Brussels Sprouts

Preheat oven to 400°F and lime a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Heat 1 Tbsp coconut oil in pan. Thinly slice mushrooms and onion. Generously salt mushrooms and onions in frying pan. Fry until onion is translucent and lightly browned and mushrooms are more thoroughly browned.

Wash Brussels sprouts, trim ends, remove any loose leaves, and cut in half. Place Brussels sprouts on baking sheet, top with the pan-fried mushrooms and onion mix and remaining melted coconut oil. Mix together and spread out evenly on baking sheet.

Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes, until Brussels sprouts start to brown.

Brussels sprouts often come with a bad rap and are a common vegetable to be heavily disliked by children across North America and the UK. One of Erin's favourite memories of Brussels sprouts, is a time her mom was feeding their little cousin. He was about 2 or 3 years old at the time, and his mother had boiled Brussels sprouts for him. He wouldn't eat the pale green, verging on brown, vegetable. He spat them out and would scrunch up his face, wrinkle his nose, and push the fork away. "What?" my mom asked, "do you not like it? is it yucky?" "Yes!" he proclaimed "it's yucky!" proud of a new word he had learned. I think his mother never forgave mine for "making him hate Brussels sprouts" !

Age can often change our perspectives, and many of us discover that actually Brussels sprouts can be pretty darn tasty once we have a "more mature pallet" and discover the magic of cooking greens in a heck of a lot of bacon grease ,thus the classic Thanksgiving or autumn-time dish of Brussels sprouts roasted with bacon. This recipe is for those of you who want to give Brussels sprouts a try again, but want to refrain from the fatty goodness of bacon. We recommend being generous with the salt and coconut or similar oil with this "vegan bacon" option.