We eat fresh broccoli all year, so I honestly didn’t know that it was a seasonal vegetable. Yep… fall to early spring, that’s when it’s at its peak.

I guess I thought that as long as the broccoli wasn’t yellow and limp, it was good to go.

No, no, no. There’s so much more to it.

Something to remember: even if you buy gorgeously green broccoli with tightly packed florets, if you overcook it you’ll loose all the nutrients. Lightly steam or microwave the broccoli until tender-crisp and you’ll preserve the cancer-fighting beta-carotene.

Here are 10 Tips for Buying Perfect Broccoli… at any time of year!

You’re going to love this gadget… especially if you’re dieting.

“Stem” is an amazing little device that lets you spray a fresh blast of citrus juice on your food with one little pump.

This is perfect if you’re trying to avoid salad dressings, but still want the bite of lemon (or lime) flavor. It’s also great to spray on fish or on the rim of a cocktail glass.

Simply knead the fruit (lemon, lime, grapefruit, orange… whatever) on the kitchen counter and then cut a little slit in the side. The instructions don’t say to do this, but I did to make it easier to push the food-grade plastic serrated nozzle into the fruit.

And did I say it doesn’t clog? It doesn’t clog (I don’t know why, but it doesn’t). It also keeps the seeds from falling into the food.

It’s a lot less messy than cutting the fruit and using a juicer or a hand-squeezer. And it’s easy to clean, though I wouldn’t put it in the dishwasher.

Good price point, too: $4.99.Click here to order one. Can you say, “Stocking stuffer!!!??”