Saturday, November 30, 2013

Brussel Sprouts (Yes, they are yummy)

I know, your probably thinking "what! brussel sprouts are yummy? yeah right!" and that is exactly what I thought until I finally just sucked it up and tried one. To my surprise they were served steamed with carrots and dressed with a creamy horseradish dressing at our friend's Thanksgiving day dinner. I was hesitant at first but thought "what they hay its Thanksgiving!" and decided to try one. Believe it or not I enjoyed it and ended up eating about 4 more. So that is what sparked my interest in brussel sprouts and I wanted to share a little about these amazing, cute little "mini cabbages" with you!
Brussel sprouts are part of the cabbage family which includes cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower and collards. These little guys are usually green in color and are about 1" in diameter and to me are just super cute (yes, I am a typical girl who thinks everything that is miniature is cute!). They are usually sold separately but can sometimes be sold still attached to the stems, which I saw recently at the farmers market and thought it was pretty cool looking. Brussel sprouts developed from the wild cabbage, which was native to the Mediterranean, and have many of the same properties of the cabbage family. One of the most famous properties being its potential to reduce the risk of cancer, which I will talk about in a moment.
Brussel sprouts are an excellent source of vitamin C and a good source of folic acid, vitamin A, iron, fiber and protein. One can make brussel sprouts a complete protein by adding the complimentary amino acids needed such as topping them with cheese or serving them with grains. These little guys can be quite bitter and may be one of the reasons some people don't enjoy them, but that bitterness is actually part of their beneficial health properties.
Brussel sprouts contain flavor precursors called glucosinolates which are part of the plants defense system. Glucosinolates are high in brussel sprouts and are the reason for their bitter taste, but also for their cancer fighting properties. There is a plethora of in depth info describing this, so to make it short and sweet they help prevent cellular damage and mutation, and inhibit hormones that promote tumor growth, which means they can help prevent cancer.
Ok so now you know a little bit more about these smelly little guys and your probably wondering how to incorporate them into your diet. Well first make sure that you buy brussel sprouts that are bright green (not yellowing), firm with tightly packed leaves and similar in size. Store them unwashed and untrimmed in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. When ready to cook, rinse them and make sure they are free of dirt or bad leaves, trim the ends off and cut a small cross into their base (or cut in half to reduce the sulfur smell even more). You can boil or steam them until they are tender, but do not overcook as this depletes the vitamin C. At our Thanksgiving day dinner they were steamed whole with chunks of carrots and were dressed with a mixture of mayonnaise, horseradish, dill, and lemon juice. I thought this dressing complemented the brussel sprouts really well and read also that an acidic dressing helps to reduce the bitter flavor.
Well I hope this brussel sprout info session has peaked your curiosity in these funky little veggies and that you try them out sometime. They are filled with nutrients and cancer fighting properties, taste great and are just super cute. I will definitely be adding them in to my diet and am glad that I gave them a try. Go for it and enjoy!