One of the healthiest and most beneficial vegetables for our health is broccoli. It can help prevent cancer, improve digestion, reduce cholesterol levels, detoxify the body and maximize the absorption of vitamins and minerals.
If you want to eat a balanced and healthy diet, cruciferous vegetables must be on top of the most consumed foods. If you're not a big fan of this vegetable, here's how to prepare delicious broccoli recipes so you can enjoy all the benefits it brings. Also, we give you details of its benefits and the ways to cook it: steamed, roasted, etc.
What is broccoli?
Broccoli is a vegetable that belongs to the cruciferous family, such as cabbage, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, and turnips. The most frequently eaten parts are the heads of green flowers, which are tree-shaped and come from a thick and also edible stem.
About 100 grams of this vegetable contains 31 calories, 0 grams of fat, 6 grams of carbohydrates (including 2 grams of sugar and 2 grams of fiber) and 3 grams of protein. This vegetable is a great source of nutrients with very few calories. In this way, just 100 grams of this vegetable provides more than 100% of our daily requirement of vitamin C and vitamin K, and is also a good source of vitamin A, folic acid and potassium.
Moreover, broccoli is among the top 20 foods in terms of the ANDI score, which measures the content of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients in relation to calorie content. To get a high score on this index, food must provide a high amount of nutrients for a small number of calories.
How to cook broccoli
This fresh vegetable should not have a bitter or sulfurous taste. To make sure it tastes its best, we have to store the unwashed vegetables in broken or perforated plastic bags in the vegetable drawer of the fridge. We will only wash it just before eating it, as damp broccoli can develop mold and become soft.
When left at room temperature it becomes fibrous and woody. It may not be visible to the naked eye, but its taste diminishes as it ages.
Broccoli can be eaten cooked or raw. The cooking time is about 3 minutes, so if you don't want to overcook it, you have to consider this factor.
You can also prepare it steamed, which keeps more of its nutrients and vitamins. We can sauté it and add it to salads with a special dressing.
Another way to cook this vegetable is in the oven, with which we can make delicious recipes or prepare broccoli au gratin, a delicious way to enjoy this vegetable.
Finally, it can also accompany soups, stews, appetizers, pasta, and pizza.
3 broccoli recipes
There are many broccoli recipes, with which we can make different dishes to consume this vegetable. Here are the most popular ones:
1. Broccoli soup
To prepare this recipe we need 300 g broccoli, 150 g leeks, 1 l of broth, 1 large potato, 20 g of butter, extra virgin olive oil and 150 g of cream.
First, remove the green part of the leek and cut. Poach it in a pot with the oil and the butter. Then add the rest of the vegetables and cover with the broth. Let it cook for half an hour and then bend it with the cream.
2. Broccoli salad
For broccoli salad, we will need 300 g broccoli, 250 g sweet corn, 1 red pepper, 3 spring onion pickle, and 1 carrot. For the dressing, we will need 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of apple vinegar.
First, we cook the broccoli, we can do it the day before and keep it in the fridge. In a salad bowl add the corn and broccoli. Wash and chop the spring onions and add them to the bowl along with the pepper and carrot. Season and mix everything. For the dressing, mix all the ingredients in a glass jar, shake and sprinkle in the salad.
3. Broccoli pasta
To prepare a delicious pasta we need 500 g of broccoli, 4 cloves of garlic, 500 g of spaghetti, 200 g of grated parmesan cheese, ground black pepper, 4 tablespoons of oil, salt and 40 g of pine nuts.
Cook the vegetables with salt and a little oil. When it is ready, take out most of it and set it aside. The rest stays in the pot and we proceed to boil the spaghetti. Chop and fry the garlic. Then add the broccoli and crush it. Add the spaghetti to the frying pan and mix everything together with the pine nuts. Add parmesan cheese, salt, oil, and pepper to taste.
Broccoli nutrition
Broccoli is a very healthy vegetable with many benefits. Here are all of them:
1. Promotes digestion
The fiber content found in this vegetable plays a vital role in regulating digestion. Also, it tends to keep the stomach lining healthy and helps maintain healthy levels of bacteria in the intestines.
2. Prevents chronic diseases
This vegetable contains phenolic compounds that help prevent chronic diseases. This reduces your chances of getting diabetes, asthma, heart disease, and other chronic conditions.
3. Keeps the liver healthy
Broccoli can keep our liver functioning at an optimal level. Some liver diseases can cause liver cancer and cirrhosis. So it is advisable to consume broccoli to maintain a healthy state of the organ.
4. Good for the brain
Another of the broccoli benefits is that it is rich in vitamin K and choline, which helps improve cognition and memory. In addition to this, the sulforaphane found in broccoli also helps prevent the onset of Alzheimer's and many neurodegenerative diseases.
5. Haircare
The nutrients such as vitamin A and vitamin C found in broccoli are excellent for keeping hair shiny, dense, and healthy. These vitamins also prevent dry hair by regulating sebum production on the scalp and naturally hydrating it.
6. Reduces allergies
Broccoli, rich in vitamin C, is excellent for reducing allergy symptoms. It is known that one of the properties it has is that it decreases the effects of pollution and keeps it free of allergic reactions.
7. Anti-inflammatory effect
Broccoli flowers have potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. It has antioxidants such as vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, sulforaphane, kaempferol, and many others, which makes it good at relieving inflammation.
8. Anti-age
This vegetable fights the aging process with the help of a compound called nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) present in it. NMN prevents genetic changes that lead to premature aging. Antioxidants such as vitamin A, vitamin C, and collagen also play a key role in delaying aging.
9. Controls diabetes
Broccoli sprouts may improve insulin resistance in patients with type 2 diabetes, helping to lower blood sugar levels.
10. Improves metabolism
The nutrients such as fiber, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin K, folate, and vitamin A in broccoli help stimulate the body's metabolism.
11. Helps prevent cancer
It is particularly beneficial for breast cancer and uterine cancer as it removes extra estrogen from the body.
12. Protects the skin
Broccoli helps with skin care and gives it a radiant, healthy, shiny appearance. The antioxidants present in this vegetable are responsible for this property.