I decided to roast it. Boy I’m glad I did! What an awesome way to prepare boring old broccoli! Some of the edges scorch and the florets soften without getting mushy. Seriously, it’s awesome!

The toddler was first thrown off by the brown spots but he ate his and seemed to enjoy them. The husband? Not impressed. Honestly, he’s boring. He’s prefer simply unflavored broccoli and that’s cool. But he’s gonna have to deal with me mixing in SOME flavor now and then. ;)

• 2 heads of broccoli
• non-stick cooking spray, preferably the olive oil kind
• Salt and Pepper
• About a 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• zest of 1 lemon with a bit of the juice from a small lemon
• 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Clean and cut the broccoli drying thoroughly.

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Spread the broccoli on the sheet and spray again. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Roast for 20 minutes until the florets soften and begin to brown on the edges. Remove from heat and toss the broccoli with the zest, a squeeze of the lemon juice and Parmesan cheese.

Serve!

Here’s a little pre and post. Notice my little "Super Ryan." He loves that costume!

To save myself some time tonight I’m skippig the nutritional information. The only thing we are adding is a bit of fat through the spray and the cheese. I’d count it as 3 servings about a point each but that’s just me. :)

Oh! and I served with chicken and sweet potatoe fries!

Somehow I succeeded! The only thing the husband said was it could have used a bit more garlic. I, on the other hand, thought it was the perfect amount. The hint was there without being overpowering and I couldn’t add more anyway, I used all that I had!

Sorry the picture isn’t that great. I wasn’t planning on posting it but after I tried a bite I reconsidered and snapped real quick!

• 8 oz whole wheat spaghetti
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil (7g)
• 6 cloves of garlic minced
• 8oz boneless skinless chicken breast uncooked and cut into chunks
• 1 tbsp whole wheat flour
• 1 cup fat free chicken broth
• 1/2 of a large bag frozen broccoli (about 8-10oz)

Put a large pot of water on high and bring to a boil Cook pasta according to package.

In a large skillet (don’t do what I did and run out of room), heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté for a bit. Not too long, you don’t want it turning brown. Add the chicken and brown.

Once the chicken is all white and minimal pink, add the tablespoon of flour. Stir to coat. Immediately add the chicken broth and frozen broccoli. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil.

At this time the pasta should be done. Drain and add to the skillet once boiled. Toss to coat, cook a minute or two, remove from heat and serve!

I sprinkled with a bit of parmesan cheese and fresh ground pepper.

The idea is inspired by the buffet style broccoli salads you may see at a party or event. Except I skipped the mayo, limited the cheese and bacon, replaced the sugar with Stevia and added some carrots for color. I LOVED the results and I kind of wish I made more, so feel free to double!

I can’t lie, I made this for myself and I ate the whole batch slowly throughout the morning! It’s GONE!

• 3 cups raw broccoli florets (273g)
• ½ cup of carrots grated/shredded
• ¼ cup diced sweet or red onion
• 2 tbsp real bacon bits (14g)
• 1 oz fancy shredded cheddar cheese or a Mexican cheese blend
• ½ cup non-fat unflavored yogurt (114g)
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2-1 tsp powdered Stevia extract (based on taste – used for sweetening)

If you like, blanch the broccoli. Bring a pot of water to a boil, drop in the broccoli then remove after a minute and place in a large bowl of ice cold water.

Place the broccoli, carrots, onion, bacon bits, and cheese in to a medium-large bowl.

In a smaller bowl whisk the yogurt, vinegars and stevia to make the dressing.

Pour the dressing over the broccoli mixture. Stir to coat and refrigerate for a at least 10 minutes.

Serve!

First of all my, readers REALLY know me and second, it was the first thing I thought of when I saw it in the store!

So coming home from the gym I remembered I defrosted a turkey sausage and I was all prepared to make an Overstuffed Sausage and Pepper Wrap when I remembered the Lavash bread! Then I thought PIZZA! (Much like that old Beggin Strips commercial, just replace the dog with me and the bacon with pizza – that should leave you with a nice mental picture)

My initial thought was a meat-lovers but upon seeing all the meats in the skillet I decided there needed to be some color! Which one looks healthier to you?

So I ditched meat-lovers and went supreme! Now I’m going to tell you how I made it but remember, take it and run! Use what ya got! My goal was as light as I could make a huge supreme pizza with all the meats!

