The Mustard Lesson: How I Finally Stopped Overcomplicating Healthy Eating

It started with a question I'd been asking for years: do cruciferous vegetables have to be eaten raw to be worth eating?

I'd been adding more broccoli and cauliflower to my days because they're genuinely good for you — particularly for something called sulforaphane, a compound linked to meaningful health benefits. The problem is that cooking deactivates myrosinase, the enzyme that helps your body produce it. I'd read this, worried about it, and occasionally forced myself to eat raw broccoli I didn't enjoy.

Then I learned that mustard contains its own myrosinase. A spoonful added after cooking can restore what the heat removed. That was the thing that quietly changed everything.

Suddenly I wasn't trying to optimize. I was just making lunch.

Frozen broccoli microwaved in the bag, a generous spoonful of mustard stirred in afterward, maybe some guacamole or flax oil alongside, beans or sardines for protein. That's it. And here's what I've come to appreciate about frozen vegetables: they're picked at peak freshness and frozen quickly to preserve nutrients. The convenience isn't a compromise — it's often the reason I eat them at all. Consistency beats perfection every time.

The mustard doesn't have to be special. I keep yellow mustard and Dijon from Walmart in the door of the refrigerator. But I also keep a jar of Maille Dijon on the shelf — not because it's necessary, but because it makes me happy. There's something quietly satisfying about that small distinction. The everyday and the a little-bit-lovely, coexisting without explanation.

I used to think I needed to get everything exactly right. Now I'm more interested in getting things right enough that I'll keep doing them.

If that means frozen vegetables and mustard, I think I'm doing just fine.

Janis at Maison Tranquille 

Still Curious. Still Growing. Still Grateful.