Fruits and vegetables make up a large portion of a healthy meal, as they contain high amounts of vitamins and healthy nutrients. Broccoli is not loved by everyone, especially kids! The real truth is that broccoli is an important component in any meal. If you look at many of the healthy diet plans, you will see at least one portion of broccoli serving. The calories in broccoli will vary depending on whether it is raw broccoli or steamed broccoli. People usually don’t end up frying broccoli, so we won’t be considering such a case. There are numerous broccoli based meals, so we will look at a few good ones you should try if you are aiming at a healthy diet.
How Many Calories Are in Raw Broccoli?
Raw Broccoli: Raw broccoli, when purchased at the local grocery market is available in various sizes. In our case, let’s consider a small serving of one cup, which accounts for about 88grams. In one small serving this size, you will get about 30 calories. The calorie count is not much, but you should take into account that 88grams is really not a lot to eat. The average person eats about 350grams to 700grams of broccoli in a single meal. In raw broccoli, there is very little fat, which accounts for 0.3grams. There is absolutely no 
cholesterol, much like any other raw vegetable. Once you begin frying or adding sauces/flavours, it will increase the cholesterol content. The vitamin C content in 88grams of raw broccoli, you will be getting nearly 130% of the daily recommended intake.
Calories in Cooked Broccoli?
Cooked Broccoli: Some people believe that cooking or steaming vegetables will give them better calorie counts, but this is not always true. In terms of steamed broccoli, your calorie count per 88gram serving is about 31 calories. Now, the calorie count as you see hasn’t really changed, but the actual nutrient in it has. The total fat content went up from 0.3grams to 1.1gram, with the most increase in polyunsaturated fats. The amount of sodium jumped to 734mg, which is nearly a third of your daily recommended intake. If you have high blood pressure, it is wise to keep track on your sodium intake. It is good for your overall health to be eating broccolis because it has high amounts of anti-oxidants that help cleanse your body, expelling any toxins you don’t need.
Using Broccoli in Cooking
There are numerous recipes that make use of broccolis such as lemon broccoli, cornbreads, soups, rice based meals, pasta and chicken. Broccoli has become a very common addition to any sort of meal, as it could be included as a simple vegetable. Other common vegetables that are used in various meals include lettuce, carrots and beans. According to a confirmed study, it has been said that green leaf based vegetables have high amounts of healthy nutrients which our body needs. In most cases, this is very true, as they do contain the needed anti-oxidants, vitamins, and carbohydrates.
