Crispy Roasted Broccoli

You probably already know that broccoli is a nutritional powerhouse. It's loaded with vitamin C, folate, potassium, and iron, and other cool vitamins and minerals. It helps keep your eyes, skin, and heart healthy, it's good for keeping blood sugar low, and it's high in fiber and naturally low carb.

I gotta laugh at a bit at this recipe though because I've been eating "burnt" food for years. Slightly burning vegetables is a way of life for me. I seriously love the taste and texture of slightly charred vegetables, and other foods. And all you really need is some olive oil, salt, and maybe lemon or other spices if you're feeling adventurous. Garlic powder and a bit of paprika can spice and brown the broccoli well. Another option, if you do dairy, is to sprinkle Parmesan cheese across the roasted broccoli before devouring.

All that said, if you have digestive challenges, roasted broccoli is not easy to digest and probably not a good choice. Instead, I recommend steaming the broccoli until very tender and then maybe add a drizzle of lemon juice. Or, try a broccoli soup recipe that is easier on your digestive system:

• Broccoli Cheddar Soup
• Creamy Broccoli Basil Soup
• Cream of Broccoli Carrot Soup

Crispy Roasted Broccoli Tips

• Don't wash the broccoli. I don't wash the broccoli because it's clean when I buy it fresh from my market. If you do wash it, dry it well. Wet broccoli will not brown and crisp well.
• Slice the stalks off the whole tree and then break the trees apart with your hands. Slicing the trees makes all the leaves fall off.
• Save the stalks for soup or broccoli rice. I give the stalks to my dog, but you can also use them to thicken soup stock or pulse them in a food processor to rice them.
• Cut the florets about the same size. Similar-sized pieces will cook at a similar rate, so make sure your florets are all about the same size. It's ok if there are a few that are smaller because they're tasty too, but don't go big.
• Spread the florets out across the baking sheet, giving each floret space so it doesn't touch any others. This is to prevent them from steaming and to help them get brown and crisp.