• 1 large piece of Lavash bread or flat bread (like Joeseph’s)
• 1 turkey sausage link
• 1 tbsp real bacon bits (7g)
• 1 thin slice of deli ham chopped
• 4 small turkey pepperoni slices chopped
• 2 florets of broccoli cut up
• ¼ of an orange pepper chopped
• handful of baby spinach chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• sprinkle each of, Kosher salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, dried basil, and dried parsley
• 1 ½ oz of shredded mozzarella (preferably fancy shredded but I didn’t have any)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Lay the Lavash bread on a sheet of aluminum foil. Cook in the oven for about 5 minutes until crisp. The edges will just start to brown.

Remove the skin on the sausage and cook up in a small no-stick frying pan. Break apart the meat it will want to stick together. Brown for about 2-3 minutes. Add the bacon bits, ham and pepperoni. Stir to combine flavors. Add the broccoli, peppers and spinach. Cook for about 1 minute and remove from heat.

Smear the tomato paste on the crispy Lavash bread. Sprinkle with all the spices. Spread with meat-veggie mixture. Top with the cheese. Sprinkle a bit of parsley and return to the oven for 5 minutes. Serve!

Now the serving is HUGE! What you see in the main picture (by the ingredients) is ¼ of the pizza. I’m going to count the whole “pie” as 1 serving because I ate the whole thing but if you wanted to go lighter you could split it with someone and add a salad on the side. It would be very satisfying!

It makes a large number of servings but can always be halved. The salad is a great compliment to a summer BBQ and is a nice substitute for traditional Marconi salad.

• 8 oz Whole Wheat Orzo (I use and order RiceSelect Orzo Whole Wheat Pasta)
• ~3 cups fresh broccoli florets (used 2 crowns)
• 1 red bell pepper chopped
• 1 pint of cherry tomatoes halved
• 1 lb cooked shrimp shells and tails removed
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 20 fresh basil leaves (1 tsp dry would work)
• ¼ cup plain non-fat yogurt (62g)
• 1-2 cups baby spinach leaves (85g)
• Salt and pepper
• About a ¼ cup of water

Cook the Orzo according to package.

While the pasta is cooking, clean and prepare all the veggies and place in a large bowl with the cooked shrimp.

Note: you may want to blanch the broccoli if you don’t like it raw. When the water boils for the pasta I placed the cut up broccoli in the water for 1 minutes and the strained out with a hand strainer. Then I cooked the pasta in the “broccoli stained” water. It was a huge time savor and I liked the semi cooked state of the broccoli.

Put honey, vinegars, oil, garlic cloves, basil leaves, yogurt, spinach, water and a pinch of salt and pepper into the blender. Blend on high to and make the dressing.

When the orzo is finished, run the pasta under cold water to stop the cooking. Add the cooked cold pasta to the bowl with the veggies and shrimp. Pour the dressing on top and mix well. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for a few hours. Great leftover, just ask the Father-in-law. ;~)

I bought some fresh ginger this weekend, it was my first time. Normally I make stir-fry meals with ground ginger and that works out great but I wanted to try something new. I’m glad I did! The fresh ginger has such an awesome smell and it’s much easier to work with then I thought. Just a simply peel the skin off slice and dice like you would garlic.

The dish ended up with a very mild flavor and a light sauce. The husband gave an unsolicited “It’s good” and the toddler gobbled up hordes of chicken and broccoli. He even at the mushrooms after telling me he “doesn’t like ’shrooms”.

• ½ pound (8oz) boneless chicken breast cut into small pieces
• 1 inch of a ginger root diced small
• 3 cloves of garlic diced small
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp honey
• About 3 cups of fresh broccoli florets (267g)
• About 2 cups snow peas (125g)
• About 2 cups mushrooms slices (140g)
• ½ cup of water (separated)
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• non-stick cooking spray

Put the chicken, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar and honey in a bowl and let marinate while preparing the veggies.

Heat a large skillet over high heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Add the chicken and marinade. Cook for a few minutes until chicken is brown.

Add 2 oz of the water (1/8 cup) to the skillet, and top with veggies. Lower to medium high, cover, allowing the veggies to steam. Stir occasionally but recover, cooking for a about 5 minutes.

Mix the cornstarch and remaining 2oz water.

Once the broccoli is just tender, uncover. Power the cornstarch water mixture on top. Stir and the sauce will immediately begin thickening. Continue to stir for 1 minute. Turn off heat and serve over your favorite brown rice.

Here is a shot of the ginger root and the toddler. He turned his head at the last second and I didn’t have the patience to take another. :~)

I’m going to count this as 2 LARGE servings. We split it between the three of us. Nutritional Information does not include the rice.

