Food of the Week: Broccoli!

Welcome to "Food of the Week" - week one! Each week I'm going to feature one of nature's fabulous edible creations (or the odd man-made one), and attempt to convince you why should eat it, or maybe why not. First up: broccoli!!

Broccoli gets a bad rap sometimes, and I'm here to stick up for my favourite mini shrubs. Broccoli contains a compound called "glucosinolates" that can give it a slight bitter taste, and may cause some people to stray. In fact, some individuals may have a more sensitive taste sensitivity to glucosinolates, causing them to avoid it an other foods such as brussel sprouts, mustard and cabbage. Maybe, just maybe, some kids do really hate the taste of broccoli. If that's the case, offering them a choice of veggies may be easier than fighting with them to eat it, or smoothering it in cheese to disguise it.

Some quick broccoli tid-bits:

• The name "broccoli" comes from the latin word "brachium, meaning "branch" or "arm"
  


• It belongs to the cauliflower family
  


• It comes in green, yellow-green, and purple

Reasons to love the green stuff:

• It's' cheap!
  


• It's packed with nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin K, selenium, calcium, soluble fiber, and cancer-fighting compounds.
  


• A recent study found thatbaby broccoli sprouts (3 days old) are higher in phytochemicals than mature plants, and inhibit a bacteria called Helicobacter pylori, which may cause stomach ulcers and some stomach cancers.
  


• It's a cool weather crop, planted in May to be picked in the winter, which means those of us living in colder winter climates don't have to compromise our "green-savyness" for our love of broccoli by importing it from a tropical country.
  


• If you must cook your broccoli, try to keep boiling time to a minimum. More nutrients leach into the water with increased cooking time. Steaming, microwaving and stir-frying are better options, and less likely to affect the nutrient content.

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