Thanks grainlady - that's the reason I'm eating it. I ordered Vegus broccoli sprout juice, which should be here in a week, but in the meantime, I'm eating raw stuff that I just bought. I think I've got it with homemade Russian dressing - ketchup and mayo. Hopefully, this regimen will work.

Don't forget to peel the stalks & use them as well - I like them better raw than the florets & they're easier to dip, when cut into sticks.

I like to make a salad w/ chopped raw broccoli, halved or quartered grape or cherry tomatoes & crumbled feta. I dress it very simply w/ lemon juice, salt & pepper & if the tomatoes are sweet, it's the best.

The stalks (no need to peel for slaw) are better in slaw than the florets, in my opinion. The little buds are kind of like big grit. Everybody here likes poppy seed dressing on it, but I've done a bunch of different ones, including mixed ends of moderate heat salsas picantes, which were very good and didn't require the mayo and honey (i.e., sugar). It's good with just lemon juice or red wine vinegar, and seasoning. The trick with raw florets, for me, is to eat them top down. It's a texture thing. Bite right into the center of the flower, and chew the crumbly texture well, then move on to the stem. The Russian dressing sounds tasty (also mayo and sugar), but perhaps a bit counterproductive? How about some varietal EVOO, thinned with fresh lemon juice, with some dried herbs and garlic?

The Russian dressing, kicked up a notch with some homemade scotch bonnet sauce from Negril, is okay, but not enough to do the trick. I'll try the EVOO, lemon juice, garlic, and oregano tomorrow.

Here's an interesting question, that I will research on the web but perhaps someone already knows the answer - is there as much nutritional value in the stalks as in the florets?

Thyroid patients should be careful though with raw Brassicas.

The stalks are full of beneficial fiber which would be useful in managing blood sugar and appetite control. One stem has as much Vit. C as a medium orange.

Fawnridge - FYI - You can easily grow your own broccoli sprouts in a canning jar and save a bundle of money....

I FOUND IT!!! The original request reminded me of this recipe, which I haven't made in ages, but it will be on the menu tonight now that I have located it again. I'll make a small version of the recipe. I would use the whole recipe if I was taking it to a potluck dinner where there were a lot of people to help eat it. -Grainlady

BROCCOLI, BACON AND CHEDDAR TOSS

(Source: Pillsbury Simple Summer Recipes - August 1990)

Salad:

6 c. broccoli florets

1/2 - 1 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

1/3 c. raisins

1/2 c. chopped red onion (I use fresh chives)

Dressing:

1/2 c. mayonnaise or salad dressing

2 T. sugar

2 t. lemon juice (for a different flavor, use lime juice)

Garnish:

8 slices bacon, crispy cooked, crumbled

In large bowl, combine all salad ingredients. In small bowl, combine all dressing ingredients; mix well. Pour dressing over salad; toss to combine. Just before serving, stir in bacon.

Well, other than the bacon and cheese, it's doable. Thanks.

Our local restaurant (Brigg's in NC) offers their special broccoli salad. It has very finely diced broccoli, plumped golden raisins, diced celery, finely diced red onions, and sunflower seeds. The very light dressing I think is canola oil and rice wine vinegar (or something very mild, no kick) in an emulsion but you could use a light mayo, maybe a dash of paprika or a little lemon?, a sprinkle of pepper and not much salt. Everything is fresh tasting and I don't get the overwhelming raw broccoli taste at all and I think it is the sunflower seeds that do it. It is served as a side with other brunch food but I think I could eat it with just a toasted hunk of my gluten free and dairy free French Bread with a little SB.

If you have to eliminate butter, do try Smart Balance spread (SB). It is quite good for fresh slathering or baking as a dairy substitute (except for things like shortbread cookies or other all pure butter cookies). I even use it for pie crusts as in those it works like shortening as long as you chill it or freeze it before making the crusts like you would do with butter/shortening mix.

My DH calls broccoli "fuzzy food" though he will eat it willingly coated with an inch of melted cheese. Ugh. I like it steamed a short time with a squirt of lemon and a drizzle of very light olive oil then chilled. My niece gave me a bottle of fig flavored olive oil that is so divine (on anything green) and that adds another layer of flavor. Broccoli teams up with fruit, believe it or not, so try it with peaches or oranges, but especially with grapes and fresh crunchy apples.

Nancy

I just use a basic vinaigrette...a little balsamic helps a lot
1T dijon mustard
1T honey
1 clove crushed garlic
1/3 cup vinegar...I like organic apple cider vinegar and sometimes sub 1 or 2 T of the cider vinegar for balsamic
1/2 cup of Extra virgin fruity olive oil. Whisk together and use on all your salads....and I often add a dry herb...like oregano basil or tarragon.
If you use 1/4 tsp garlic powder for the raw garlic, it will keep for weeks unrefrigerated.
I put the stems into the cuisinart with the shredding disc and chop the florets...add some chopped onions and some sunflower seeds and you have a yummy healthy salad.

