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This Simple Sesame Roasted Broccoli is easy enough for a weeknight dinner and nutritious enough to fuel you throughout your pregnancy. The delicious recipe is from The Natural Pregnancy Cookbook by Dr. Sonali Ruder—The Foodie Physician.

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Make sure you enter our giveaway below for your chance to win this wonderful cookbook!

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Sonali is a board-certified Emergency Medicine physician, mom, culinary school grad, recipe developer and, now, the author of multiple cookbooks. She uses her medical and culinary backgrounds to create healthy and delicious family-friendly recipes. She's also a wonderfully generous food blogger buddy of mine; she has been a true inspiration and support to me. We've even been lucky enough to have her guest post for the Full Belly Sisters blog—check out her gorgeous Moroccan Spiced Salmon.

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Today, I'm sharing with you a delicious recipe for a Simple Sesame Roasted Broccoli (page 223 in the book). Broccoli is wonderful for everyone, of course; for you pregnant gals, it's especially fantastic. Packed with folate, fiber, and Vitamin C, it's a great addition to your diet. And this recipe—with its Asian flavors—is both tastier and infinitely healthier than your average Chinese take-out.

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Ingredients 

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1 1/2 Tablespoons sesame oil

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1 teaspoon grated garlic

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1 pound broccoli spears

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2 teaspoons sesame seeds

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2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce

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1 1/2 teaspoons rice vinegar

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salt and pepper, to taste

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Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

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Mix the oil and garlic in a large bowl; add the broccoli spears and toss to coat evenly.

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Transfer the broccoli to a baking sheet (I covered mine in foil for easier clean-up) and spread the broccoli out so it's in a single layer. Roast in the oven for about 12 minutes, turning halfway through. Then sprinkle the sesame seeds over the broccoli and roast for about five more minutes. The broccoli should be tender-crisp and the sesame seeds lightly toasted.

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Remove the baking sheet from the oven.

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Place the broccoli in a large bowl and then drizzle the soy sauce and vinegar on top. Toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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So easy! And this is just the kind of dish I recommend to clients: low in calories, but absolutely packed with nutrients. Oh, yeah, and super yummy. It's the perfect nosh for pregnancy cravings—kinda crunchy, a little salty, and very nutritious.

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I'm so grateful to Sonali for sharing this wonderful cookbook with me. And I'm especially excited to share my copy with you! One lucky winner will get a copy of Natural Pregnancy Cookbook—just enter via the Rafflecopter below. Good luck!

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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UPDATE: Check out Healthy Aperture's review of Natural Pregnancy Cookbook, which features my "Pump Up Your Milk" Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins!

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