There is something about the color green. It’s a symbol of soothing, peace, tranquility, blossom, health, and nature. Just take a look around you and tell what the dominant color that you see is. Isn’t it the color green- the color of the trees, the color that you love to incorporate in your home garden? Well, to be frank, nature means green, and so does a healthy diet. There isn’t one day where you go without having a green salad, filled with sprouts, broccoli, avocado, green leaves, etc.
Green vegetables indeed have wonders hidden in their pockets, just like Brussel sprouts and broccoli. This is why understanding the facts for Brussel sprouts vs broccoli aren’t easy. On the other hand, it’s not impossible, and that’s why we will be venturing further into an age-long argument. So, let’s get started!
Table of Contents
What are Brussel Sprouts?
Well, Brussel Sprouts is more of a baby cabbage, if you look carefully. It is a green veggie from the cabbage family only, mainly from the Gemmifera group. This miniature cabbage was grown in Brussels in earlier days, and it was quite popular. That’s why it has its name coined after the place, which made it famous and well known in the human diet.
Also Read: Cauliflower Vs Broccoli- Which Is A Healthier Choice?
Nutritional content
- Mostly contains water
- No fats or any derivative of the fatty acids
- Nine percent carbs
- Three percent of proteins
- Vitamins especially Vitamin C and Vitamin D, Vitamin B6 and folate
- Dietary fibers
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What is broccoli?
Even though the umbrella family of the broccoli is cabbage, the vegetables’ direct inherited family is Brassicaceae. Unlike cauliflower, broccoli has a cluttered flower head, where each flower is quite small in size. The stalk of the veggie is also edible and quite thick as compared to the original cabbage. This vegetable’s origin dates back to the 6th century, where the vegetable was cultivated mainly in Mediterranean Europe.
Nutritional content
- Prime content is Vitamin C and Vitamin K
- Multiple forms of Vitamin B in the raw form
- Minerals like manganese
- Contains mostly water
- Seven percent carbs and three percent protein
How healthy are Brussel sprouts?
The famous Brussel sprouts vs broccoli discussion will go on for another decade if you are not aware of the benefits of the Brussel Sprouts in detail. Being a green vegetable, it has a lot of health benefits stored up in its sleeves. So, let’s have a look!
- Rich source of antioxidants: One of the major health benefits of the Brussel sprouts is that it contains a huge percentage of different antioxidants. The main antioxidant that you will find in this mini cabbage is kaempferol. It helps in reducing the number of free radicals in your blood, thereby helping your body cells to stay young and avoid any form of early aging.
- Helps to neutralize the effects of mutagenic compounds: One of the significant raw Brussel sprouts health benefits is that it is rich in bioactive compounds. These help to lower the chances of suffering from cancer and other mutagenic substances.
- Have huge a quantity of fibers: The Brussels sprouts fiber content is quite commendable. This veggie is excellent in its dietary fiber content, which helps improve your digestion process and keeps your gut healthy and free of any diseases. To enjoy the maximum fiber content, you should try taking this vegetable in its raw form.
- A rich source of Vitamin C and Vitamin K: Another excellent benefit of this mini cabbage is that it is a great natural source of both Vitamin C and Vitamin K. On one hand, vitamin C helps you to fight against scurvy and repeated wear and tear of your body tissues. Vitamin K, on the other hand, improves the health of the bones and also manages the blood clotting phenomenon.
- A great source of Omega-3 fatty acids: It’s hard to get the omega group of fatty acids in regular green vegetables. This is why Brussel sprouts are considered to be one of the most beneficial diets food all over the world. This miniature cabbage is rich in omega-3 fatty acids- a chain of mono-saturated fats that improves the heart’s health.
What are the health benefits of broccoli?
For knowing everything about Brussel sprouts vs broccoli, you need to gather enough information about both these individual veggies. This is why we will be discussing the health benefits of broccoli to have a much clearer idea about the vegetable.
- Rich in bioactive compounds: Broccoli is rich in various bioactive components, the most important antioxidants. This particular compound helps your body fight against early aging, cancers, and the increased risks of free radicals in your blood.