Related to what meyerk9 said, broccoli is a goitrogen and can affect thyroid function, so I would be careful about juicing it - if you are just eating a little raw broccoli here and there, or if you are cooking it, that is fine. When you get into juicing raw goitrogens though, you ingest much more than you typically would if you were eating the vegetable in it's natural form.

I make a salad similar to the one posted by Grainlady, but with no cheese. I like it with bacon, but mostly leave it out. Mine also has half cauliflower and half broccoli, the raisins, some sunflower seeds and the bacon pieces if I feel like it. The dressing has rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar in place of the citrus juice, as mother is allergic to lemons. It's the single way I'll eat raw broccoli, although I like the stuff very much cooked. And it's the only raw vegetable dish that my girls would fight over the last bit in the refrigerator when they were in school.

Annie

I don't have exact measurements, but I thinly slice the stems and marinate in rice wine vinegar, a touch of mirin, and add a bit of toasted sesame oil, and either sriracha or chili garlic sauce.

Lunch today

Salad - most of a full head of broccoli, including the stems, plum tomatoes, sliced strawberries.

Dressing - red wine vinegar (the good stuff!), olive oil, garlic, oregano, turbinado sugar, red pepper flakes.

Here's a recipe that my family loves, even those who claim not to like broccoli or cauliflower. The instructions say to mix it just before serving, but I've found it is just as good, (maybe even better!) the second day. Seems to give the flavors a chance to develop better.

My Friend's Salad

1 head of cauliflower
2 heads of broccoli
½ cup of diced onions/green onions*
½ cup of diced celery
1 cup of raisins**
1 cup of coarsely chopped pecans

Dressing

1 cup of mayo
¼ cup of apple cider vinegar
½ cup of sugar

*I use red onions to add a bit of color.

** I used dried cranberries because that’s what my friend uses, and I love them in it.

Directions: Chop cauliflower and broccoli into bite size pieces. Dice onions and celery finely. Mix it all together. Do not add raisins, pecans, or dressing until ready to serve.

I really don't know where this recipe originated, I got it from a friend. It is a possibility that she originated it, but I've never asked. That's as close as I can come to giving credit.

Rusty

I make a salad of bite size broccoli (flower & stalk), thinly sliced raw carrot coins or diced, bite size raw cauliflower and use a vinaigrette or Italian type dressing. Sometimes I add halved cherry tomatoes, small size chopped red pepper, celery, garbanzo beans, etc.

Raw broccoli goes well with Thai peanut sauce. You could make your own, which is quite easy. I like this recipe for Thai peanut sauce from Elana's Pantry. It can also be done with almond butter, or purchase a commercial brand.

A citrus based dipping sauce would also compliment the broccoli well. I also like broccoli slaw with a sesame based dressing, dried cranberries and sunflower seeds. I sometimes add bleu cheese to it as well but it is quite tasty without it.

Thai peanut sauce! Brilliant! Thank you, tishtoshnm.

This thread caught me attention...I love raw broccoli salads, especially the creamy ones, but get abdominal cramps from eating raw broccoli. Like my body can't digest it or there is some cramp-causing enzyme or something. I don't know if this is a common phenomenon, or I'm just weird. I have no problem with cooked broccoli. Has anyone heard of this? If I were to blanch the broccoli, I don't know how much would be enough to retain the texture and still neutralize the problem.

I also have that problem....and a quick blanch and dunk in ice water solves the problem.

I get tempted by the ones I see ready made at the deli, when I need travel food, but it is not worth the pain. My husband is on a no-bad-carb diet (no grain, no starches)...I need good vegetable dishes. I'll try one of these creamy salads. I'm not a mayo fan, but if that is what they normally use, I'll get some.

Linda, do you steam briefly or dip in boiling water? Since you have the same problem, how you do it to avoid the ill effects would be a good guide. Thanks!

Actually I put it in the microwave for a bit....the time depends on the amount I am doing. The clue to enough time is when it turns a bright green.....then a quick dunk in ice water to stop the process. for one serving I use a covered pyrex dish and a splash of water from my fingers and I start with 20 seconds.
If i am doing a lot....for a big salad for several, I dunk into boiling water in a pasta cooking pot....with the colonder that lifts out. Usually takes about 1 minute to turn bright green then a quick dunk in another pit full of ice water.

Like LInda, I also blanch broccoli when I make that famous salad with raisins, sunflower seed, red onions, etc. I usually blanch for 2 minutes in boiling water, then a quick plunge into ice water, and drain. Because the broccoli is still wet, after draining, I let it sit a bit on a clean tea towel to absorb the excess moisture. The broccoli is still quite crisp, but just cooked enough to avoid that sandy-gritty thing that Pllog mentioned.

