Growing up I hated broccoli. Like hated it. If I were a superhero, broccoli would have been my nemesis. My mom used to say that broccoli was good for me and that it would make me grow up big and strong. Well, so much for that – I’m 5’3 on a good day.
Another ploy my mom used was covering broccoli with a disgusting (read: mind-numbingly delicious) powder called Molly McButter. But she never could fool me. In fact, the smell of blanched broccoli to this day makes my stomach turn.
I recently read an article in the Economist that explained humans shouldn’t even like broccoli. In fact broccoli contains chemicals that our brains are supposed to read as poisonous. Looks like I may have been on to something…
When I was in high school I wrote my college application essay on my distaste for the cabbage-like vegetable. I like to think the head of admissions also had a loathing for broccoli and it’s what got me in.
I’m not sure where my deeply seeded hatred for broccoli came from. I love cauliflower, I love Brussels sprouts, I love asparagus! Strangely enough though, over the past couple years my hatred for the veggie has actually waned and broccoli and I have a mutual respect for one another. (Obviously broccoli is not a person, so having mutual respect is impossible, but go with me). On one occasion I accidentally ate a broccoli omelette and I didn’t die. So, I pushed the envelope, ate a raw piece of broccoli and realized that all-in-all, I liked it!
Today, I enjoy cooking with broccoli. It’s rather complementary to a lot of dishes I create and adds a little dense-ness to recipes that kale can’t. It’s also a great food to eat while on a low-histamine diet because it’s a good source of vitamin C – which helps make your skin glow-y and beautiful and it’s also a good source of folic acid which is a necessary nutrient for the production and maintenance of new cells in the body.
So, it turns out I’d rather have a fork full of broccoli rather than say, “fork it”.
Here’s one of my favorite broccoli recipes (https://www.forkbroccoli.com/recipe-index) that’s easy to make and a total crowd pleaser (even for those not on the broccoli bandwagon yet).
xo,
L
