Broccoli: The Serious Player In Produce
This Nutrient-Rich Veggie Packs a Punch
Broccoli is also an outrageous high source of vitamin C. There aren't too many vegetables in the world that contain rich sources of vitamin C. It's mostly fruits. But it's beautiful that there are 90 mg of vitamin C in a 100 g serving. That's 149 percent of your daily needs of Vitamin C from a veggie! Very cool.
— Julie Daniluk, registered holistic nutrionist
Broccoli tends to be the vegetable shoved to the cold, lonely corners of our dinner plates. To eat it, kids have to imagine they're ferocious dinosaurs devouring tiny green trees. And adults, well, sometimes they, too, have to pretend they're brontosauruses as they wince and nibble.
But you can boost its profile.
Like carrots, celery or lettuce, broccoli needs to be prepared properly in order to win the daily food fight with your taste buds. And if the incredible health benefits of broccoli don't turn you into a fan, finding new ways of cooking the arborous-looking green will.
What Is Broccoli?
Broccoli is a versatile veggie that hails from the Brassica family of plants and its cousins are cabbage, cauliflower and bok choy. A little closer to home, broccoli's siblings include sprouting broccoli, broccoli tenders, broccolini, romanesco and purple flowering broccoli.
Maggie Crawford of Maggie Mae Farm in Belmont, New Hampshire, says broccoli is one of the standard vegetables that customers are looking for. She champions broccoli for its wide range of healthful benefits.
"Most people are most familiar with the green headed, tree-like varieties. There is also broccolini, which has longer stalks and smaller flower heads, and broccoli rabe or rapini that has lots of leaves, no real heads and is used often as a salad green.
"They also come in a variety of colors, including purple. Nutritionally, broccolini is high in vitamin C but also contains vitamin A, calcium, folate and iron. Rapini is a source of vitamins A, C and K, as well as potassium, calcium and iron."
Boasting the Benefits of Broccoli
According to Registered Holistic Nutritionist Julie Daniluk, contributor to Chatelaine.com and host of the OWN television show "Healthy Gourmet," broccoli contains an incredible amount of antioxidants. Sulforaphane, a compound within broccoli, is being researched for its cancer-fighting benefits, and if you steam your broccoli, you can actually increase its benefits.
"Broccoli is also an outrageous high source of vitamin C," Daniluk said. "There aren't too many vegetables in the world that contain rich sources of vitamin C. It's mostly fruits. But it's beautiful that there are 90 mg of vitamin C in a 100 g serving. That's 149 percent of your daily needs of Vitamin C from a veggie! Very cool."
Lianne Phillipson-Webb, a registered nutritionist who specializes in pre- and post-natal health and family meal planning, says including broccoli in your diet will not only provide your system with its own set of boxing gloves, but it will also give you a generous dose of fiber and calcium.
"Your best-case scenario is to steam," Phillipson-Webb said of cooking methods. "You reduce the nutrient content considerably if you boil broccoli. So steaming it is definitely your best option. Three to four minutes to maximize the anti-cancer compounds."
Mouth-Watering Fixes for a Plain-Jane Veggie
So, eating broccoli is akin to injecting a million tiny ninjas into your body. Sounds tempting enough. But it's getting those lean, mean fighting machines past your pursed lips that may require some high-kicking spices and sauces.
Phillipson-Webb says broccoli is incredibly versatile, and there are numerous ways of making it yummy and a hit with your family. Options include putting it in a stir-fry, on top of pizza, or adding it to pastas and risottos.
"I always like curry spices," Phillipson-Webb said of her favorite broccoli topping. "You can do more of a cheese sauce. Hollandaise sauce and lemon butter are also good ones."
"Have fun in the kitchen and try toasted sesame oil with your broccoli one week and then pesto on your broccoli another week," said Daniluk. "You're forcing that veggie into totally different countries and culinary worlds, where the veggie can take on many different flavors."
For kids, both Daniluk and Phillipson-Webb suggest giving them dips.
Daniluk says naming the dips makes it fun. An avocado dip could be dubbed "The Hulk Dip," a spinach dip "The Popeye Dip" and a bean dip "Silly Dip."
"Put on sesame seeds, maybe a little bit of soy sauce. You could put on butter. That enhances the flavor and taste," said Phillipson-Webb. "Really go with what your child enjoys. Melted cheese on top is fabulous, like parmesan and pecorino, and quickly use a fine grater so it melts on top of it. Have them sprinkle it on. The more you involve [the kids] the better."
But as you chop your voluptuous head of broccoli into a gourmet feast, don't be so quick to throw away the stalk. Daniluk says it's nutritious and fibrous. Just cut off the tough outer skin and, voila: You can snack on it while you cook.
"I use the inside of the stalk of the broccoli as a delicious, raw, crispy veggie that I can dip into hummus," she said. "Most people reach for crackers or pitas to dip into bean dip, but why not reach for hard veggies that are going to give you that crunch but also satisfy your need for seven veggies a day?"
It is the veggie that, for some people, has a bad name, but it is one that packs some serious game. Make broccoli part of your daily diet.
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