A question about Steaming vegetables

[Domenico Brunetti]

Hi there! This is my first (I hope of many) posts.
I have been vegan for six months but only on the last six weeks I have being enjoying the benefits of a mainly raw diet, and I am loving it. I enjoying learning and taking inspiration from many different sources and my goal is to combine what I learn with my Sicilian background.

I have a question for more experienced raw food aficionados:
I have learned that cauliflower and broccoli are 20% proteins, while I could process the cauliflower to turn it into rice, I like to steam my broccoli and serve it with just lemon juice, but I would not want to lose all the benefits of this amazing veg: so how long should I steam it for? I currently keep it 6 minutes from when the water starts to boil. Is that too much?

(Even writing about it has made me feel hungry)

Thanks for your kind advice :-)

[Betty]

you're not a geek, you're smart!  I don't think steaming would take the veggies over 115 degrees, but you never know.  The more raw the better. Have you tried steamed sweet potatoes? had no idea you could steam them, and they didn't take as long as I thought. I love me my steamed veggies :-)

[Domenico Brunetti]

I have researched a bit and it looks like vegetables can be considered raw if their temperature doesn't go above 115 degrees. I have ordered a food thermometer and I will tell you how long they can be steamed before they reach this temperature. Yes, I am a bit of a geek I know :-)

[Betty]

I just had steamed cauliflower tonight :-)

I keep it to a minimum as well, probably same as you , or maybe a couple minutes less. As long as it's not boiled in water and is only lightly steamed,  I don't see how you would lose any vitamins.