I’m sure you have heard on more than one occasion about the importance of eating broccoli, right? And, does the thought excite you? Probably not… at least not if it’s raw. Am I right? You probably don’t find yourself getting all weak in the knees at the thought of chomping down on some raw organic broccoli. (Um… if you do… power to you!)
Now, there are some authorities that say it’s easier digested if it’s lightly cooked, but most others talk about the importance of having it raw to ensure you’re getting all of the cancer fighting properties. Not only that, but did you know that it should be thoroughly chopped, chewed, blended, or juiced, etc to release the cancer fighting properties to their fullest?
Blending broccoli? Meh. I’m not one to blend broccoli very often, so that’s not a good option for me.
Juicing broccoli? Oh yeah, baby. I add it to my green juices, but not in large quantities. I feel almost super human drinking green juice with broccoli. Silly? Nope. Throw on my Vibrams while I’m drinking it and I swear I could scale walls like Spider Man.
Eating it? That doesn’t happen much because like I said, I’m not a huge raving fan of the flavor. Well, guess what? That’s no longer a problem because I’ve figured out how to secretly add broccoli to foods and you won’t even notice it (your family won’t either!).
How??? You mince the broccoli with a knife! I know that might sound simple (and it is) but honestly, I never thought to do it. In all these years… it never dawned on my to chop my broccoli super duper small so as to hide it. And, it’s brilliant. By mincing it teeny tiny with my knife I get little bits in bites that don’t overwhelm plus all the cancer fighting properties. It gets even easier though… I then started using my ceramic hand mandolin slicer (you could use a traditional mandolin or grater). Brilliant. It minces it super tiny.
Funny thing is that I started out small by just shredding a little. But, I quickly added more because, well, I couldn’t taste it. Like in the picture above, I grated a bunch of broccoli for Greg and I to eat in that salad (more specifically, it was 3 heads within one rubber banded bunch). I admit, though, there is another trick. Having good stuff to eat with the broccoli. So, here is what my staples are in my salads like this:
- orange, red, or yellow bell pepper
- diced avocado (with lime juice and miso) or a creamy raw dressing (here are some good ones to try: Hemp Omega Caesar or 4-Ingredient Magic Dressing)
- raw sauerkraut!
- If possible… dice up an apple
But, don’t stop there! Add more flair and deliciousness, by adding things like chopped basil (or dill), cooked (chopped) sweet potato, sun-dried tomatoes, and/or raw marinated/dehydrated mushrooms and onions. Basically, just toss into your bowl whatever you have on hand. Keep in mind that overcoming the broccoli-ness is not only greatly achieved by the tiny pieces you’ve minced but also by the texture and flavor contrasts you add like avocado, sweet potato, kraut (salty yum), and apple (lightly sweet). I’ve made this dish many ways and each time Greg is amazed at how much broccoli we’re consuming and how delicious it is.
Here’s another idea… Broccoli Guacamole! Mash up some avocado with miso and lime juice. Add cilantro and onion perhaps. Then…. grate in some broccoli. That’s on tonight’s menu!