The existence of broccoli does not, in any way, affect the taste of chocolate.
I discovered broccoli not a long time ago, because it is not a traditional vegetable in Romania and I spent most of my childhood and adolescence years with my grandparents. I was not happy when I tried it for the first time around 3-4 years ago, but I ended up loving it and became the vegetable that's always part of my shopping list.
Why should we consume broccoli?
Broccoli is a vegetable that I recommend in our diet for various reasons :
-It is rich in fiber, so it helps us to have a good digestion;
-Decreases the risk of colon cancer and breast cancer;
-Protects our brain, eyes and fights free radicals (so it keeps us young);
-Detoxifies the body of inhaled toxic compounds and cleans the airways (advice to those living in polluted cities);
-Improves the ability of the airways to fight infections.
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But the component from broccoli which is responsible for most of the benefits listed above, called sulforaphane, is inactivated during cooking due to the destruction of the enzyme that produces it, as Dr. Greg explains here . And how many of us eat raw broccoli?…
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The solution is to add to the dish another raw cruciferous vegetable that contains this enzyme, such as a cabbage salad or mustard powder, which helps form sulforaphane in our stomach. Thus, we can enjoy all the benefits of broccoli, whether we eat it raw or cooked.
Now let's cook...
A perfect recipe for lunch
Preparation time 30 min
For aprox 4 persons
Ingredients:
| 1 head | Broccoli |
| 250 g | Mashrooms |
| 300 g | Wholemeal pasta spirals |
| For the cheese sauce: | |
| 400 g | Canned coconut milk (or soy cream) |
| 6 tbsp | Inactive yeast flakes |
| 1 tsp | Smoked paprika |
| 1 tsp | Turmeric |
| 1/3 tsp | Ground pepper |
| 1/2 tsp | Salt |
| 1 tsp | Onion powder |
| 1 tsp | Garlic powder |
| 2 tsp | Corn starch / tapioca powder |
Method
1. Boil water in 2 big saucepans in which you add a little salt.
2. Cut the broccoli and mushrooms. After the water has boiled, add the pieces of broccoli in one of the containers and let it boil for 3 minutes , no more! If you have a steamer, great . After this time, take the broccoli off the heat, drain it and leave it in the same saucepan.
3. In the other container with boiled water add the pasta and let them cook for as long as it is mentioned on the package. When they are ready, you take them off the heat and drain the water.
4. Saute the mushrooms in a pan over medium heat (you can add a little olive oil, or wait for them to let some water).
5. When the mushrooms are ready (they have shrunk), add the coconut milk, smoked paprika, turmeric, salt, pepper, starch, dehydrated onion and garlic powder, mix well and bring to a boil.
6. After it boils and you see that the sauce has started to turn creamy, turn off the heat and add the broccoli and pasta.
Et voila! Don't forget to top up the plate with half a teaspoon of ground mustard to reactivate the sulforaphane, that broccoli component which brings the health benefits we talked about in the beginning.
Lavinia Dinca
Nutritionist
English 
Română