Well they finally lightened them up and in a pinch they can be used to make a quick lite meal! Seriously! Check it out…

• about 1 ½ cups of water
• 1 package of Choice Ramen Noodles chicken or shrimp flavors
• About 1 cup broccoli
• 3 oz cooked frozen shrimp

Cook the noodles according the package. Add the broccoli and shrimp in at the end and continue to cook for about 1-2 minutes.

Serve! Can’t get any easier then that!!

This would also work with leftover cooked chicken, or those short cuts even leftover pork chops cut up would be good!

Check out my new Ramen Noodle Idea!

So I pulled out every veggie in the fridge, made a marinade, pulled out the skewers and viola! Instant fun side dish!

What I whipped actually makes a better salad dressing then a marinade but it worked. The toddler LOVED it so much he was stealing broccoli and peppers right out of the bowl (as you can see below) and the husband had no complaints. He even ate a few raw himself!

• 1 red bell pepper cut into large chunks
• 1 green bell pepper cut into large chunks
• 1 broccoli crown cut into large chunks
• 1 sweet onion cut into large chunks
• 10 white button mushrooms
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ tsp gralic powder
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• Salt & Pepper
• 10 wooden skewers

Prepare all the veggies and place in a large bowl. Whisk the remaining ingredients and pour over veggies. Let sit for about an hour.

Skewer alternating veggies and grill over medium heat for about 15 minutes turning regularly to prevent burning.

I LOVE when it’s just the toddler and I for dinner. I get to experiment freely without trying to please someone who has completely different taste then I do.

Anyway, I had this idea of mini turkey meatballs. I thought they would be fun for me to make and easy for the toddler to eat. Originally, I was going to do a sweet and sour but I didn’t have enough ingredients so I went with what I had in the pantry.

I’m going to be honest, while cooking, I was debating posting. The prep was a bit shaky, the meatballs stuck, I needed to add more water. So, I figured, hey, worse case scenario I have lunches and I post a new idea tomorrow.

Then… I took a bite.

Oh my word, it was delicious! The combination of spaghetti squash, broccoli, and cream of chicken soup was awesome and the turkey meatballs WERE fun. Best of all, the toddler LOVED them. He didn’t eat the squash but he asked for seconds on the meatballs and broccoli!

• 8 oz lean ground turkey (I used 93% but you could use 99% lean)
• ¼ cup quick oats (20g)
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp dried chives
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• ¼ tsp dried thyme
• 1 can Healthy Request Cream of Chicken Soup (98% FF and low sodium) (10oz)
• Water
• 1 bag (16oz) frozen broccoli
• 3 cups cooked spaghetti squash
• Non-stick cooking spray

Combine the turkey, quick oats, egg white, onion powder, chives, parsley and thyme. Form into ½ oz meatballs. It should make about 19.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Brown the meatball. Be warned they may stick. When you add them to the pan let them be while they get a crust. Then roll them a bit and allow them to crust on the other side. You don’t have to brown them evenly you just want a nice crust on a side or two.

In a small bowl mix the cream of chicken soup with a can of water. Add the soup water mixture to skillet, watch out its going to be hot. Bring the soup to a boil.

Add the bag of frozen broccoli. The soup will be your gravy so if you want it thinner add a splash more water (I added about ¼ more of the can). Bring back up to a boil then cover and reduce to simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes until broccoli is cooked.

Scoop meatball, broccoli soup mixture over a cup of spaghetti squash and serve!

As I was cooking this tonight, the husband walked by the kitchen and says, “Ohhhh that looks good! I can’t wait for dinner!”. He NEVER says anything like that unless I’m making a classic meat and potato type of meal. Even the toddler was a huge fan, asking for seconds, “more noodles, pweas!” It puts a smile on my face just thinking about it.

Of course, you could use this idea with chicken. I’ve made similar meals before like my 10 Minute Chicken Broccoli Bowl. Using the fat free cream of chicken soup makes a quick easy crave for chicken/turkey and it goes great with broccoli.

• Small sweet onion diced
• 2-3 fresh broccoli crowns cut and cleaned
• 2 cups turkey broth (separated)
• 10.75oz can of fat free cream of chicken broth
• 15 ounce can creamed corn
• 8 oz cooked dark meat turkey
• Non-stick cooking spray
• 6 oz whole wheat egg noodles

Boil the water for the noodles and prepare them according to package.

Spray a large skillet with non-stick cooking spray and cook the onion over medium heat until tender. Add the broccoli and 1 cup of the broth. Cover and let the steam cook the broccoli for a few minutes.

