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Maple Dijon Sprouts Skillet
This is a recipe adapted from Taste of Home with healthy modifications.
First of all, if you are avoiding brussel sprouts because of their less-than-stellar reputation, you are missing out! They look just like mini cabbages and taste like broccoli stalk, if you ask me. (I just tried them for the first time over the summer.) Brussel sprouts are extremely healthy; half a cup contains almost a day’s worth of Vitamin C and a significant amount of Vitamin K. Like any green vegetable, they are low-calorie and full of fiber and nutrients. Regardless of what Franklin the Turtle says, they taste delicious :)
On to the recipe. (You might want to consider this for a Thanksgiving side dish, an alternative to green bean casserole!)
Ingredients:
4 low-fat turkey kielbasa links
1 Pkg (16oz) frozen brussel sprouts (microwave for 4 minutes first)
1/2 lb sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup fresh baby carrots, quartered
1 medium onion, chopped
3 heaping tablespoons of Dijon mustard
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp dried sage leaves
1 tsp ground pepper
*Optional: Whole grain rice, wild rice, Cous cous, or quinoa
Directions:
In large skillet, cooks sausage, carrots, onion, mushrooms, and brussel sprouts until vegetables are crisp. Add in the syrup, mustard, sage and pepper; cover and cook 4-6 minutes longer or until sprouts are tender. Meanwhile, prepare rice/couscous according to package directions. Serve with sausage mixture.
I really want to try some sort of brussel sprout dish for this Thanksgiving dinner. Which, by the way, is only 8 days away!! It would be a healthy addition to the big meal. Some “healthified” green bean casserole would be good too. Honestly I don’t know if I’ve had a green bean casserole at a Thanksgiving dinner. This traditional dish is not so traditional in our house. I do think it’s good to incorporate some sort of vegetable dish in with the meat and rolls (carbs), mashed potatoes (carbs), sweet potato casserole (carbs), and stuffing (more carbs).
What veggies make an appearance at your Thanksgiving table?
Brussel Sprouts and 9 More New Things I Tried This Summer
Since today is that last real day of my summer vacation, I’m going to re-cap some of the things I did this summer for the first time:
1. Brussel Sprouts: In all my 19 years I have never before eaten a brussel sprout before last night. My parents were as leery about the mini-cabbage vegetable as I was. Last night, we made Roasted Brussel Sprouts with lemon juice, garlic, onions and tomatoes. Guess what? They were not disgusting at all; we enjoyed them! They look just like a baby head of cabbage, and taste just like a broccoli stalk. I would definitely make these little guys again. They are 8 calories each and packed full of vitamins like C, K, and manganese. They also are an anti-oxidant. Nutritious and Delicious and now I feel silly for avoiding them for so long.
2. Almond Milk: I won’t say too much about this now, saving it for a future post. But my week on almond milk was full of recipe experiments…
3. Visiting the East Coast: In July my family flew to New York City for the first time. Granted, it was more for medical reasons than vacation but we took advantage of being in the city and explored every part of Manhattan we could. What an amazing city!
4. Eating at Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour: where I witnessed my dad eat more ice cream than ever before!
5. Riding a New York Subway: Watching all those Law & Order episodes had me feeling a little sketchy about the subway. We survived!
6. Seeing a movie in 3D: Yes, I am behind the times. Before Katy Perry 3D, I had never seen a 3D movie. Now I got some sweet new glasses ;)
7. Spending the night in a hospital/eating hospital food: Not quite the glamorous setting it’s made out to be in movies, but the hospital coffee wasn’t half-bad.
8. Going to the doctor’s office alone: a moment where I realized I was an adult. Needles and no one’s hand to squeeze!
9. Going One Week with out coffee……just kidding, I didn’t try this. :) Are you crazy?!?!
10. Blogging! This has been so much fun, posting and talking about what I love. Thank you for reading! Keep coming back for recipes, workouts, healthy habits, college life and extra surprises :)
