This roasted broccoli dish is so good, it’ll make you want to eat more broccoli even if it’s already something you enjoy.
We all know someone, or maybe it’s us we’re talking about, that are picky eaters especially when it comes to vegetables — while also encouraging the picky eaters in your life who don’t like to eat their “greens”. Then you’ll love this roasted broccoli side dish that’ll make you want to eat more broccoli.
What Are The Health Benefits Of Broccoli?
Talk about these little green trees and digestion — in one cup of cooked broccoli, you’re feeding your digestive system about five grams of fiber. Broccoli may help your digestion by protecting your gut microbiota (or the mix of healthy bacteria in the gut). In an experiment done on mice, researchers found that broccoli activated a receptor in the gut that helped reduce inflammation (1). This is especially beneficial for people with digestive conditions, like colitis.
Most of my clients who come to me with digestive issues often can’t tolerate eating cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli, raw. It causes a lot of bloating, gas, and sometimes makes their stomachs very bloated and distended. In order to combat that and still get the nutrition punch and fiber boost broccoli has to offer, simple flash steam or cook it!
Roasted Broccoli In Your Meal Prep Rotation
Roasting a sheet pan of your favorite vegetables to use in your meals throughout the week is key to squeezing in more vegetables, saving you tons of time, while eating nutritious and delicious foods that are homemade. Something as easy as roasting broccoli can add important vitamins and minerals to your diet along with the fiber we need to keep our digestive systems healthy, moving along, and create favorable gut health.
Use roasted broccoli in a big Nourish Bowl for lunch, add it into a quick stir-fry with other vegetables, proteins, healthy fats, and carbohydrates and boom, you have a quick and easy meal! Not to mention, a lot of people aren’t huge fans of broccoli so by roasting this nutrient-dense cruciferous vegetable, you’re changing up the texture and flavor in a way that’ll change your mind about ole’ broccoli.
A meal-prep hack with roasted veggies:
- If you’re adding the roasted broccoli to something like a cold salad or Nourish Bowl, then enjoy it chilled! It still has the roasted flavors, but if you really want that crisp texture you’ll be forgoing it in this application if you just add it to a salad. The alternative way would be to put it in the oven for a quick heat blast to crisp it up — but remember, the whole point of meal prep is to save you time to enjoy it how it is!
- If you’re adding the roasted broccoli to a hot meal or stir-fry, just add in the pre-cooked roasted broccoli and heat until warm. Again, if you’re looking for the specific roasted texture (a little crispy) then the only way to achieve this again, is to put it in the oven for a bit until you get the texture you’re after. Otherwise, I enjoy it just the same!
- If you’re using pre-cooked roasted broccoli as a snack, try enjoying it chilled and dipping it into Creamy Sweet Onion Dip or the Cashew Kimchi Dip!