Asparagus, rich in folate, is considered a “romantic” enhancing food. French bride grooms often ate several servings to get ready for their honeymoons! In this recipe, we’ve made this recipe mindfully indulgent by tossing with a little butter and garlic, and baked it with a touch of creamy Gorgonzola and crunch bread crumbs. And one portion of romantic decadence is only 100 calories!

6 Portions • 100 Calories = 1/2 Cup

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds asparagus

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

Nonstick cooking spray

Paprika

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place a pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil.
2. Trim 1 inch from the bottoms of the asparagus stalks and discard. Cut each stalk of asparagus into three pieces, each about 2–3 inches long.
3. Boil the asparagus for 2 minutes if pencil-thin or 3–4 minutes if any thicker. Drain and transfer to a baking dish.
4. Add the butter, garlic, salt, and pepper to the baking dish and toss the asparagus to fully coat.
5. Top the asparagus with the Gorgonzola cheese and then the panko bread crumbs. Lightly spray the bread crumbs with nonstick cooking spray to moisten and then sprinkle a pinch of paprika over the top, for color.
6. Bake for 12–15 minutes, just until the bread crumbs begin to brown. Serve immediately.

Helpful Tip: If you like your cooked asparagus to have more of a crisp snap to it, pencil-thin asparagus can be made into this gratin without pre-boiling.

Mona Dolgov

Nutritionist, cookbook author, publisher and health and wellness entrepreneur Mona Dolgov lives her lifelong mission of creating healthier food products, recipes and inventing simple culinary tricks to easily create practical and healthier lifestyles. She is President of You Live Right, LLC, where she has authored and published over 20 cookbooks for top-selling kitchen appliances, health and wellness products and grocery retailers, focused on simplicity and using nutritious ingredients. She also is a private nutritional coach, offers educational and fun dinner classes at Mona’s Kitchen,  and is a speaker on nutritional well-being. Plus, she is very excited about launching Cook U. Follow Mona on Facebook or Instagram @monadolgov

She recently co-authored The Perfect Portion Cookbook, a 5-star rated cookbook (with Hollywood star Anson Willams) that makes American classics healthier and guides consumers to healthier portion control. This book (and Mona) was featured on the Today Show, The Doctors, and The Huffington Post. Learn more at www.theperfectportion.com

She is completing her second cookbook, Satisfy,  that will be launched in 2020, focused on simple nutritionally balanced meals all 500 calories or less with real ingredients and real portions. All of the recipes are gluten-free.