Fall in Love with Broccoli

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic by 32 people | Log in to rate

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The Broccoli of Your Childhood

"Eat your veggies."
"Don't want to. I hate broccoli!"
"Eat it anyway. It's good for you."

Remember that type of childhood exchange? Remember who usually won the veggie battle? I thought so.

Broccoli is one of those green vegetables that has gained a reputation. You either love it or hate it. There seems to be no in-between. Well, this lens is out to change all that. It's packed with delicious broccoli dishes; news articles, and broccoli-related information on the health front.

So quit whining. Cheer up--you're a grownup now. This lens is for you. Here you'll find reasons to give broccoli another chance, and recipes that turn this misunderstood veggie into something so delicious, you won't recognize it as the broccoli of your childhood.

Go ahead...I dare you to eat your broccoli.

Why Broccoli? 

This just in from Wikipedia:

"Broccoli is a plant of the Cabbage family, Brassicaceae (formerly Cruciferae). It is classified as the Italica Cultivar Group of the species Brassica oleracea. Broccoli possesses abundant fleshy flower heads, usually green in color, arranged in a tree-like fashion on branches sprouting from a thick, edible stalk. The large mass of flower heads is surrounded by leaves...."

But hold on a second. Can we talk? Do you really care about Brassicaceae or Brassica oleracea? Do you know anyone who is fascinated by broccoli trivia? Me, either.

What we really want is a broccoli dish that'll tingle our taste buds; something to surprise & amaze us--you know, like discovering a crumpled $20 bill in your clothes dryer.

Broccoli is good for us. Maybe that doesn't hit #10 on your excitement list, but your body will thank you. It's loaded with fiber, vitamins, and minerals. How do I know? A team of researchers at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore say so. Anyone who spends their days studying broccoli must know what they're talking about. My bet is they eat it often, too.

Broccoli gets results! 16,500,000 "broccoili" hits show up on Google, to be exact. Kinda makes you go Hmmmm, doesn't it?

Broccoli with a Twist 

These aren't your gramma's broccoli dish...

Pizza! Pizza!
Brocolli pizza, from a top chef.
Yum.
Chef Ray's Brocolli Cole Slaw
Chef Ray knows how to disguise the green stuff. Stand back. This recipe is explosive.
Sandra Lee's Broccoli & Mozarella Salad
Is your mouth watering yet?
Toasted Bread w/Broccoli
Bread never had it so good!
Emeril's Brocolli-Pork Stirfry
Take it from Emeril. It's the cashews that make this dish pop. BA-BAM!
Broccoli & Cheddar Skillet Flan
A one-skillet meal that's sure to please.
Broccoli Crabmeat Casserole
It's not your Grandma's broccoli.
Broccoli Cornbread
You heard it right...cornbread made with broccoli!
Chocolate Broccoli!
If ever you wanted to break the hold of those nightmarish broccoli experiences of your childhood, this is a sure fix.
Angel Hair Pasta With Shrimp & Broccoli
Angel Hair Pasta...shrimp...broccoli.
Three of my favorite foods!
Grandma's Chicken And Broccoli Bake
A great combo!
Broccoli Cheddar Cornbread
Yum!
Coconut & Lime: Broccoli Pesto
...and you thought broccoli was just a side dish?
Broccoli-Rice-Sausage Casserole
We were invited to a 'covered dish' tonight at a friend's home. She has re-done her old family home place which was built in 1790 and wanted to have her neighbors and friends over.I immediately thought about our family favorite - The Broccoli-Rice-Sausage Casserole. A neighbor-friend gave me the rec
Broccoli Pesto Fusilli « Sunday Afternoons
Broccoli Fusilli
YUM!
The Amateur Gourmet - The Best Broccoli of Your Life
The Amateur Gourmet is a humorous, energetic food blog filled with recipes, restaurant reviews, food videos and original songs all from the mind of Adam D. Roberts.