- Reduces inflammations: Another major benefit of broccoli is that it helps fight inflammations of bone tissues, cells, and other parts of your body. Since internal inflammations are hard to track, you need this veggie to work on the swells from inside.
- High in fibrous content: Just like Brussel sprouts, broccoli, too, has a high content of fibers. This dietary fiber collection will help your digestive system to stay healthy and properly functioning.
- Prevents dehydration of your body: Since broccoli contains about eighty-six percent water, taking this vegetable during summers will help your body stay hydrated for longer.
- Enhances the functioning of your brain: In the comparative study of Brussel sprouts vs broccoli, one thing in which broccoli has the upper hand is its ability to improve the functioning of the neurons and brain. Not only it helps in preventing degenerative neural diseases, but also it promotes your brain’s activity like concentration, intelligence, and even remembering power.
Brussel Sprouts vs Broccoli – Which is better?
Winning the argument about Brussel sprouts vs broccoli is not at all easy. Both these cabbage family veggies have close resemblances with each other. Both these are preferred by people who have a knack for green foods. This is why we will be discussing the comparison in detail, no matter how meager the difference seems. So, let’s get started!
- Dietary fibers: Brussel sprouts contain more fiber content than the regular broccoli. This is why it’s a better choice for people suffering from digestion problems and constipation.
- Presence of Vitamin E: Vitamin E is present in small quantities in broccoli. However, in the Brussel sprouts, you will have more Vitamin E content, which is quite helpful for your body.
- Availability: Broccoli is more available all across the world. Since the artificial cultivation of this cauliflower descendant is easy, it is grown in most parts of the world. However, Brussel sprouts are not produced in every country. Since it requires special conditions, the availability of the sprouts is less as compared to the broccolis.
- Water content: If you are looking at both the veggies’ general water content, you will find that broccoli has 89.3 grams of water while a brussel sprout has only eighty-six grams of the fluid. This is where the comparison of Brussel sprouts vs broccoli becomes more effective and daunting.
- Protein source: Brussel sprouts have more protein content as compared to the broccoli. The former has 3.38 grams of protein per hundred grams, while broccolis have only 2.82 grams of protein.
- Raw or cooked: Broccoli can be eaten in both ways, i.e., as a raw vegetable and in a prepared form. However, the Brussel sprouts can be eaten only in the cooked form. The calories Brussel sprouts steamed are more prominent as compared to the cooked broccoli.
- Carb content: according to the broccoli sprouts calories, it has 6.64 grams of carbs per hundred grams while the Brussels sprouts have more carb content, estimated to about 8.95 grams.
- Antioxidants: Broccoli has more variety of antioxidants as compared to the Brussel sprouts. Also, the quantity of each antioxidant group is more in the broccolis case than in the sprouts.
How to use Brussel Sprouts?
Now, since you know almost everything about the Brussel sprouts, it’s time to understand how to use this veggie in your daily diet routine. So, here are some of the dishes that you can prepare with the sprouts.
- Sauteed sprouts with pancetta and lime juice
- As a topping in your turkey pizza
- Asian chicken with spices and Brussel sprouts
- A brussel sprout salad with almonds, avocado and kale leaves
- Roasted sprouts with pecans and cherry tomatoes
How to use broccoli?
The last discussion of this document will be about the dishes that you can cook with broccoli, which will be the star ingredient in the recipes.
- Broccoli stir fry with carrots, beans, and spring onion
- Broccoli soup with whole wheat noodles
- Cheesy broccoli soup with potato
- A vegetable slaw made from broccoli
- Shrimp with roasted broccoli and kale leaves
Also Read: Different Ways To Eat Broccoli & Fun Broccoli Based Dishes
Conclusion
Predicting Brussel sprouts vs broccoli results can be very difficult, especially because both these veggies are like the powerhouse of nutrients. The differences between them are very close and quite tricky to maneuver. So, make sure that you are deciding about the veggie-based on what your body wants. After all, your body needs to get accustomed to the vegetable and not the other way round.
