So What’s Wrong with Broccoli Rabe?
Who Can Resist All of this Green Goodness?
Every time I cook broccoli rabe, (aka broccoli raab, and rapini) I get a reaction like there’s poison on the plate for dinner. Oh no, broccoli rabe. Ewww, broccoli rabe. Do I have to have the broccoli rabe?
Just look at how beautiful the fresh green leaves are. They need very little to turn them into a perfect side dish other than some olive oil, sea salt, sometimes chopped garlic, and a little water or broth. You cook them until they’re tender, preferably before they lose their vibrant green color. That’s it.
Broccoli Rabe is non-fat, low-cal, and high in vitamins A and C. They also possess those phytochemicals that are prized for their cancer fighting properties.
You can serve broccoli rabe as a side dish. Or you can toss it with pasta, typically orechiette. Add some Italian sausage, and/or grated parmesan cheese. There’s a comfort food dinner if I’ve ever met one.
Sure, you need to be comfortable with bitter flavors to enjoy the vegetable. But broccoli rabe can be mellowed with the appropriate preparation. Plus, what’s wrong with a little bitter flavors here and there? Must we always feed our sweet tooth?
Therefore, in response to my own question, there’s nothing wrong with broccoli rabe, everything good with it, and I’m going to continue serving it, like or not.
Vitamin D Supplements, Cure, Curse, or Worthless?
I really hope I don’t live to regret this. Last month I had a general physical, my first one in about 5 years. I’m usually leery about going to the doctor when I’m feeling well, because they just have to find something wrong with you, don’t they? And then you get involved with prescriptions and procedures that make you feel worse than when you started. At least that’s what I suspect. But, as a woman of a certain age, I felt it was in my family’s best interest that I get checked out.
So the only thing the doc managed to come up with is that my Vitamin D is low, quite low. In case you haven’t been to the doctor recently, the newest thing they’re testing for is your Vitamin D level. They’re blaming a whole slew of ailments on Vitamin D deficiency including high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and low levels of good cholesterol. If you have high levels of Vitamin D in your blood, your rate of illness and death is low. Bad news for me.
But is taking Vitamin D supplements the answer as suggested by most doctors? I’m not so sure. Few clinical trials have shown a strong correlation between Vitamin D supplements and curing these risks. As I reported last year, scientists have found that Vitamin D supplements can cause problems for those with autoimmune problems (I have vitiligo which is a minor autoimmune disease). It would be nice if I could up my intake of a particular food to improve my Vitamin D levels, but there really aren’t any that are potent enough to accomplish what I need.
What I really need is more time in the sun, to build up my levels the old fashioned way. But until sun can be found in these parts, I guess I’ll try the supplements and hope for the best. What would you do?
Doing Well by Doing Good
Going all natural is good for all.
There seems to be a new trend in the processed food industry, according to a report in “USA Today”.
Simple.
Food companies are discovering that consumers prefer natural, simplified food. They want to read food labels that have a few, understandable ingredients. And their money is following that preference. Hagen-Dazs has developed a line of ice cream called Five, because there are only five ingredients. The repurchase rates on this line have exceeded the industry average by 30%. The Triscuit crackers from Kraft has had double-digit sales increases in the second quarter of 2009 after simplifying the ingredient list and switching to a healthier oil.
Even Necco wafers, a 162-year-old candy company has decided to go all natural with their chalky, sweet candy wafers. Beet juice, purple cabbage, cocoa powder and turmeric have replaced some of the ingredients. Supposedly the only loss in this changeover is the color/flavor green since a reasonable color substitution couldn’t be found.
Some may call this a marketing scheme. But if it means that processed, convenience foods are becoming healthier for us, I say bring it on.