parmesan roasted asparagus

Last summer, I got really into using the MyFitnessPal app on my iPhone.

For those of you who don't know, MyFitnessPal is a calorie and diet tracker that can help you keep track of what you're putting into your body during the day.
It also keeps track of all of the physical activity you do, which for me helps me stay focused on whatever weight loss goal I'm working towards.

This week, Joe and I have picked back up with the MyFitnessPal app and I'm super excited about it.
Mostly because I realized I can type in the exact recipes I'm using and it will tell me some of the nutritional info on the food I'm serving.

Color me obsessed.

Rewind to last night.
Asparagus has always been really intimidating to me.

I don't know why really...I guess I've just tasted one too many bad batches.
But for some reason I  got it in my head that I really wanted to tackle this fear and try my hand at it.
{I'm chalking it up to be another weird phase I'm going through, like the one I went through with brussels sprouts and avocado.}
So, I mustered up the courage, bought some asparagus, and started researching good ways to cook it without making it too mushy.

Here's what I came up with.

Things you'll need:

15-20 asparagus spears

2 tbsp olive oil

sea salt

ground black pepper

1/4 cup reduced fat grated Parmesan cheese {finely shredded will work also}

Preheat oven to 400 degrees {in my case, 375 - darn you, hot oven}.

Wash and trim asparagus.

I cut about an inch off the bottoms of each spear.

Lightly grease baking sheet with cooking spray.

Arrange asparagus in a line without overlapping.

Drizzle asparagus with olive oil.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to coat.

Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes, until asparagus is tender and a little browned.

Sprinkle Parmesan over asparagus and return to the over for about a minute, just long enough for the cheese to melt slightly.

Serve with a protein of your choice!

BBQ chicken, in our case.

According to MyFitnessPal, after entering in all of the ingredients:

1 serving: 7 asparagus spears

Total cals: 108

Total fat: 5.7 g

Total carbs: 8.8g

Protein: 5.1g

This is definitely a great low-cal side option on a night when you want to be healthy but also indulge in a little cheese.

Which is basically every night.

For me, anyway.

It's also super easy!

I mean it's basically like 3 ingredients if you don't count the salt and pepper, which are hardly ingredients in my opinion.

And after arm night at the gym, a 3-ingredient dish is about all I can handle.

Tonight Joe is going out with some work friends for dinner, so I'm left to fend for myself.

As of right now, I'm really feeling breakfast for dinner.

I'm thinking french toast...but with this banana bread instead of regular bread.

You're all invited.