Five tasty ways to do broccoli

Amelia Ruthven-Nelson
Contributor
Broccoli may not be your worst enemy after all. According to the Montreal Gazette, a study by the University of Illinois recently determined that regularly eating broccoli is a great way to reduce the risk of cancer. A cancer-fighting agent, known as sulforaphane, is released into your system and combines with the bacteria found in your lower gut.
For those of you that like broccoli, the discovery is probably an added bonus for your dinner plans, but for rest of us, it is another reminder that the world is extremely unfair.
In the interest of good health, I have had broccoli in at least one meal each day in hopes of finding one way to eat broccoli and like it. Below are some recipes for both broccoli-lovers and haters.

Broccoli personal pizza
Here’s a fun and nutritious way to eat your broccoli. If you put on enough of the toppings that you do like, you barely notice the toppings you might not like.
Ingredients:
1 small pita
2 finely cut broccoli flowerettes
1?2 cup grated cheese
2 tbsp spaghetti sauce
1?2 cup sliced tomatoes (optional)
1?2 cup sliced pineapples (optional)
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Using a spoon, spread the spaghetti sauce evenly across the pita. Sprinkle a handful of cheese across the sauce. Cut the broccoli into small pieces and spread it across the cheese. Place any other toppings you wish to have on your pizza. Place the pita with all your toppings into the oven and let it cook for 10 minutes. Wait for the pita to cool down and enjoy.

The energy drink
My favourite way to get broccoli down is by drinking it. You will need some kind of juicer, processor or an extremely powerful blender to make this drink.
Ingredients:
A handful of pineapple chunks
10 strawberries
4 to 5 broccoli flowerettes
4 orange slices
1 handful of torn up spinach
Place the pineapples into blender or juicer and blend for one minute. Continue with each ingredient listed above, blending them individually. Depending on the machine, ingredients such as spinach and broccoli may have to be shredded by hand first. Once blended, pour all ingredients into a cup and enjoy.

Stir-fry Salad
This is one of those quick-to-make dishes that is as easy to cook as it is delicious.
Ingredients:
1 cup broccoli flowerettes
1 cup sliced carrots
1?2 cup cauliflower
1?2 cup orange juice
1?4 cup dried cranberries
1 tbsp finely chopped celery
Pour the cup of broccoli in a bowl and microwave for two minutes. Fry the carrots, cauliflower and the celery in a frying pan with a bit of oil and the orange juice. When finished, mix the stir-fried vegetables with the broccoli  and add the dried cranberries.
Rice-occoli
This dish does not have a strong broccoli tastae but it will definitely give you a healthy serving of broccoli. I suggest you eat it as a side.
Ingredients:
2 cups instant brown rice
1 10.75-oz can condensed cream of broccoli soup
1 cup water
3/4 cup milk
1?2 cup chopped broccoli
1?2 cup chopped cauliflower
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
At medium heat, mix water, milk and cream of broccoli soup in a pot. Once the mix has started to boil, add the broccoli, cauliflower and rice. Reduce the heat, and let it cook for five to 10 minutes.
Broccoli with cheese
This dish is for broccoli-lovers; the cheese will complement the broccoli.
Ingredients:
2 cups steamed broccoli
1 cup shredded cheese
1 cup milk Parmesan cheese
Steam broccoli to your desire. Place the cheddar cheese and the milk into the microwave for 11?2 minutes until it becomes liquid. When ready, pour the liquid over the broccoli and add a dash of Parmesan cheese over the dish.