lemon roasted broccoli + chickpeas

Roasted. Veggies. I could LIVE on roasted vegetables. Actually... I do live on roasted veggies! You can roast pretty much anything, season them with almost anything, and eat them for every meal. Too easy. This dish is great as a side for fish, to bring to a potluck, or works as a meal served with quinoa or brown rice. The trick here is to roast the lemon wedges before squeezing the lemon juice, I swear, it makes a difference 😉.

lemon roasted broccoli + chickpeas

• 4 cups broccoli florets
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 lemon (or 4-5 wedges)
• 1 15.5 oz can of garbanzo beans
• salt + pepper
• drizzle of olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. I like my broccoli florets chopped relatively small but this is your preference. Chop onion, smash garlic, and drain and rinse the chickpeas. Arrange all veggies on a baking tray lined with parchment. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt + pepper, and arrange lemon wedges evenly over tray (remember- don't squeeze those lemons yet!)

Roast for 15-20 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. With a pair of tongs squeeze the roasted lemon wedges over the whole tray. Boom 👊🏼

I have a fun trick to share with you. Being vegan, or vegetarian, or some variation of the two, iron consumption can be an are of concern. While there are plenty of plant-based iron rich foods such as lentils, beets, and leafy greens, the bio-availability of iron is easily disrupted by other nutrients (i.e. calcium). A good way to sneak some extra iron into the diet is by using Red Alaea sea salt. This is a traditional style Hawaiian salt mixed with red volcanic clay, which just happens to be rich in, yep, you guessed it, iron oxide. So keep calm and sprinkle on.