Favorite Sides!!

Good Morning y'all!!! 

I wanted to crank out a tiny blog post in hopes of inspiring someone to cook an EASY side. Now, don't get me wrong.. I absolutely love to host and do a big dinner with amazing sides.. but that tends to take time. 

Tonight for example..my husband is working late and I will be on my own for evening routine including dinner time with the two little boys. I like to make my sides AS easy as possible..along with healthy! 

typically my meals consist of one protein and one big side or even two sides that consist of veggies. that is how we eat...it makes it easy on my to only worry about two things. So I wanted to share some of my favorite easy sides that will pretty much go with anything!!!!

** I am VERY simplistic when it comes to seasoning my sides** You will find that I mix and match the veggies but the seasonings stay the same! I love olive oil, salt and pepper, fresh lemon juice, balsamic vinegar or liquid aminos for most of these. I like to keep them FRESH and simple.

Quick and Easy Sides

• Sautéed Brussel Sprouts with garlic and mushrooms. 

This is so simple- you can find the shaved Brussels sports in an already triple pre washed bag at the grocery store. Pour the bag of those in a big pot with some olive oil, salt and pepper, add a few cloves of whole garlic, the juice of one lemon, and some slivered mushrooms. This is packed full of fiber and zero carbs. You can also add a little bit of liquid aminos for some extra flavor.

• Roasted Green Beans, Grape Tomatoes, and Garlic. 

This is a side I especially love alongside a steak or grilled chicken. For this particular side, throw your green beans, grape tomatoes, and whole cloves of garlic on a lined baking sheet with foil and drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper on top with a dash of balsamic vinegar and mix well. Roast at 400 for about 15 minutes or until the grape tomatoes have popped :) Full of flavor!

• Button Mushrooms and Leeks 

This side goes amazing with fish or chicken or something light.. I start by placing a pat of butter on the bottom of my one pot and then throwing in the leeks...after the leeks start to soften you can then add your mushrooms and even some minced garlic if you choose. ( I obviously love to add garlic to everything) salt and pepper these and let them cook until mushrooms have cooked down. 

• Sautee'd Broccolini, Kale, and Garlic

Add olive oil to your one pot, then add your CHOPPED broccolini, kale, and whole cloves of garlic. Season with salt and pepper and COOK DOWN. Add the juice of a lemon :) 

• Sheet Pan Roasted Vegetables

I love these because you can switch the vegetables out seasonally. For fall and winter I tend to roast a lot of root vegetables and squashes but for spring its more peppers and onions. The sky is the limit when it comes to your vegetables but the base of what I do is: one chopped sweet potato, one onion rough chopped, one green bell pepper. I always season generously with salt and pepper and use olive oil. I have done roasted broccoli, roasted root veggies, roasted peppers...very very simple. I roast at 425 for 20 minutes.