Vegetables and everything else
Broccoli on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 2.8 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), steamed, for around 35 calories. A cup of florets, about 100 g (3.5 oz), gives roughly 3 g of protein for 35 calories.
How broccoli sits on a GLP-1
Broccoli is about 2.8 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), which is high for a vegetable and irrelevant as a protein source, since a cup is 3 g. It is on this list because people ask, and because on a GLP-1 broccoli is one of the vegetables most likely to cause trouble: it is bulky, it is fibrous, and it produces gas in a stomach and gut that are already slow. A small serve, cooked soft, is fine. A large plate of it before the protein is how people end up too full to eat the chicken.
When your appetite is small
Serve it soft and small, after the protein rather than beside it. Half a cup of florets steamed until a fork goes in easily, with butter or a squeeze of lemon, is enough. Blended into a soup with cheddar it changes from a bulky vegetable into a mug of something warm, and the cheese makes the mug a 12 g stop.
Three ways to prepare it
Steamed soft with butter and salt
Six or seven minutes rather than three. Softer broccoli takes less chewing and less room.
Broccoli and cheddar soup, blended
Broccoli, stock and onion cooked soft, blended, with 40 g (1.4 oz) of cheddar stirred through. About 12 g a mug, and it is the version people can finish.
Finely chopped through scrambled eggs
A small handful of finely chopped florets softened in the pan, then two eggs. The vegetable disappears into the protein.
What to eat it with
Cheese, butter, eggs, lemon, garlic, a little bacon. Broccoli is the side. Keep it small and put the protein first on the plate.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broccoli | about 2.8 g | 35 kcal | this page |
| Cauliflower | about 2 g | 25 kcal | See the page |
| Brussels sprouts | about 3 g | 40 kcal | See the page |
| Spinach | about 3 g | 23 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, steamed, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Broccoli in all three countries. Broccolini in Australia and the US is tenderstem broccoli in the UK, a cross with Chinese broccoli that is softer and quicker to cook. Frozen florets carry the same protein.
Questions people ask
Is broccoli high in protein?
For a vegetable, yes, about 2.8 g per 100 g (3.5 oz); as a protein source, no. A cup is 3 g, and on a slow stomach a big serve of broccoli fills the room that chicken, fish or eggs needed. Small, soft and second is the rule.
Your number comes first
Knowing what is in a food only helps once you know how much you are aiming for. The target is 1.2 to 1.6 g of protein per kg of your goal weight, not your current weight, which for most people is 90 to 140 g a day.
Work out your protein targetMore on eating well when your appetite is small: high protein foods for a small appetite, how much protein on a GLP-1, and every food we have written up. The whole system in five documents is the Keep Muscle Kit, A$47 / US$29 / £23.
EverStrong provides nutrition and strength coaching and education. It is not medical advice and does not replace your prescribing doctor.