I love broccoli.
It is probably the only vegetable that makes it into my shopping basket every week without fail.
I love everything about it - the taste, the texture, the colour - and I especially love the way it holds a sauce in its florets whenever I add it to a curry, a stir-fry or a pasta. AND... it just gets better from there when I reflect on its health-promoting qualities. Seeing as it loves to grow in a cool climate, I thought what better time to give it a good rap than autumn. Let me tell you all about this wonderful vegetable!
Broccoli is a member of the cruciferous (or cabbage) family of vegetables, along with cauliflower, brussel sprouts, turnips, kale, bok choy, mizuna and many more. Any vegetables with Brassica as the first word in their latin name is a member of this family.
Broccoli is also an excellent source of fibre and is nutrient rich with vitamins and minerals such as folate, betacarotene, vitamin C, calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin E and B vitamins.[1] Many of these nutrients, along with the abundance of naturally occurring plant chemicals in broccoli, provide excellent antioxidant protection. Antioxidants are responsible for protecting our cells from all kinds of damage, and have been proposed to have an anti-aging effect, offer protection against illness and increase our sense of well-being.
Are you getting enough fibre in your diet? Cooked broccoli contains about 5g of fibre per 100 g. The National Health and Medical Research Council (NMHCR) advise that the adequate daily intake (AI) of fibre for men is 30 g/day and 25 g/day for women.[2] Eating broccoli goes a long way towards meeting these daily targets!
Have you heard enough? Are you convinced that broccoli is a 'must have' weekly shopping item? I hope so. Organic broccoli is best, or if you have the right climate and the space, why not grow your own? For me, a world without broccoli would be a world that just wasn't quite right!
References
1. Polunin M. Healing Foods. London: Covent Garden Books, 1999. 31.
2. NHMRC. Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand: Dietary Fibre. 2009. http://www.nrv.gov.au/nutrients/dietary%20fibre.htm (accessed 8 May 2010)