Bite Into Broccoli for a Healthy Lifestyle: 5 Ways to Celebrate National Nutrition Month & We Love Broccoli Day

Everyone and their mother, including Mother Earth, knows the amazing health benefits of organic broccoli florets – the heads of broccoli are packed with immune, heart, skin, detox, and cancer prevention (i.e. glucoraphanin) nutrients.  

BUT what about the leaves?!  The what? Yeah, broccoli has leaves – and Foxy Produce's organic BroccoLeaf is being called the new “it” vegetable for good reason: it offers great nutrition (as much calcium as a glass of milk and more), excellent versatility, and tastes less bitter than other leafy greens.  Everyone including chefs, celebs, and nutrition gurus like superstar dietitian, Keri Glassman RD, love BroccoLeaf – she recently touted the benefits (and delicious taste) of this organic green on The Rachael Ray Show.

For all these reasons – it's fate that We Love Broccoli Day (March 22) falls smack in the middle of National Nutrition Month and St Patrick’s Day.  What a deliciously nutritious green month!  This month’s National Nutrition Month theme is “bite into a healthy lifestyle,” and in todays blog, I’ll show you how you can do that with a little bit of #BroccoLove in each bite!

#1 Breakfast: Immune Boost with BroccoLeaf!

Just one serving of Foxy’s organic BroccoLeaf delivers an adult daily dose of vitamin C, which means that if you’re looking for an exciting alternative to your usual glass of OJ, you have the option to throw in a handful of BroccoLeaf to your smoothie or to add both BroccoLeaf and broccoli to your morning eggs for some vitamin C power!  Or, opt for a BroccoLatte.  Juice 8-16 BroccoLeaf stems and add warm almond milk (frothing optional).  Sprinkle a light dusting of cinnamon-vanilla infused sugar (made from 1 cup of Turbinado or light brown sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla bean paste).  Full recipe, here.

#2 Mid-Morning Snack: Crunch into Cancer-Protection!

Bite into a healthier snack with a raw crudité platter and hummus.  Broccoli contains glucoraphanin, which the body turns into sulforaphane -- an important cancer-protecting and detox-enabling compound – in the body.  But in order to do this, glucoraphanin needs the help of a special enzyme, myrosinase.  Myrosinase is found in raw broccoli itself, but is also said to be found in daikon radishes, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage – as well as mustard and horseradish – so combine those raw veggies with your broccoli and mix in a tablespoon or two of mustard or horseradish to your hummus for a bigger sulforaphane boost.

#3 Lunch: Get Wrapped up in BroccoLove!

If your lunch routine includes a sandwich, add one-two BroccoLeaves to it!  Better yet, wrap your ‘wich stuffings in a BroccoLeaf! You’ll save on your “carb” choice, so yes you can have a whole grain, some potatoes, beans or a piece of fruit on the side.  Not into the whole wrap idea?  Salads and soups can enable good choices; throw in some BroccoLeaf for some vitamin A excitement that will have you seeing clearly all afternoon.

#4 Afternoon Snack: Green Juice and Go!

Sip sweetly on the go with the “Rejuicenate” recipes featured on Foxy Produce’s Pinterest board. You can even save the fiber-rich juice pulp from your fruits and vegetables and use it in Foxy’s recipes!  Pair your broccoli and BroccoLeaf greens juice with a handful of nuts or seeds (like almonds or pumpkin seeds) to keep you feeling full until lunch. 

#5 Dinner: Exciting Eats Enable Better Nutrition

A healthy lifestyle is easy when it offers variety and excitement, so get adventurous in the kitchen and experiment with broccoli and BroccoLeaf on your own, or check out some of these excellent ideas from celebrity chefs Akasha Richmond and Spike Mendelsohn, like the Broccokopita (a BroccoLeaf Spanakopita), BroccoLeaf and Cauliflower Bisque, or BroccoLeaf Slaw to top your favorite burger.  The options are endless…and each bite can be so deliciously healthy, too!

So tell me:  How will you “bite into a healthy lifestyle” during National Nutrition Month?  Have you tried BroccoLeaf yet?  Comment below or join Foxy Produce and me on Facebook to be part of the #BroccoLeaf conversation!

Disclosure: This blog post was supported by Foxy Produce.  All opinions are always my own.  Thank you for supporting the brands that support YES! Nutrition.