Keep your broccoli in fighting form

Broccoli -- it's the bane of every child's existence at a dinner table, but it also happens to be a known cancer fighter. So, for that reason and myriad others, kids and adults alike would do well to grin and bear through the somewhat lackluster flavor. Of course, there are a number of ways you can spruce up the taste -- the way you season it, what you top it with, and even how you cook it. But, of all your broccoli-enhancing choices, boiling it is probably the worst idea.

This has less to do with taste and more to do with your health, according to researchers from Warwick University in England. Based on the findings during a 2007 study, boiling broccoli for even ten minutes can reduce its immune-boosting, cancer-battling glucosinolates by as much as 80 percent.

To keep your broccoli in fighting form, either steam it or keep boiling time to five minutes or less (doing so demonstrated only a ten percent reduction in glucosinolates). As for more specific tips on how to improve the taste of this cruciferous vegetable, I'll leave that information to you. Cooking is not even close to my thing.