This post is all about Brussels sprouts. In particular, it’s all about how much Honey B loves those little green things.
Humans began cultivating this unique cultivar of cabbage almost two millennia ago. They eventually became popular in northern Europe, including around the Belgian city of Brussels, given them their distinct name. They were brought by European settlers and immigrants to the Americas and retained their status as the most hate-it-or-love-it vegetable. Today, they’re grown in massive quantities in the low countries of Europe and in cool, coastal regions of the American West.
Usually, sprouts are the kind of food that the chimps only pick at once everything else has been served or foraged. Sometimes, certain individuals will show more of an appetite for them than usual. For example, Negra made sure to “harvest” them first during her group’s forage on Saturday. (You can see Diana’s post about it by going to: Queen of Brussels (Sprouts).
The chimps’ preferences for Brussels sprouts increase substantially when they’re still on the stalk, so Kelsi has been ordering them in that form for the past few weeks. Although it doesn’t contain quite as much fiber as one would expect, a Brussels stalk is like a green ice cream cone made of 86% water and only negligible amounts of fat. Each sprout also contains about 16mg of vitamin C, meaning that just a cup of these things contains all of this vitamin that you’ll need in a day. Take that, scurvy.
Today’s video shows Honey B munching on some of these tasty buds. Bone-apple-teeth!
Anthony says
Alternate titles included:
Bring ’em Sprout
Ain’t Talkin’ Sprout Love
Straight Sproutta Compton
Thinking Sprout Loud
The Sproutsiders
Locked Sprout of Heaven
I Wanna Talk A-sprout Me
Jan says
Dont forget that fsmous Shakespeare play Much Ado A Sprout Nothing :slight_smile:
Anthony says
Niiiice. 🙂
Kathleen says
Well done Anthony….or should I say well pun Anthony.
I’m with Honey B and Negra. I enjoy eating my Brussels sprouts too, especially when they are roasted. Yummy. I bet the chimps enjoy the stalks, sounded like good wadging material. Thanks for the up-close-and-personal view of Honey B munching and crunching away. Made my day.
Anthony says
Thanks, Kathleen! You’re right; they made some extraordinary wadges out of the stalks! We thought they were wood pulp at first.
Karen says
Honey B breaks the first one off with her front teeth, then goes Nah! shouldnt be doing that, then makes sure she uses her molars for the rest. Shes not silly, not going to lose a front tooth on hard food!!!!!
Anthony says
The chimps all had different strategies for extracting the buds from the stalk! It’s a great enrichment puzzle and it’s made entirely of edible veggie material. (:
Paulette says
Laugh Sprout Loud:joy::joy::joy:
Anthony says
Hahahhaa
Linda C says
Ha! I know an Anthony blog post when I see the title!
“I found sprout”
“All Sprout of Love ”
“sorout of the Silent Planet”
But I like the one you chose!
she does those little balls of doom, though!
Anthony, I don’t think I’ve heard Beezus emit food squeaks. seems like I’ve only heard that low grunt, like when she saw snow the first time (kind of like Jo, but not so low). Does she ever do the higher squeak?
Anthony says
“little balls of doom” haha!
She’s not a frequent food squeaker but she sometimes gets excited enough about fruit to make high-pitched chirps. Sometimes she’ll really get going if a caregiver does it with her. Lately, I’ve only seen her do it when we serve green apples. 🙂
Maureen says
Yes, Anthony, I knew it was you right away, too! LOVE ‘bone-apple-teeth.” And your alternate titles are must-reads. Thank you, Sir!
Anthony says
I’m glad you liked it, Maureen!
Nancy D says
Honey B is aprout as cute as she can be with that mouthful of healthy little green things. I understand her love of them, my little chihuahua and I feel the same.
Anthony says
I just laughed out loud at the idea of a chiweewee munching on Brussels sprouts. Thanks, Nancy!
marianne says
Being a child of those lowlands, I LOVE SPROUTS….
But only when they are very small, and served with roasted sweet chestnuts and a sprinkling of nutneg…
Y’all should try it!
Maybe Honey B. and Negra would like chestnuts to go with there sprouts??
marianne says
Ofcourse it should be THEIR….:rolling_eyes:
Anthony says
That sounds a like a delicious way to eat them! I’ll have to try it at home.
As for the chimps, I’m sure they’d love some extra nuts to go with their veggies! Maybe we’ll break out that recipe for a special occasion… 🙂