Broccoli?! I never quite understood why other kids thought broccoli was gross. I loved it in a plate of raw vegetables dipped in lots of Sour Cream and Onion dip (not the healthiest, I know, but at least I was eating my vegetables!).

However, looking back I can see why cooked broccoli might turn some noses off. While cooking it tends to create waffs of steam that smell some what of sulfur or rotten eggs...Definitely Not particularly appetizing. Funny thing is most people automatically cook broccoli without even giving a thought to eating it raw...

This famous B vegetable is my favorite thing to dip into my new raw version of the Sour Cream and Spring Onion dip I loved as a kid.

Here's the recipe:

-1 cup sunflower seeds (soaked 2 hours to overnight and drained)

-handful of parsley

-handful of cilantro

-1 bunch green onions

-an avocado

-Juice of 1 lemon

-pinch of sea salt

-dash of Italian Seasoning

Blend all these ingredients until a creamy dip consistency is formed. Dip generously!!!

If you want a fast and simple solution as to what to do with your broccoli (now that you're no longer cooking it...)

Simply chop it up finely and add it to your salads (it adds extra green cruciferous value to iceburg and romaine lettuce salads). My favorite part of the broccoli is oddly enough, the Stem! after you break off the lovely florets, peel the broccoli stem of the tough outer layer of fiber to reveal the tender white core. I simply slice this stem up into rounds and toss them into my salads.

broccoli is the most popular member of the cruciferous vegetable family which also includes cabbage, kale, cauliflower, bok choy, arugula and Brussel sprouts (they are in the botanical family Brassicacaea.) This family of veggies is called Cruciferous because the leaves of the seedlings of all these vegetables form a cross shape. (Which I like to associate with their Godly powers to give long life and health).

Crucifers are well known for their cancer preventing properties and their high sulfur content (thus the sulfurous odor they emit when cooking) which results in glowing skin and hair.

However you can easily have them raw and keep all their nutrients intact to go into your body to do their job while avoiding any scalding pans or sulfur fumes!

I love to use broccoli in recipe dishes with a creamy sauce because those little buds on the end are so excellent for picking up and holding lots of dip or dressing.

Here's my favorite recipe to use my broccoli in:

~one head (and Stem) of broccoli

~medium bowl full of Alfalfa or similar kind of Sprouts

~one avocado

~Juice of Half a Lemon

~Curry Powder

~pinch of sea salt

~2 sheets of Nori seaweed

Chop up broccoli and put in bowl on top of Sprouts. Mash up one Avocado on top of all this so it seeps into those broccoli florets and those sprouts. Squeeze half lemon on top of all this and sprinkle on your curry powder and salt. Mix it all up well to form a creamy filling. Spread it on a sheet of Nori seaweed and you have a delicious and nutritious quick lunch wrap! (That you can even pack to bring to lunch and look quite inconspicuous...)