Uncover and add the cream of chicken soup, the remaining broth, can of cream corn and turkey. Stir to combine all the ingredients. Lower the heat to a simmer.

Add and stir in the cooked noodles. Serve!

This makes a huge amount of food, I separated it into 5 servings easily. .

Anyway, they have a Thai Curry Soup that is my absolute favorite! I don’t normally eat Thai. Wait…. that’s a total understatement. I never even knew Thai food existed until about 3 years ago when some new friends took me to a Thai/Indian restaurant. Long story short Thai inspired flavors are new to me and the Thai Curry Soup at Noodles & Company really sparked my interest. It seemed to have such complex flavor and depth. I never ate anything like it before.

So this is my homemade version inspired by the Noodles and Company’s Tai Curry soup. It’s not exactly the same but boy did it come out better then I expected on the first try. The husband even liked it but you should have seen his face when I told him Coconut milk was in the broth. It was priceless!

• 1 red onion loosely chopped (I liked the different sized pieces)
• 3 gloves of garlic chopped
• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp ground curry
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 3 cans (14.5oz) of your favorite broth (I used 2 cans of chicken and 1 of beef – veggie would work too!)
• 1 14oz can lite coconut milk (available in the store)
• 2 and ½ cups fresh broccoli florets (220 g)
• 1 large zucchini chopped (300g)
• 1 large red pepper chopped (160 g)
• 4 cups baby spinach leaves (85 g)
• Non-Stick Cooking Spray

Add the onion and garlic to a large pot sprayed with non-stick cooking spray over medium heat. Let the onion sweat and stir occasionally while preparing the spices.

Crush the coriander seeds with a large knife. It’s may sound funny but put them on a cutting board and chop at them for a few minutes like you would garlic. This will release their flavor. Be careful they may fly off the Board. Add then to the onion along with the curry, ginger, and cumin. Stir coating the onion with the spices.

Add the broth and coconut milk. Raise heat to medium high and bring to a boil.

While waiting for the broth to boil. Prepare the veggies. I kept the pieces fairly large so they wouldn’t overcook. Once the broth is boiling add all the veggies, except the spinach, and lower the heat to back down to medium. Cook for about 5 minutes until veggies begin to become tender.

Once the veggies are just about done, add the spinach. It will cook almost immediately. Just stir it in and wait about a minute.

Lower to a simmer and serve!

I, of course, froze some single servings for lunch. You will not want to keep the soup on the heat for very long, the veggies will begin to overcook. Now… just look at the nutritional information, you really can’t beat that! And it’s SO tasty!

This worked like a CHARM! My fussy eater niece had three slices and wanted more. Little did she know she was eating zucchini, broccoli AND spinach! ;~)

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• A thick slice of sweet onion diced
• 3-4 cloves of garlic sliced
• 1 small-medium head of broccoli cleaned and chopped
• 1 small to medium zucchini diced small
• A handful of baby carrots (I used about 10) sliced thin
• 2 cups of baby spinach chopped
• 2 small cans of tomato paste
• About 1 tsp garlic powder
• About 1 tsp dried oregano
• About 1 tsp dried basil
• About 1 tsp onion powder
• Salt and Pepper
• Red food coloring (optional if the color is off)

In a large pot over medium heat add the olive, onion and garlic. Let it sweat while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Add the broccoli, zucchini, carrots and spinach. Stir and cook for a few minutes.

Add 1 can of the tomato paste with about 3 cans of water. Stir.

Add the spices and stir.

Bring to a boil (just a few bubbles) then lower to a simmer. I simmered for at least an hour occasional stirring.

After the simmer, add the sauce with veggies to the blender (you may have to do it in multiple batches) or use a hand blender. Put the sauce back into pot and add the remaining can of paste. It will bring the color back to a nicer shade of red.

The sauce will be super thick, perfect for pizza! Let simmer on low heat until you are ready to use. If you do not think it will fool them, add a drop or two of red food coloring.

Freeze leftovers in freezer bags so you can pull out just enough for pizza on demand. Or try it on pasta, it has a ton of flavor.

For the pizza pictured, I used trader Joes’ Whole Wheat pizza dough and about 4-5 oz mozzarella cheese.

Nutritional information is tough on this one. I’m estimating the sauce recipe to end up at about 4 cups and a serving size to be 1/2 cup. That’s 8 servings in the recipe. So for each 1/2 cup I’m getting about 80 cals, 2 g of fat and 3 g of fiber. Next time I make it, I will take measurements that are more specific and add a nutritional information table.