23. EAT A “MINI-TREE” OF BROCCOLI

After hearing about a game to entice children to eat broccoli, I was impressed to learn about the nutritive value of this vegetable.

This is the game the babysitter of little three-year-old Caleb told me about. At the noon meal, she gave him a stalk of steamed broccoli with florets at the top, and said, “Caleb, eat this little ‘mini-tree.’ We have lots of trees in our forest and we want to thin them out.” He loved it and ate two “mini-trees” of broccoli.

This is a great idea to entice children to eat this nutritious vegetable that is indeed shaped like a tree! As I have learned about the nutrition packed into broccoli, I think it might be wise for all of us to eat a “mini-tree” of broccoli every day.

Broccoli is a member of the cruciferous vegetable family, which has a reputation for preventing and healing cancer. Other members of the family are Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, kohlrabi, turnips and turnip greens and mustard. These vegetables are called cruciferous because the reproductive apparatus of the flowers contain two components that are arranged like a cross.

The website, Authority Nutrition Broccoli 101, presents much information about broccoli which I am presenting. This vegetable has antioxidants and plant compounds, with the most abundant one being sulforaphane, which have the ability to delay or impede some cancer with promising results in melanoma, esophageal, prostate and pancreatic cancers.

(Sulforathane is found in much higher amounts in young broccoli sprouts than in full grown heads. Buy broccoli seed from Amazon or at the health food store to make this very nutritious form of broccoli.)

Broccoli also contains folate which decreases the risk of breast cancer in women plus colon, stomach, pancreatic and cervical cancer. The Indole-3-carbinol in broccoli may also have beneficial effects against cancer.

This colorful green vegetable not only prevents cancer; it also protects against heart disease. It lowers cholesterol by binding to bile acids in the gut causing them to be expelled from the body. Broccoli contains kaempferol, quercetin, and potassium, which are all beneficial to the heart. The high fiber content lowers the risk of heart disease.

One cup of chopped broccoli provides well over 100 percent of the daily need for vitamins C and K in the diet. Vitamin C is important to our immunity and skin health. Vitamin K is important for blood clotting and in helping bone health by improving calcium absorption and reducing urinary excretion of calcium.

Broccoli improves digestion by maintaining a healthy digestive tract. It contains iron to transport oxygen in red blood cells. It is the highest in protein of any vegetable.

The carotenoids—lutein, zeaxanthin and beta-carotene—are plant compounds in broccoli to improve eye health and reduce risk of eye related disease.

These little “mini-trees” that the babysitter induced little Caleb to eat were filled with ingredients that will give reduced risk of cancer and heart disease, two of our most prevalent diseases, plus improve eye health. In addition, as the writer of Broccoli 101 stated, “Broccoli has a little bit of almost everything we need.”

All of us must incorporate more of these “mini-trees” into our diet to satisfy hunger with a tasty and nutritious food that makes for abundant good health!

 BROCCOLI SALAD
3 crowns broccoli chopped
1/3 c walnuts chopped
1/3 c dried cranberries or raisins
1/4 c red onion chopped
Prepare the salad ingredients, then stir in the avocado mayo.
AVOCADO MAYO DRESSING
2 avocados
3 T fresh lemon juice
1/4 t garlic powder
1 T olive oil
1/2 t sea salt
BROCCOLI, CHICKPEA, BROWN RICE BOWL
1 c brown rice
1 head broccoli cut into florets
w/ stems peeled and cut into chunks
1 T olive oil
2 T Dijon mustard
2 T Braggs soy sauce
1 t hot sauce
1 pinch sugar
1 14-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash brown rice, drain and place in
pot with 2 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 50
minutes. Toss broccoli with oil and salt and arrange on a baking sheet.
Put in the oven and roast 20 to 30 minutes until tender and browned.
While rice and broccoli are cooking, whisk the mustard, Braggs, hot
sauce and pinch of sugar together. When rice and broccoli are done,
toss in a large bowl with the chickpeas. Drizzle with the mustard
sauce and serve.