“Eat your broccoli; it’s good for you.”

I was a weird little kid so my mom didn’t really have to say that to me, ever. I was too busy pretending to be a Brachiosaurus dinosaur  that had to chomp all the tops off of the trees (more commonly known as broccoli florets).

Weird, but healthy. Right. So I’m ok with it.

Broccoli is packed with vitamins A and K, aides natural detoxification, and helps lower cholesterol (which is especially great during the holidays). Also, in this recipe, I steam the broccoli. This helps the broccoli retain most of its nutritional value while also having the highest potential to lower cholesterol.

In addition to broccoli, I also tossed some pine nuts into this dish. These nuts are high in antioxidants, are a good source of iron, and they have healthy fats which help prevent cardiovascular disease. Pine nuts are also a great source of pinolenic acid that helps curb your appetite; that combined with the filling fiber of the broccoli leaves you feeling satisfied and energetic. Read more about the health benefits here

What you need:

1 head of broccoli cut into smaller pieces (including stem). **Sidenote: This also tastes great with 1/2 broccoli and 1/2 broccolini, if you happen to be in Trader Joe’s on game day and have the store completely to yourself  where you’re able to pick up some broccolini. Otherwise, stick with straight up broccoli. 

1 tsp curry

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp Mrs. Dash basil and garlic

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.

3 tbsp pine nuts

What to do:

1. Place broccoli  in a steamer and cook for about 3-5 minutes. If you steam it for too long, it will become soggy and it will not retain as many nutrients. 

2. While the broccoli is steaming, mix spices and oil  in a medium bowl.

3.  Take broccoli out of steamer and cut up into smaller bite sized chunks.

4. Add broccoli to spice mixture and coat evenly. Add Himalayan sea salt and a dash of pepper to taste.

5. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese (optional) and enjoy it hot! Put any leftovers on top of some spinach or arugula for lunch.