Broccoli is a real girl’s girl. Very supportive of women’s health. And men’s actually. Here’s why you should be eating broccoli and 5 delicious ways to do so.
It is a rich source of folate, vitamin C and fibre as well as plenty of minerals and phytonutrients. Broccoli (as a cruciferous vegetable) contains a large percentage of sulphur compounds such as sulforaphane and isothiocyanates which increase the liver’s ability to reduce potentially toxic substances. Your liver simply loves broccoli. One of the isothiocyanates is indole 3-carbinol which helps deactivate a potent oestrogen that promotes tumour growth. Its richness in folate helps support a healthy pregnancy and may minimise the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Its richness in vitamin-k also helps support brain health. It also helps maintain eye health thanks to high levels of the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin and benefits your skin as sulforaphane helps repair skin damage.
In short, it boosts health and helps increase your resistance to disease. However, a certain population group who suffer from IBS may note that certain quantities of broccoli make their symptoms worse. This may be an indication that there are bacterial overgrowths at play and we suggest you talk to us.
Broccoli, Carrot & Courgette Fritters
Take one cup each of shredded (or diced really small) broccoli, carrots and courgette, whisk three eggs and add to the mix with approx. 2 cups of almond flour. Season really well and add some oregano, basil or any herbs at all really. You can add some cheese here if you like too. Take a heaped tablespoon of the mix and drop into a hot pan, let it cook for a couple of minutes then flatten a little with a spatula, when it’s safe to do so, flip it over, cook the other side and allow to drain on some kitchen paper. They can be a little fiddly, but the end result is worth it.
Crunchy Broccoli Salad
Take a decent head of broccoli, chop into florets and steam it until it is barely cooked, we want the crunchy type not the soggy, overcooked type. Add to a bowl layered with salad leaves and adorn at your pleasure – pumpkin seeds or hazelnuts for more crunch, cherry tomatoes, peppers, shredded carrot. To dress it, whizz a ripe avocado with some water to thin it out, add some salt and lemon juice and drizzle freely over the salad.
Broccoli roasted with lemon and garlic
Sounds simple but trust me, it changes it. Something about the roasting maybe. Whatever it is, it is greater than the sum of its parts. Chop into florets and toss with oil of your choice, finely chop some garlic and add this too, season liberally and roast for around 20 minutes. Once cooked, squeeze the juice of a half a lemon over it.
Green smoothie
This is a good way to use up those stems you have probably been throwing away! Take a handful of stems or florets (or a mix) and add to your blender / nutribullet. Throw in another handful of spinach and a full pear or apple. Use coconut water or other liquid to dilute it to a drinkable consistency. Adding ginger and/ or lemon gives it a lovely zing, adding half an avocado makes it creamy.
Broccoli and squash soup
This one is for the broccoli haters. You will not detect it in this robust soup. Take a medium size squash, peel, chop and roast (around 30 mins) season and douse liberally with cumin. Fry off some onions, celery and garlic, roughly one onion, three sticks of celery and a couple of cloves of garlic. If you have a lonely carrot lurking in your veg tray you can throw that in too. Then, add around 1.5 litres of stock, your roasted squash and a chopped head of broccoli, simmer until all the veg its cooked, allow to cool and then soup-ify it an immersion blender.
We also love this chicken and broccoli bake recipe from Roz Purcell over at Natural Born feeder. Enoy!
If you would like nutritional support during these challenging times, call us on 01 4020777 or book online now.
