In an old comedy routine, Mel Brooks says, “Listen to your broccoli and your broccoli will tell you how to eat it.”   This is true.  But you have to get to know your vegetables in their native habitat – this is to say, fresh, naked and raw.  

Peas do not come from cans, beets do not come from jars, broccoli does not come from a frozen brick.  Originally they came from the earth.  Now they’re in a fairy tale prison where they’re not only incarcerated, they’re cursed and no prince’s kiss will restore them to their true form. 

So where do you find broccoli?  The grocery store, for starters, but for the Beyonce of broccoli, check out your local farmer’s market – it’s the season for fresh, bountiful South Florida produce.  

Farmers markets let you meet the broccoli, bell peppers, strawberries and string beans of your dreams.  You also get the meet the people who grow them.  It’s a win-win --  you support your local farmer and fuel your body with pure nutrition.  And do you hear what your broccoli is saying?  It says, ‘Thank you.”

You’ll thank your broccoli, too because once you go fresh and local, you’ll never go back.  Canned vegetables literally pale in comparison to their fresh counterparts and you can’t beat the intense flavor and vibrant color of produce raised here, not shipped from across the country.  

Okay, so you’ve scored this broccoli bonanza, now what?  The florets are great as a dip conduit, but to release broccoli’s fine phytochemical essence, steam it for about 6 minutes.  You want it crisp-tender and a rich green, not flaccid and gray.

You can smother your broccoli in cheese sauce and it won’t scold you, but tossing it with minced garlic and a squeeze of lemon provides dazzling flavor and no fat.    

Yes, steaming a head of broccoli takes longer than nuking a frozen burrito, but not much longer and come on, this is your body.  When are you going to stop treating every meal like a one-night stand?  It’s time to invest in a deeper, more meaningful relationship with what you eat. 

But you don’t have to listen to me.  Just listen to your broccoli.