This isn’t some bullshit. There is a real science behind it.
Stanford University is one of the best research universities in the world.
When it comes to our mental state and the ability to manage stress, the brain is often the first suspect. However, our nutrition can also play a significant part in that the trillions of microbes living in our gut, known as our microbiome, hold significant sway over our daily emotions and long-term mental health. This is because our microbiome and brain are in constant communication, influencing one another’s next move via the gut-brain axis.
“Our gut can be thought of as having its own brain, replete with motor neurons, sensory neurons, and neurotransmitters. In fact, our ‘gut brain’ contains more of some neurotransmitters, like serotonin, than the brain in our head,” states Dr. Spencer.
“Increasing evidence is showing that bacteria in the gut, and the byproducts they produce, affect mood, cognition, and behavior,” states Dr. Spencer.
Our nutritional choices play a crucial role in shaping the composition and functionality of our gut microbiota. Consuming healthy foods fosters an environment where “good” microbes thrive, producing byproducts that benefit our mental health
https://lifestylemedicine.stanford.edu/stress-and-the-microbiome/
Eat a ton of fruits and vegetables. It will help your mood.
Frozen veg are great. They’re frozen just as they’re at their best, and often much cheaper than fresh. I just can’t get over frozen broccoli - no matter what I do, they just come out mushy, so I just avoid that.
Brassica is hardy in the ground and fickle out of it. Amazing something that’s basically free in the winter in some places because it’s happy to grow then and there is an absolute diva when cooking it. Broccoli is the easy sibling to cook, but it’s still cabbage and it doesn’t want to be frozen, boiled, microwaved, and honestly I think steaming it is bad too. Fresh then roasted or pan fried is best
I actually love the way that Made With Lau does it… Otherwise, it’s steamed or sauteed and topped with a bit of seasoned salt or oyster sauce.
I don’t eat nearly enough veggies but when I make frozen orange chicken I put some pieces of broccoli around the edges of the pan and let them roast while the breaded chicken gets crispy
They are mostly soft, but get nicely browned and crisp at the edges. I dunno If thats a texture that’d work for you, but it’s pretty enjoyable for me, even with me being more picky when it comes to veggie textures
But I’m not sure if there’s any real way to get a good fresh broccoli texture with the frozen stuff, if thats what your after. I don’t have a ton of experience making broccoli in general cause I don’t love broccoli that much but most of the time freezing is going to do damage to the cell structure of veggies and they’re gonna be unavoidably softer
I hope you find something that works for you!
It’s the little broccoli florets ends coming out mushy or soft which gets me, so I decided to just avoid frozen broccoli all together. I don’t like mushy veg :( unless it’s bok choi. I don’t know what it is, but maybe because I don’t like bok choi so I just want the smallest amount of chewing effort to get it in to me 😂
I love the way that Made With Lau does the broccoli, so I usually do it that way.
You can 100% make crunchy broccoli with frozen broccoli
They are really crunchy when they are frozen.
To be fair, I’ve only really used the frozen veg in stir fries or in soups, and haven’t really researched ways to make it like it’s cooked from fresh. What do you do to make your broccoli crunchy? Without eating it frozen like the other person said. 😂
I haven’t tried it in a stir fry, but I like to sweat out my frozen broccoli in a pan first before I add oil. Gentle heat, just enough so you see the steam coming up.
They come out alright sautéd in the span, like is mentioned. I don’t know how you could get it crunchy, but I imagine pulling off the heat at the right time would be crucial for achieving the best texture.