Sidetracked by Broccoli 

Gifts for the B-lover in your life

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Broccoli Knob - Broccoli Knob

Broccoli Knob - Broccoli Knob

This beautiful bunch of Broccoli is a hand-crafted more...1 point

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Broccoli All Season Blend Seeds

Broccoli All Season Blend Seeds

Make sure broccoli has rich soil in a cool locatio more...0 points

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Under the Nile Organic Cotton Broccoli

Under the Nile Organic Cotton Broccoli

Broccoli toy is fun and hands-on, encouraging chil more...0 points

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Doc Broc's Stone Hinge Cave Adventure by Adam Young, Shelley Redford Young

Doc Broc's Stone Hinge Cave Adventure by Adam Young, Shelley Redford Young

Teach your children the value of eating healthy, a more...0 points

Gardening with Broccoli Video 

Step-by-step instructions just for you...

Feeling a little insecure about this gardening stuff? No problem. Here's a video that'll hold your hand through the whole ordeal. Grow your first broccoli garden and you'll be hooked.

Gardening with Broccoli, for your Home Garden

curated content from YouTube

Good Gardening Advice! 

Grow your own broccoli...

I know. It's easier to just buy your broccoli at the market. But imagine stepping outside to harvest your very own luscious vegetables this fall? It's possible, with a little help from fellow gardeners.

Even if you aren't a gardening whiz, you can begin. Check out the links below, and see what you think.

Planting & Growing Garden Broccoli
An essential guide to planting and caring for broccoli.
Broccoli - Garden Basics
GardenGuides' Vegetable Guide for broccoli, including essential information about planting, climate, location, watering and harvesting broccoli, with much more.
A Small Kitchen Garden Broccoli Notebook
From time-to-time, I've grown broccoli in my small kitchen garden. This is an ideal vegetable for someone who hasn't done much gardening...
The child who plants broccoli, eats broccoli
This newspaper article raises an excellent point!

Broccolli...the Food We Feed Our Hamsters 

Many of us will tolerate peas. Carrots. Corn. Green beans.

But for some crazy reason, we take our broccoli in small doses, sprinkled with parmesan cheese and slathered with butter. Sound familiar?

I'm here to change all that. We have options, people!

Like it or not, you're about to fall in love with the infamous Green Veggie.

Before long, broccoli will appeal to humans as it does to hamsters. Promise. Too often, human types try to make it into something it isn't--like BROCCOLI ICE CREAM! Yep...you heard it right. But that's another story. On with the hamster:

Think I'm Kidding? Watch the video... 

Mocha in "His First Broccoli!"

curated content from YouTube

Broccoli Tidbits 

Learn more about broccoli

Unusual facts you probably never knew about this green veggie.
Broccoli facts, an information sheet for kids cooking activities.
An information fact sheet for Broccoli facts to help your kids cook with broccoli. Included is a broccoli recipe, broccoli cooking video, and more.
Produce Facts-Broccoli
BroccoliRecommendations for Maintaining Postharvest Quality
Counting Calories? Get the Facts - Broccoli, Frozen, Spears, Unprepared
Broccoli, Frozen, Spears, Unprepared (1 package (10 oz)) - Calories: 82, Carbs: 15.19g, Fat: 0.97g. See the complete nutrient food label for this food.
Fractal Dimension of Broccoli
This is a page in The Physics Factbook, an encyclopedia of scientific essays written by high school students that can be used by anybody.
Q/A - broccoli trivia question
If all the parts (stem, leaves, flowers) of broccoli are green, is it because of chlorophyll? And if so, does it mean that all the parts of the broccoli make their own food?
Salt Tidbits & Trivia: Heart-healthy broccoli
Salt Tidbits & Trivia
Broccoli WORM!
I admit it. I've never heard of a Broccoli Worm, have you?
Read all about it...
Does Barack Obama Like Broccoli?
Broccoli has always played a part in history. How does our President feel about it?
Broccoli!
Health benefits of broccoli, including a chart showing its many nutritients.

