The Newest Superfood: Broccoli Leaves

Your mother always told you to eat your broccoli. 

It’ll give you broccoli muscles, my dad said. I wasn’t sure if those were located next to my spinach biceps or my orange juice thighs, but I ate them anyway.

Five-year-old me had sweet spinach biceps and rosemary hair.

I’m lucky in that I crave vegetables. Always have, always will. Maybe it’s because my parents knew how to treat them. Rarely did we ever get a soggy, flavorless green masses plopped onto our plate. Instead, we had fresh broccoli roasted with garlic and olive oil. Buttered carrots cut so elegantly on a bias. Green beans, par boiled, shocked, and laid in bright green rows next to mashed potatoes and chicken thigh.

But I will say that broccoli leaves are new to me. I’ve only recently discovered the joy that is kale. Raw, mixed in a smoothie, the star of a chopped salad, baked into crisps. Kale is the ultimate superfood: low in calories, high in nutrition. All you have to do is get past that bitter, tough, “Why am I eating rabbit food?” taste.

Take a look at the nutritional comparison. 

Kale vs. Broccoli Leaves

We see that gram for gram, broccoli leaves have fewer calories, less fat (who knew kale had any fat at all?), less sodium, fewer carbs, and the same amount of protein. While it has a slight, probably insignificant amount more Vitamin A, broccoli leaves do lose in the Vitamin C, Calcium, and Iron competition, if only by a nose.

I find it interested that kale has 2g of fiber in 100g, while broccoli leaves have none. Usually green, leafy vegetables are full of fiber. So if you’re planning on switching from broccoli leaves, make sure you get your fiber in elsewhere.

Here’s the newest superfood in all its glory: 

Broccoli Leaves!

It kinda looks like kale, or collard greens. So no, it’s not the tiny leaves that come on the stem when you buy big bunches of broccoli. 

Whether this familiarity makes them easier or harder for you to incorporate into your daily food routine, here are a couple recipes you could try.

Sauteed Broccoli Leaves: http://www.cooks.com/recipe/k31uw6fx/broccoli-leaves.html

Broccoli Leaf Soup: http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/broccoli-leaf-tortellini-soup.aspx

Paleo Broccoli Leaves: http://www.primalpalate.com/paleo-recipe/sauteed-broccoli-greens/

Smoothie (plus tips on how to harvest your own leaves!): http://gardenmentors.com/garden-help/grow-your-own-food/how-to-harvest-eat-your-broccoli-leaves-recipe/

Experiment by substituting them in for other dark leafy greens in your recipes. Let me know how it goes!

Lift.Eat.Love.Sleep.