Beautiful Broccoli
Why should you eat broccoli?
A ½ cup of cooked broccoli is:
An excellent source of vitamin A,
vitamin C, vitamin K, and folate.
A good source of fiber.
A ½ cup of fresh broccoli is:
An excellent source of vitamin C and
vitamin K.
Vitamin A
Is needed for
healthy growth
Helps keep
your skin
healthy
Helps you
see in the
dark
Helps you
fight
sickness
Other sources: liver, carrot juice, sweet
potato, canned pumpkin, cooked
spinach, cooked kale, ready to eat cereal,
cantaloupe and cooked red sweet pepper
Vitamin K
Is the clotmaster!
Remember the last time you got a cut?
Your blood did something special called
clotting.
This is when certain cells in your blood act like
glue and stick together at the surface of the cut
to help stop the bleeding.
What does the dark green
color of broccoli mean?
The dark green color means it
has lots on nutrients.
Foods high in nutrients can
help you fight certain diseases.
Folate
Is a B vitamin that works with other B vitamins to
help make and support body cells.
Our bodies are made up of about 60-90 trillion
cells. askabiologist.asu.edu/
Folate is important in preventing some birth defects
and making healthy red blood cells.
Here is a diagram of broccoli
Home Grown Broccoli Facts
California is the number one producer of
broccoli in the United States. We produce
more than 90% of the nation’s crop.
Broccoli is available all year long in
California.
It is grown in four areas: the south desert
valley (Imperial and Riverside counties); the
southern coast (Ventura, San Luis Obispo
and Santa Barbara counties), central coast
(Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz
counties) and the Central Valley (Fresno,
Kern, Stanislaus and Tulare counties).
Broccoli looks like a tiny tree!
Go to
www.harvestofthemonth.com
and Educators Corner
for this great map of California
showing each county and the
many different crops and farm
animals each has.
We are very, very lucky to live
in a state that can grow so
many different crops and
support so many farm animals.
Some states have such short
growing seasons, they can
only grow one or two crops.
A Spear of Broccoli History
Broccoli has been around for
2000 years.
It has been in the United
States for only 200 years.
The son of Roman Emperor
Tiberius loved broccoli so
much that he refused to eat all
other foods except broccoli for
an entire month!
Just the Facts
Broccoli was first grown in
Calabrese, Italy and was
called “brocco” means branch
or arm in Italian.
Broccoli is the plural form of
brocco and refers to the many
flower-like shoots that form the
head of the plant.
Broccoli in bloom
If allowed to grow longer,
broccoli will bloom into
beautiful yellow flowers.
More Facts
Broccoli is one of the most popular garden
vegetables because it is very easy to grow.
Rich in vitamins and minerals it is also known as
the “Crown Jewel of Nutrition”.
This variety is called Romanesco.
Doesn’t it look like a space creature
or a space ship!
Sprouting Broccoli
Sprouting broccoli
comes in both green
and purple. It is also
called calabrese
broccoli.
Quiz Time
1. One half cup of cooked broccoli is an excellent source of
vitamins ___, ___ and ____.
A, C and K
2. What does the dark green color of broccoli tell you?
It is very high in nutrients.
3. You can only get broccoli in the summer time. True or False
False. You can get it all year round in California.
4. What does brocco mean in Italian?
Branch or arm
5. When eating broccoli, you are eating a flower. True or False
True. If not picked and allowed to keep growing, the
broccoli would flower.
See how smart you are!!