Broccoli in the News 

...because every veggie deserves a headline

Betcha don't know all you think you know about broccoli. Are you aware, for example...

...It only has a shelf life of 5 days? I mean, really! How would you feel if you only had a shelf life of one work week? Hmmm?

...horticulture researchers are seeking ways to alter the genes of broccoli? Imagine, seeing that sad little sack of broccoli staring at you for two weeks or more. Wow.

...Men who eat broccoli four times a week or more have a lower risk of prostate cancer (Women, are you listening?) Slice it. Dice it. Disguise it. Do whatever it takes to add broccoli to meals.

...Recent studies show that a chemical called sulforaphane (found in broccoli) helps boost the immune system. A healthy immune system is able to fight off disease and premature aging.

Go Green! 

Wearable Art from Zazzle

Vortex Necktie

Rainforest Keds

Speak Your Mind 

Take the broccoli poll

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Will BARK for Broccoli 

Broccoli in dog food?

Even the pooch loves broccoli. Experiment with the following recipes for dogs. (Try one yourself--hey, they're homemade, without preservatives & chemicals whose names we can't pronounce.)

  • Steamed Broccoli w/Cheese Sauce

  • Make Your Own Dog Food

    • Bloggin' About Broccoli 

    Look who's talkin...

    Tiny Farm Blog
    See how your favorite veggie starts out...
    Broccoli:On Your Fork or Face
    A beauty blog takes a look at an unusual benefit of broccoli. (Who knew?)
    Eat Broccoli & Lose Weight
    Yep, you heard it right. This might be the breakthrough you're looking for...
    "There was nothing to eat..."
    See what happens when Chef's Wife peeks into her fridge. Can YOU come up with something like this?
    Joe's Gift
    Broccoli reminds me of Joe, a drifter we met at a campground a few years ago.

    "Eat Your Broccoli!" said the mom... 

    Kids develop their own special tastes for vegetables. If you live with a persnickety eater, these articles may be encouraging.

    Vegetable Recipes Your Kids Will Beg For
    Vegetable Recipes Your Kids Will Beg For
    How to Encourage Your Kids to Eat Broccoli
    Broccoli & kids - ways to coax them into eating it.
    Get Your Toddler to Eat Veggies: Seven Easy Disguises for Vegetables
    Seven easy ways to sneak vegetables into your child's diet.
    To Eat Broccoli, Be Cunning - New York Times
    Be tricky...in a nice, creative way, of course.

    Leave Your Footprint & Add a Bookmark... 

    How's the Green Veggie faring @your house? Do you have to use creative disguises to coax your family to eat it?

    Lensmaster

    poutine wrote...

    Just lensrolled this lens to:

    Eat Closer To Your Home
    quebec and poutine
    Rutabagas Are Your Friends And So Are Parsnips
    Soup Anyone?
    Now It's Fashionable To Eat Potatoes
    Romantic French Songs And French Singers

    Poutine

    ReplyPosted July 01, 2009

    Lensmaster

    poutine wrote...

    Love this lens about brocoli and love brocoli also.

    Poutine

    ReplyPosted July 01, 2009

    Lensmaster

    AppalachianCountry wrote...

    Great lens. We eat broccoli alot in the south. Thank-you for all the good tips.

    ReplyPosted June 16, 2009

    Lensmaster

    seedplanter wrote...

    in reply to spirituality I have been wracking my brain, trying to figure this one out. I have another lens with the same problem. I resized that image, removed another that had coding problems...and still no fix. I'd appreciate any more ideas if you have them. It's driving me crazy!

    ReplyPosted May 10, 2009

    Lensmaster

    spirituality wrote...

    The reason the menu is down below is that one of your pictures isn't coded correctly- I'd guess the one with the very special broccoli - from allposters. Try resetting the width of it - or just editing the module and saving and publishing again sometimes works as well.

    ReplyPosted May 10, 2009

    view all 41 comments

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