Honey Balsamic Brussels Sprouts (Serves 8)

Henry helped prepare this year's Thanksgiving dinner, including mixing the vinaigrette for our roasted Brussels sprouts side dish. At dinner, however, he only had eyes for Grandma's homemade cranberry sauce so I can't say for sure that this Brussels sprouts recipe is "Henry-approved". I can say that everyone else around our table enjoyed it and I hope your family will too.

Henry shakes the vinaigrette for Honey Balsamic Brussels Sprouts.

You can easily divide this recipe in half for a weeknight family meal.

Honey Balsamic Brussels Sprouts ready for roasting.

Ingredients

4 cups Brussels sprouts (about 1 pound)

4 slices bacon

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 Tablespoons honey

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Rinse Brussels sprouts and cut of the base of each sprout. Remove any outer leaves that are yellowed or have black spots. Inspect to ensure there are no aphids or other bugs caught inside. If you find insects, rinse them out or cut off the affected portion of the sprout. Cut each Brussels sprouts length-wise in half and place them in a large bowl.

Use kitchen scissors to cut the bacon into ½-inch pieces. Toss them in the bowl with the sprouts.

In a small sealable bowl, pour the olive oil, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper. Seal the bowl with a tight fitting lid. Shake until well combined. (You could also use a whisk to stir these together, but Henry likes to shake.)

Pour the vinaigrette over the sprouts and toss to coat.

Place the sprouts on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, turning once about half way through the cooking time.

Serve warm.

Honey Balsamic Brussels Sprouts hot from the oven.

How your kids can help

2-year old: Shaking the vinaigrette until well combined.
3-year old: Tossing the sprouts in the vinaigrette.
4-year old: Measuring the oil, vinegar, and honey.
5-year old: Using kitchen scissors to cut the bacon into ½-inch pieces.

Henry's favorite part of our Thanksgiving meal -- DESSERT!

Comments

The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook

UPDATE (10/2/12): Unfortunately, I did not hear back from our original winner. Congratulations to our alternate winner for "The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook" -- Robin Pfefer. UPDATE (9/29/12): I am happy to announce that Kashia Clopper is the winner of "The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook". When I was first thinking about using the Baby-Led Weaning (BLW) model for Henry, I was unsure about whether it would really work. I was excited about BLW’s claims of less stressful meals that the whole family could share together. Plus, I was all for encouraging Henry to gain new skills by learning about the shapes, textures, colors, smells and flavors of food. This sounded ideal in theory, but would it work in practice? After some fun but ineffective attempts at letting Henry feed himself, I went in search of resources to learn more about BLW. I needed to learn how to prepare meals for our family in which Henry could participate. That’s when I found “ The Baby-Led

Do Your Kids Eat Everything?

UPDATE (3/15/2013): Congratulations to Kia as the random drawing winner in this giveaway! Thank you to all those who entered this contest. Before we began our food adventure with Henry, Daddy and I had many conversations about how to encourage Henry to become “a good eater.” After watching other parents constantly struggle with their toddlers, we wanted to know if there was anything we could do from the start to prevent picky eating. That’s when we read “ French Kids Eat Everything ” by Karen Le Billon . The book is an easy and enjoyable read about the year that Karen’s family spent in France and how it changed the way her family eats. The heart of the book explores the 10 French Food Rules for raising happy, healthy eaters. “French Kids Eat Everything” sparked numerous discussions at our dinner table about how our family eats. We have become more conscious of our assumptions about food and how that will influence Henry’s understanding of mealtimes. In addition, the

What is I-522?

Yesterday, I interviewed a mom who is concerned about GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms). She explained that there is no way to know whether the food you purchase may include GMOs unless it is certified organic. In Washington state, Initiative 522 would require labeling for foods produced through genetic engineering. Providing consumers with information about the foods they eat seems like common sense. However, I-522 has already been met with controversy especially from the state's wheat growers . I wanted to hear from a local farm, so I asked Dan Hulse from Tahoma Farms for his thoughts on GMOs and I-522. Henry loves finding his favorite foods in our weekly produce delivery from Terra Organics. In 2003, Dan and his wife Kim formed Terra Organics an organic produce delivery service. They have been small family farmers since 2004. In 2009, the couple purchased a 40-acre farm in Orting, WA known as Tahoma Farms. The farm and Terra Organics sell organic produce locally

How to Feed a Henry

Search This Blog