Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Paleo Friendly

I never remember tasting brussels sprouts as a child. I only remember thinking they must not be something I wanted to try because I didn’t know anybody who liked them! As I got older and went away to college, I vividly remember having dinner with a good friend and her parents. Brussels sprouts were served that night; I could feel the anxiety kick in as I laid eyes on those little green veggies. I kept thinking to myself, “how in the world will I eat those?…what if I gag?” They didn’t even smell very good. As I stared at my plate, I came up with a plan. I decided to simply take 3 huge bites to get it over with as fast as possible. Bite number one…I was expecting a very bitter taste because that’s how they smelled. They felt slightly slimy as I opened my mouth; however, to my surprise, the brussels sprouts tasted a little sweet. I was totally relieved after that first bite and ended up eating the entire serving. Now don’t think for a minute that meant I was hooked on these odd green veggies, I most certainly was NOT. I was a college student living in an apartment for goodness sake; poptarts and protein bars were my go to breakfast, lunch and dinner! Years later, I met my husband. He apparently grew up eating these oval shaped veggies. The first time he mentioned the possibility of me fixing brussels sprouts, I thought we were done…”this relationship is clearly not going to work” were my exact thoughts. Then I suddenly thought back to my experience as a young college student. Now, if you know me, you know I love a challenge and I really do like healthy food, so challenge accepted. I was off to figure out how to make brussels sprouts taste decent. This was way before Pinterest was ever invented though, so I had my work cut out for me! Trial 1…fail, trial 2…fail, trial 3…fail, trial 4…FAIL…ugh! I was about to give up on these veggies when it dawned on me, everything is better with bacon!! Trial number 5 was a success and one we use a few times a week at our house these days. A little more tweaking through the years and our 3 young kids even love these delicious Balsamic Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Bacon. I’m thrilled to share with you a family favorite. I hope you enjoy these as much as we do and you share the love via this blog page or Pinterest (just pin from the picture above).

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