Roasted Garlic Parmesan Broccoli

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I started 2016 off like millions of other people – hoping to make better meal choices every day. When I was pregnant with Henry, we were all eating so many fruits and vegetables every day and all of our meal choices were much more balanced. This last year, we made our garden three times bigger and I couldn’t wait. I was so stoked and so were the kids – we were so anxious to start picking some delicious food straight from the garden. Then……a man eating snake appeared in our yard one day. I assume it wasn’t really man eating but it was freaking us all out, the dog included. We got the snake issue taken care of and I felt much better. Our garden has rocks all the way around it and I was terrified the snake would jump out at us as we were picking in the garden so we had been avoiding it. Anyways, turns out I was wrong. John saw another one that was even bigger than the first snake. Ahhhhh!!!!! So, I was a bit afraid of going into our yard at all! Then I hurt my leg at softball and squatting down hurt so much that I couldn’t handle it for more than a few minutes. That being said, our garden took a huge hit this year. Within a few weeks of my injury, a huge chunk of our garden had been choked out by weeds. We didn’t get nearly what we wanted from it and we were not eating the balanced meals I had hoped. It was a total bummer and I was not doing well with meal choices, for the kids or for myself.

It’s okay though, you know why? It’s 2016. The year of no excuses. We will make better choices this year and it’s going to be fun. Know why? I’m bringing back our, “Try something new” day each week. I’m back to meal planning and it feels great to have more variety in our meals. The problem I kept running into though was that on dance and gymnastics nights, dinner was always rushed and we weren’t eating well. Classes were right during our normal dinner time so we either ate really early or we ate late and were just rushing. Either way it wasn’t going well. I needed a new plan and I needed one fast. Then it hit me. I could pick up some frozen meals to have on hand for some of these occasions. I knew there were some options that there were options made with organic ingredients and I was going to check them out.

When we were at Walmart, I wandered through the freezer section to see what our choices were with the LEAN CUISINE® Marketplace Collection meals. Could these be both delicious and satisfying? I was hoping so. I picked up some Vermont White Cheddar Mac & Cheese LEAN CUISINE® Marketplace Collection in preparation for our week. Our meal ready in under 5 minutes? Okay, I can work with that. Now, part of making more balanced choices in 2016 means making sure our side dishes are part of a balanced meal as well. Once upon a time, I had made some roasted broccoli and was so amazed by how tasty it was. Normally, broccoli isn’t a favorite but I was in love, it just needed some tweaking. Check out the recipe below, your mouth will thank you.

Roasted garlic parmesan broccoli with a twist

Ingredients

• 3 bunches of broccoli
• 4 tablespoons Olive oil
• 1/2 cup Fresh shredded parmesan
• 1/4 cup Sunflower seeds
• 4 cloves of garlic

Directions

I cannot tell you enough how very simple this is. And fast. And delicious. Did I mention that I actually hate half of it as soon as it was done? To begin with, cut up the broccoli from the giant stem so that it’s all in small, bite size pieces. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Add broccoli to pan.

Drizzle olive oil over the top of broccoli.

Dice garlic and sprinkle over the broccoli.

Sprinkle sunflower seeds over the broccoli as well.

Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes. {About 5 minutes in would be a good time to start cooking your LEAN CUISINE® Marketplace Collection Vermont White Cheddar Mac & Cheese

Empty into a serving dish if desired. Sprinkle with fresh shredded parmesan cheese.

Go ahead – eat it all, we aren’t judging you. On a side note, I really contemplated adding bacon to it, wouldn’t that be amazing?!

I love that it only takes minutes to prepare. It only takes minutes to eat too. Pairing this roasted garlic parmesan broccoli with the LEAN CUISINE® Marketplace Collection Vermont White Cheddar Mac & Cheese made dinner a snap on busy nights. I love that there are organic ingredient options so I know we are getting a more balanced meal. We are using the LEAN CUISINE® Marketplace Collection to help us keep up with a balanced, satisfying meal plan for 2016. I’m telling you – this is going to be the best year ever.

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Roasted Garlic Parmesan Broccoli with a Twist

Ingredients

• 3 bunches of broccoli
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup fresh shredded parmesan
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 4 cloves garlic, minced

Instructions

1. Lightly spray baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Cut broccoli into bite size pieces and spread onto baking sheet.
3. Drizzle olive oil onto broccoli.
4. Add minced garlic and sunflower seeds to broccoli.
5. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes.
6. Sprinkle with fresh shredded parmesan.

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How are you ensuring that your family has balanced meals this year? I’d love to hear your tips, ideas and quick meals. For more ideas, you are going to want to check out the Flavorful Moments Pinterest Board. Before you go though, leave a comment with your favorite tips for balanced meals.