Lemon broccoli are a wonderful option for bringing a quick, light side dish to the table. They are made with Calabrian broccoli boiled and dressed with lemon juice, which makes them easier to digest. There’s another small trick that makes broccoli even easier to digest and helps avoid that uncomfortable bloating after eating them. Want me to tell you my secret right away? I discovered it out of necessity — I love broccoli. When I was a child I even ate them raw in the garden; as I grew older and suffered from gastritis, I started eating them less often. But since I love them, I thought about how to avoid that annoying abdominal bloating after eating them. I tried various cooking techniques and finally solved it this way. I’ll explain it to you now. Lemon helps a lot because, despite its acidic nature, it acts as a natural antacid: once metabolized, it has an alkalizing effect capable of reducing stomach acidity and the gas production caused by the fermentation of the foods we eat. In this case, broccoli—being part of the cruciferous family—can cause abdominal bloating due to bacterial fermentation in the stomach and intestines.