Broccoli is my all time favorite veggie. It’s quick to make, and punches in a huge amount of vitamins. It’s also high in fiber, and like most leafy greens, has a good amount of iron. Another cool fact about broccoli is that it has a notable amount of folic acid, so its a great food for women to be getting in during their reproductive years.
Funniest thing about this broccoli is its name though. Before Akiva and I met, he had little to no veggies in his diet. His go to form of broccoli as a kid was “cheese broccoli” which consisted of frozen puff pastry stuffed with broccoli and mass amounts of cheese. Delicious I’m sure, but also loaded with lots of preservatives and foreign ingredients which counteracted the benefits of the broccoli. When I met him, he was living his typical bachelor life of frozen pizza and spaghetti, but once I introduced him to this recipe, he was hooked.These days, he eats more veggies than the average person, and I am 100% happy to take credit for that. Vegetables are so diverse and do not need much to bring out their flavors. They also don’t need to just be in salad form. The most unexpected vegetables can be roasted and create a dish bursting with flavor. It’s all about bringing out the correct flavors specific to each veggie. Think you guys are going to love this one.
A note about the ingredients before I move onto the recipe. I use nutritional yeast here to give the broccoli a cheesy flavor. Nutritional yeast is making its name amongst the vegans of today, but often I feel that the non-vegans amongst us over look the incredible amount of health benefits there are! Some of these benefits include: lowering cholesterol, eliminating free radicals (i.e. an antioxidant), and an excellent source of vitamin B. Also underrated is that nutritional yeast contains all 9 essential amino acids, making it a complete protein. So basically, this is a great “cheese” replaced to use in your kitchen, and it has the added bonus of allowing you to pair it with all your meat dishes. Most health food chains carry some form of nutritional yeast. In Hebrew it is called שמרים תזונתיים. This is the brand I have seen around and like to use. In fact I have seen this brand floating around health food stores more often these days, which is a great find because they have amazing products. Be sure to keep an eye out!
Another super important product I feel the need to share with you all, is the pre-washed, pre-chopped broccoli that Shufersal has been putting out over the past 2 years. I don’t know about you, but one of the hardest things about making aliyah for me was the lack of access to pre-washed, pre-chopped veggies. When you are living a mostly plant based life, this is what makes the lifestyle so doable! So when I found this product (they have cauliflower also!) my life became so much more convenient. On any given night in the Buckman home, you’ll find some form of cruciferous vegetable on the menu all thanks to these gems. So def check them out. If they can make your veggie eating more convenient, it’s a win!