Thank you both! And thanks to the OP for making me think of this ;)

I adore broccoli, but always blanch or steam it. I love throwing it in a pan with butter and soy sauce, or just dressing it with a bit of butter and adding Parmesan.

I eat bowls of it.

I like putting garlic slivers and red pepper flakes and some oil in a skillet, broccoli florets, cooked for a few minutes. Then add a bit of water, cover and steam/saute till crisp-tender.

I have to blanch or roast. Still crisp but definitely tames the rawness. We like cauliflower and broccoli pesto rice. The broccoli florets are raw but i blanch the stems and cauliflower, then zip in the cuisinart. Asian style dressings are a good idea.

House guests recently i served raw on an appy platter with a tahini dressing. No one ate it but me raw. Lots of other things on that platter gone. Next night i added the leftovers to a veg/root oven roast and all was gone and loved.

linnea, that's how I get when I eat raw cauliflower too!

I just don't really care for either of those vegetables raw, and the only way I really like cauliflower at all is "popcorn cauliflower", cut into small florets and roasted until crispy.

I made that "famous" salad today, my mother loves the stuff. I sent the leftovers home with her.

Annjie

I don't think I will ever eat raw broccoli again as of yesterday. I planted an 'artwork' broccoli, which doesn't just produce one head, but tons of smaller heads after the big one is cut. Having way too much veggies to eat, I decided to prep and freeze some. I soaked in salt water, rinsed several time. I used only the heads with about 1-2" of stem and sliced each one into at least 4, so they were quite small. Perfect size to throw into anything. When I finished blanching, there were some small worm like things in bottom of blanching pot. Yuck......... I immediately went online to research and find this is common, and they hide out in the heads and you can't see them, because they are green. When you blanch, they turn brown. Typically if I were not freezing, after I sliced it, I would then throw it in whatever I was cooking, e.g. chicken, pasta, mushrooms with broccoli and white sauce, etc. Without blanching I would have never seen these dead critters! I wonder how many I have eaten over a lifetime!!!! I will ALWAY blanch broccoli from this point on!!

A soak in salted water drives them out too.

Believe it or not, the worms are probably a source of B12 which can prove to be important in the diets of vegans and vegetarians who have a hard time getting enough of this important nutrient. Nature gives us gnats/fruit flies, and weevils - which also provide B12 - and are commonly found in our food (usually unknowingly). Not all creepy/crawly things in nature are "bad", just a high "ick factor".

I took a food class about vegan/vegetarianism from a woman who was a dietitian and a Seventh Day Adventist and she suggested these "add-ins" were important in their strict meatless diet; and it was also why vegans in third-world countries have less Pernicious anaemia. They are exposed to the bugs/worms/insects because they don't live in a world where everything cleaned and stored in Tupperware. Weevils in their meal and beans is a common thing that is just part of their diet. She even went so far as to suggest the next time a strict vegan was out for a bike ride and they encounter a swarm of gnats to be sure to swallow a few. An entomologists giving a class on "Pests In Your Pantry" also told the same thing about weevils in your food (which are a good source of protein and quite edible). Not what you really want to hear.....(LOL).

-Grainlady

Would a vegan, who eschews eating animal products, knowingly eat worms? Seems to go against all they believe in; however, is it any different to kill them off before eating the vegetable, whether you ingest them or not? I'm very curious about that!

I like raw cauliflower, but not broccoli because heads are a bit too gritty. OK if it's chopped up pretty small. With broccoli, cooked or raw, I prefer the stems as opposed to the florets.

Olychick-

In the case I outlined above by the Seventh Day Adventist dietitian (following their church teachings), eating gnats was endorsed as a source for B12.

For anyone who has grown up on a farm, ever winnowed (cleaned) wheat right out of the combine hopper from the field, picked dried beans/corn/nuts... you will see all kinds of bits and pieces of a very long list of "bugs" present in the harvested food. The great outdoors are alive with them.

I KNOW that there's no such thing as "bug-free, larva-free" grains as we get them from the farm. The same with other grains/seeds/beans I've harvested myself. You winnow the best you can, but bugs just happen in nature..... and we all eat our fair share whether we were ever aware of it or not. "NATURAL" means just that - of nature - including the bugs/insects/larva that are in direct contact with the things we consume. Even wheat that is triple-cleaned for human consumption will still have a certain percentage of non-grain solids in it. Our culture is just more-or-less blind, or possibly ignorant, to these simple "bugs happen" facts.

-Grainlady

If you have to (knowingly or unknowlingly) eat insects in order to get the B 12 your body needs, it's the final argument why veganism is not natural for the human body and not a healthy life style. We have the teeth of omnivores, not herbivores.

And for those who garden and want to grow broccoli and other brassicas, use row covers. I've been organic gardening for 50 years, and can hardly remember how we managed before them. Just be sure to put them on as soon as you put the plants in the garden! If you wait until you see the white butterfly hovering over the plants, you've waited too long.