Broccoberry Story KidFITConnections.com

It happened in the early spring, when the farmers in town were getting ready to plant their fields with fruit and vegetable seeds for the coming summer months.

The farmers were sorting their seeds by the variety of vegetable and fruit. The broccoli seeds, carrot seeds, and spinach seeds were all in separate piles.

The strawberry seeds were in another pile. The farmers also had small apple trees to plant as well as grape vines.

The day was windy. You could see the school bus swaying in the wind as it pulled up to the bus stop to take the children to school.

The school bus screeched to a stop and the children safely boarded the bus. And that's when it happened. A giant burst of wind swept

the trees. grape vines, and seeds everywhere. The farmers didn't know what seeds were which, and guess what? Seeds collided and the VeggieFruitables™ sprouted up.

Here's the story of Broccoberry™

If you are thinking about the combination of seeds that collided to create Broccoberry™, you can probably guess what they are - broccoli and strawberry.

Broccoberry™ is surprisingly sweet because of her sweet strawberry side. She is rosy red from the sun and has bright green freckles. Broccoberry™ loves to sweeten foods by diving into cereal, yogurt, and landing right smack in the middle of pancakes. But broccoli, on the other hand, is crisp and very strong, especially in flavor. What better for broccoli than to dive into salads and greens?

When it comes to compromise, Broccoberry™ faces a challenge. Because strawberry is so sweet, she often doesn't stick up for herself in important issues. Broccoli can be pretty strong and sometimes hurts feelings. So the two have to practice gatw2 (give and take with two). Here's an example of something that happened a couple months ago. It was a perfect day - sunshine and warm - the perfect day to hike in the park. Broccoli wanted to rollerblade. Broccoli said to Strawberry "I don't care what you want to do - I don't want to hike. I want to go to the mall - and that's what we are going to do." Well, how do you think Strawberry felt? She didn't want to, but she went along with Broccoli to the mall. She really felt bad when she got home, because the two didn't compromise - and she didn't stick up for herself. That's where Applecarrottop™ helps. Apple and Carrot are bff. The definitely know how to compromise and worked their magic. Here's Applecarrottop™ told Broccoberry™. "It's gatw2. Take what you both want to do and try to fit it all in. For example, you could have taken the hike during the great sunny weather in the afternoon. Then go to the mall at night. Sometimes we walk around the mall really fast - to scout everything out first - as fast as we can (without mowing people down) and then we go back to the stores we want to."

So - are the two compromising now? You bet! A way of surviving together is in a recipe that makes perfect sense - a salad.   The two flavors and textures are perfect for a sweet and crisp salad (scc - sweet and crisp combination)- the Broccoberry™ Salad. Make this one for your family.

                                                      Broccoberry™ Salad

* 4 cups baby spinach and dark lettuce leaves (you can buy a bag of mixed greens, but make sure they are dark green)

* Broccoli crowns or florets (you can buy an entire head of broccoli with the stalk or just the crowns -   about 1/4 pound, uncooked)

* 1 cup sliced strawberries (clean- to clean, place under running water)

* 3/4 cup sliced celery ribs

* 1/2 cup slivered almonds

* fresh dill or dried (3 Tbsp chopped fresh or 1/2 tsp dried)

* balsamic vinegar or low-fat poppy seed dressing (limit amount to 2 Tbsp)

Directions:

1. Clean broccoli, spinach, and strawberries according to the directions below.

2. Sugar coat the slivered almonds. To sugar almonds, add 2 tsp sugar to a non-stick skillet along with almonds. Turn heat to medium-high and continually stir sugar and almonds together until the sugar melts and coats almonds. Remove almonds from heat and place on a plate to cool.

3. In a large bowl, toss together all ingredients except for dressing.

4. Before serving, top with small amount dressing.

Food Groups in MyPyramid - compare to your recommendations in MyPyramid (use Your Pyramid Connections Slide Guide)

2 cups vegetables 1/4 cup fruit 1 oz meat 1 Tbsp oil

To clean and prepare broccoli:

Look for broccoli floret clusters that are dark green or purple-green. Avoid florets that are yellow. Store in an open plastic bag in the refrigerator. Avoid washing the broccoli before storing in the refrigerator because it won't last as long. Broccoli should keep for about a week in the refrigerator and frozen bags should keep a year in the freezer.

We talked about all the good health benefits of eating broccoli. Slicing and chewing broccoli help to activate the nutritious compounds. If you are cutting broccoli, let it sit for 5 minutes before cooking. It is more nutritious to steam or sauté broccoli. Limit cooking time to no more than 5 minutes to preserve nutrients. Cook in the smallest amount of water possible.

To clean and prepare strawberries:

Strawberries are perishable, so purchase a few days before using. They should be shiny and have a deep red color. The cap should be green. Once picked, strawberries don't further ripen like some other fruits. Medium-sized strawberries are often more flavorful than larger ones.

Look for strawberries that are loosely packaged in a container. Remove any moldy or damaged berries. Just like broccoli, don't wash strawberries and then put pack in the refrigerator. Also, keep out of the sun and don't store at room temperature, but store in the refrigerator. Wash the berries just before serving. Wash the berries, and then remove the caps and steps, so the berries don't absorb extra water.

To clean and prepare greens/spinach:

Choose spinach that has bright green leaves, without yellow or wilted leaves. Check to make sure the leaves do not have a slimy coat or bruising. If the spinach that you purchased came in a plastic bag, store the spinach in the bag in the crisper of your refrigerator. It will last about 5 days. Like most vegetables, don't wash the spinach before storing.

The leaves of spinach tend to collect sand a dirt from the soil. Remove stems and separate the leaves. Wash the spinach in a large bowl of mildly warm water by gently moving the leaves around. Empty the dirty water and repeat this rinsing several times.

Broccoli Tips: Broccoli is a member of the cabbage family and is called a cruciferous vegetable. It has a strong smell and flavor. Broccoli is very nutritious and contains something called phytonutrients that boost your immune system. Broccoli contains calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C, and folic acid.

Broccoli Tips for Parents: Broccoli is a very nutritious food. Broccoli is a cruciferous vegetable that boosts your body's enzymes that can potentially clear cancer causing substances more quickly. Broccoli is considered a cruciferous vegetable. When cut or chewed, it releases a sulfur containing compound called sinigrin, which is a powerful anti-carcinogenic compound. Broccoli also contains calcium (74 mg) plus vitamin C, which helps improve calcium's absorption.

Strawberry Tips: Strawberries are the most popular berry in the world! They are available from April - July, although most grocery stores offer them year-long. Do you know there are over 600 varieties of strawberries? Like broccoli, strawberries also boost your immune system.

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Each has a story of nutrition to tell.

Click on each picture for their story, recipes, nutrition tips, and more!
The puppets come with a script.

      Broccoberry™ Plush Toy                    Spinagrape™ Plush Toy                          Applecarrotop™ Plush Toy
         15-inch fleece toy                                  20-inch fleece toy                                    18-inch fleece toy
         felt accents                                             felt accents                                              felt accents
         100% polyester fiberfill                        100% polyester fiberfill                          100% polyester fiberfill
         $20.00 plus s/h                                       $20.00 plus s/h                                         $20.00 plus s/h

             Broccoberry™ Puppet                               Spinagrape™ Puppet                          Applecarrotop™ Puppet
               14-inch felt puppet                                      14-inch felt puppet                               14-inch felt puppet
               $10.00 plus s/h                                            $10.00 plus s/h                                      $10.00 plus s/h

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