Help! We are under threat from an army of broccoli!
Stand strong, eat the broccoli to defeat them, and help us stop them from taking over.
Are you ready to munch the broccoli?
Broccoli facts
Appearance:
Mini tree
Skills:
Bit os a show-off. Crunchy bits, soft bits, tiny bits, big bits
Crunch Factor:
Low crunch risk – 5/10
Tactics:
Annoying to spell. will trick you with how many C’s and L’s
you will never remember!
We asked around the veg patch for jokes…
Discover the veg!
To be able to Eat and Defeat the Veg, you need to know all their little tricks.
Click below to discover their strengths, weaknesses, and more…!
Discover some great Broccoli fun and games!
cooking with Broccoli!
Are you ready to tackle the broccoli? Let’s cook…
Simple Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredients:
Minced meat or veggie alternative (about 300-400g for 4 people)
A jar of tomato sauce
Mashed potatoes (homemade, leftover or pre-prepped – whatever works for you)
Frozen peas or frozen sliced carrots (optional)
Not made a shepherd’s pie before, or not ready to try the next steps? Start here!
Method:
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Preheat your oven to 200C/gas 6.
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Cook the mince in a little oil in a frying pan until browned. Stir through the jar of sauce and let it simmer for a few mins to heat through. If using frozen peas or carrots, add them to the sauce and simmer until cooked (the packet will tell you how long this should take).
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If making mash, boil peeled and chopped potatoes until soft, then drain and mash with a little salt & pepper and oil, butter or milk if you feel it needs it.
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In a casserole dish, pour the meat sauce, then top with the mashed potatoes. Bake in the oven for 20-30 mins, until golden and bubbling
There is no need to go any further with this recipe until you are confident with it and feel up for the next step.
Noddle Soup
Serves: 4
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Ingredients:
1 tbsp oil
200g diced chicken or beef strips, or veggie alternative
1 red pepper, sliced
100g sweetcorn (frozen is fine)
2 carrots, sliced as thinly as you can (or just use a veg peeler to peel thin strips)
100g white or green cabbage, shredded (sliced very thinly into strips or grate coarsely)
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger (or ½ tsp ground ginger)
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 litre water
1 veg, chicken or beef stock cube
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
200g cooked noodles
Handful fresh coriander, chopped (optional)
Veg Portions / Serving: 2
The story for the kids is all about slurping your way to victory so we’d like this with a good broth for maximum slurping. We have recommended a noodle soup with plenty of slurp-icious broth. Here’s our recommended recipe, or you can simply adapt your own recipe – just keep the veg chunky and serve with a reminder to the children to Eat Them to Defeat Them and say “Time for a show down!”
Method:
Place a saucepan on the stove over medium heat and add the oil, chicken or beef, red pepper, sweetcorn, carrots, and cabbage. Cook for about 5-10 mins until the meat is well browned and the cabbage and carrots still have some hardness to them but are starting to soften. Add the spices and cook for another minute. If using veggie alternative, check packet instructions, but most cook quickly and can be added at the next step.
Add the water, vegetable stock cube, soy sauce and honey to the pan (and veggie alternatives, if using) and bring gently up to a simmer.
Add the noodles to the pan and continue to cook until everything is piping hot and cooked through (if your noodles are uncooked, don’t worry, just cook them quickly now, it usually only takes a couple of mins, and then add to the saucepan).
Remove from the stove and evenly portion into serving bowls, sprinkling with coriander as you serve if using.
Creamy Curry & Rainbow Vegetable Rice
Serves: 4
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 50-55 mins
Ingredients:
Curry:
1 tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
200g diced chicken or beef strips, or veggie alternative
200g sweet potato, chopped (frozen pre-diced sweet potato or squash is fine)
1 red pepper, chopped
1 tbsp curry powder
1⁄2 tsp ground ginger or 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger (optional)
1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
100ml water
400g tomatoes, chopped (or 1 400g tin of chopped tomatoes)
½ head broccoli, chopped into small florets or bite sized pieces
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 veg stock cube
150ml milk, or plant-based alternative (tinned coconut milk is extra creamy and nice in curry)
1 tbsp cornflour (whisked with 1 tbsp water to loosen)
1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped (optional)
Rainbow Vegetable Rice:
1 mug rice (ideally basmati, but you can use others and just check package instructions for how long it takes to cook)
2 mugs water
1 tsp turmeric powder
100g peas (frozen is fine)
1⁄2 red pepper, diced
½ head broccoli, grated (or 100g defrosted and roughly chopped frozen)
Veg Portions / Serving: 3
Here’s our recommended recipe, or you can simply adapt your own recipe – The key here is the rainbow vegetable rice with decent size chunky vegetables the kids can easily find, served with a reminder to the children to Eat Them to Defeat Them and say “You’re going down veggies!”
Method:
Place a saucepan on the stove over low-medium heat and add the oil, onion, diced chicken or beef, sweet potato, and red pepper. Cook until the vegetables soften and meat is browned, about 10 mins. If using a veggie alternative, check the packet instructions, but most cook quickly so add to the pan with the spices in the next step.
Add the curry powder, ginger (if using) and garlic powder (if using) to the pan (and veggie alternative, if using) and add the water and chopped tomatoes, reduce the heat to a simmer and allow to cook out for 20-25 minutes, adding the broccoli for the last 5 mins, before adding the tomato puree, veg stock cube and milk.
Bring the pan back up to the boil and stir through the loosened cornflour, simmer for an extra couple of mins then remove from the heat, and add the chopped coriander, if using.
Whilst the chicken curry is cooking, add the rice, water and turmeric powder to a saucepan, and cook for 12-15 minutes or until the rice is just about cooked through (check the package as this may take longer), then stir in the peas, diced pepper, and the cauliflower and broccoli. Cover the pan and cook a few more mins until the rice softens, and the vegetables are cooked through, adding a little extra splash of water if needed if the rice and/or veggies aren’t cooked through. Serve with the curry.