Brussels Sprouts n' Lima Beans

Okay, back track eight years ago. I definitely would not have been eating this:

Pictured: Delicious stereotypical health food.

Heck, I hadn't even tried a brussel sprout yet. And, except for one dinner in which my much younger self and younger sister made a mess with Lima beans and ketchup (ketchup made them "taste better"...), I hadn't ate a Lima bean either. Now, however, I'm much more in tune with what is good for me, good for the planet, and well, good tasting!

I got a small bag of baby brussel sprouts from the garden and I knew that they would be roasted. But with what? I have a Whole Foods recipe app for my phone and awhile back I bookmarked a recipe for roasted lima beans. Why not roast the two things together?

Luckily, the idea turned out to be genius and I was able to munch on these for a couple of days! The sprouts and beans rely on roasting to really bring out their flavor and the onions, garlic, and thyme give them a little oompf. This meal comes together fairly quickly and without much effort. It's also great if you only have a couple items on hand. To make it a complete meal I served them with some mashed sweet potatoes that I had leftover. This meal goes really well with sweet potatoes (but then again, what doesn't!?).

I am not gonna lie though, I felt super granola-crunchy-hippie as I was eating this... but that's not always a bad thing! Lol.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Lima Beans:

1 (10 oz.) box of frozen Lima Beans

1 bay leaf

3 c. brussel sprouts, ends trimmed and quartered if large

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, divided, minced

3/4 tsp. thyme (I used the leafy thyme, not powdered... not sure if that makes a difference...)

1 Tb. olive oil, divided

Kosher salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. Combine sprouts with onion, 3 cloves garlic, 2 tsp. oil, and kosher salt and pepper to taste. Pop in the oven and roast for 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, boil the frozen lima beans in salted water with the bay leaf and a minced garlic clove for 6-8 minutes or until firm-tender. Drain them well and blot the excess water with a paper towel. Set aside.

4. After the 20 minutes is up, pull the sprouts out of the oven and toss them with the drained limas, an additional teaspoon of olive oil, and the thyme. Stir well to mix everything up.

5. Roast an additional 15 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the sprouts are browned and tender. Enjoy!

This recipe will make about three servings, with about 192 calories, 4.9 grams of fat, 9.3, grams of protein, 13.3% of your Vitamin A, 145.7% of your Vitamin C, 8.5% of your Calcium, and 15.8% of your Iron per serving! And since it's a cruciferous vegetable (like broccoli, cabbage, kale, and collards) you know it's an excellent part of a disease-fighting, healthy diet!

For the sweet potatoes, I just cut a couple peeled potatoes into 1/2 inch thick coins and boiled them until they were done (around 10-15 minutes or until a fork pierces them easily). After that, they were drained, mashed, buttered, and a little plain, unsweetened almond milk was added for smoothness. Delicious! I'll be making this whole meal again once I get some more brussel sprouts.

Oh, and by the way, how is this thing spelled: Brussels sprouts (capitalized like the city?), Brussel (capitalized like the city but not plural?), brussel (quite possibly not named after any city??). I'm too lazy to look it up, lol. Anywho, some more quick meals I've got planned: an epic tofu scramble (I know, I know, what vegan doesn't make a tofu scramble... but this one is awesome, I promise), a bok choy, bell pepper, and tofu stir-fry, and ohmygoodness... today I tried a Field Roast sausage. Amazing! I am going to stock up when I go to Whole Foods next month, because even though they're expensive, they're still WAY cheaper than where I get them!

So yeah, that's about it! I've got 11 weeks and I'll be back to blogging on a regular basis, no more school for me (except, for that additional six years I plan on undertaking next year...)! People keep giving me a confused look and saying, "Jess, isn't that three months?" Le sigh... yes, it is, but "weeks" don't sound nearly as long as "months"!