How often do you eat broccoli weekly?
Not as often as you would like, I guess.
Sometimes we absolutely forget about this extremely rich in nutrients vegetable. Look at it its color, though. So green, so healthy and beautiful.
It is like its screaming: “I’m so good for you! Eat me, please, EAT ME!”
Broccoli is rich in so many essential nutrients, microelements, and vitamins (iron, vitamin C, to name a few). It contains a lot of antioxidants, which slow down the aging of the body (even wrinkles!). It also boosts our immune system and prevents disease.
Yet, here comes the challenge.
Its specific taste makes it often times not our choice of preference. Especially when it comes to children, pleasing their taste with broccoli is not an easy endeavor.
With some creativity, though, it is absolutely feasible to include broccoli in our daily menu without sacrificing taste.
Small and steady wins the race
We need not include broccoli in large amounts to benefit from its healthiness. A handful a day is all that is required.
Prepare the broccoli in advance. The best way to do this is to steam them. Then you can chop (or even blend) it into small pieces and sprinkle it over any dish you have planned to eat anyway.
By adding a small amount to one meal per day, you will be surprised about how much broccoli you are eating without even noticing.
Great way to include broccoli in your daily menu is also by blending them. Is it a cream soup, smoothie or broccoli sauce you can’t even tell you eat broccoli. They will always remain the secret hidden ingredient.
Steaming is all it takes
If you want to preserve the nutritional values of broccoli (or any vegetable), steaming is the way to go!
It is an easy, quick and healthy way to cook which also allows you to prepare them in advance. It takes approximately 10 to 15 minutes of steaming, depending on the size of the pieces.
And do not forget the stem! It is even more nutritious than the florets, do not throw it away! When you chop it well enough, you won’t know it is there. It simply needs a couple more minutes of steaming around 20 or some more.
Then you can chop them into small pieces and add them to your dish. You can even blend broccoli as part of a soup.
And do not let anybody fool you, you do not need any special equipment to steam your broccoli.
A simple and inexpensive food steamer can be the answer. Our you can go for a stainless steel stack and steam pot set. Still costs $30 and you get a nice multifunctional pot as well.
Here follow a couple ideas of how you can add broccoli to your daily meals:
- Sprinkle your pasta dish. You can chop your broccoli into tiny pieces to disguise it or leave the florets as they are to add freshness to your meal.
- Add them to your rice meals. One of the easiest and healthiest meals to cook is boiled rice with vegetables such as peas, carrots, corn etc. Why not throw some broccoli into the mix!
- Include them in your salads. All kinds of salads need some broccoli if you ask us! It works as well with your fresh salad in summer as with the legumes and roots you might choose in winter.
- Enrich your garnishes. Any garnish you make can use some broccoli. Chop them to add freshness and color to your dishes.
- Throw them in your soups. Chop your steamed broccoli well and you can throw them in any soup you have made. You can add them on top of your cream soups or blend it in after the soup is ready. You will be adding freshness and nutrients to it anyhow!
