Coach Gerilyn Burnett of TPS is going to be bringing you insanely delicious and healthy recipes each month to help you out.

How to Eat Brussels Sprouts (Especially if You Hate Them)

By Coach G

If you want to live your healthiest life, it helps to eat your cruciferous veggies rich in sulfur. I mean veggies like cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli.

Sulfur is one of those minerals essential to life that you seldom hear people discussing. Think of sulfur as the sound crew at a concert; essential to a quality experience (arguably equal in importance to the artist(s)), but no one notices unless something goes wrong.

Sulfur is especially important if you lift. Sulfur is needed for taurine production, an amino acid essential in healthy cardiovascular, central nervous system, and muscle functioning. These are all key systems in building and maintaining optimal fitness, strength, power, and muscle mass.

Sulfur is also needed for glutathione synthesis, the body’s most potent antioxidant (also particularly helpful in preventing hangovers). (Read this article and this article for more info on sulfur).

But what do you do if you loathe cruciferous veggies, like Brussels sprouts?

There’s always at least one delicious way to eat even the most unappetizing foods. The easiest fix is to add bacon, like in this recipe.

If you’re uber-picky, preparing foods in different ways is key to discovering a recipe you enjoy. It also helps to make it appear like something else; in this case, slicing Brussels sprouts like slaw equates “not Brussels sprouts” in my hubby’s head and therefore he eats and enjoys it. It’s worth a shot.

This recipe was inspired by this recipe from BTB Fitness and is a great side to any simply prepared meat. I like it with burgers with raw cheddar melted on top.

Bacon Brussel Sprouts
1 lb. Brussels sprouts, shredded (cut & toss the ends)

4-6 pieces semi-crispy bacon (heritage pork from the farmer’s market is ideal! Otherwise, organic works.

1 head broccoli, chopped

1/2 tsp dijon mustard (optional)

2 tsp apple cider vinegar (like Bragg’s)

1/2 lemon, juiced

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 cup toasted pecans

salt & pepper, freshly ground is the tastiest!

In a large skillet, fry the bacon over medium low heat until semi-crispy. NOTE: cook it slowly. Bacon has an almost identical fat profile to olive oil, meaning you don’t want to oxidize all the mono-unsaturated fats (i.e., oxidized fats are harmful to health). Remove the bacon and set aside. Chop at some point.

Add the Brussels sprouts and broccoli to the bacon skillet. Sauté until softened and the Brussels are golden brown.

In another skillet (this is completely optional), toast the pecans over low heat for 1-2 minutes. You’ll know they are toasting by the aromatic goodness of toasted nuts wafting into your olfactory nerves. Watch them, toss them around in the skillet, and do not burn them. If they turn black you’ve gone too far. Throw them away and start all over. On a good note, you’ll only do that once in your lifetime because nuts are painfully expensive to throw away. Set aside. Roughly chop these too.

While this is going, whisk the dijon (if you’re using it), acv, lemon juice, and olive oil. Throw in some salt and pepper here too. Whisk it! Whisk it good. Add this to the Brussels.

Remove from heat. Toss in the bacon and pecans (pronounced PEE-can if you’re from certain parts of God’s Country, the South). Taste it. Add more salt & pepper to your liking.

It’s also tasty cold.

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Gerilyn, Coach G, facilitates flourishing by helping women find themselves and create vibrantly healthy lives they adore.

This usually involves lots of butter, fun, and butterfly challenges because food, love, and life are exquisitely delicious and every moment deserves savoring. Catch her here at the gym or at her website www.GerilynBurnett.com for more sunshine!