**The cabbage in the photo today was from our Imperfect produce box and happens to be one of the largest most dense heads of cabbage that I have ever seen. *** Try imperfect today: https://www.imperfectfoods.com/
As a child, growing up around a farm we always had a garden, but something we never grew very well was cabbage. Our cabbage heads always turned out too loose and as any good German knows, small cabbage = not good for sauerkraut making, coleslaw making or anything else. So we simply stopped growing them. But even with our failure it still was always one of my very faves. I have been told by many farmers that there are some tricks to growing a tight head of cabbage and below are their most common tips:
Sprout seeds in the house
Plant cabbage in nitrogen rich soil
Water the plants often – cabbage heads need to stay in moist soil
Don’t plant too close to each other, make sure plants are 1-2 feet apart .
Don’t plant them next to broccoli or cauliflower – plant relatives need similar nutrients and will use up the nutrients needed for the cauliflower itself.
Squeeze the head before harvesting – the head must be firm before harvesting not just large.
So now that you are on the way to growing lovely large cabbages, what are the health benefits of eating Cabbage and what are some of the special types of people who need to eat more cabbage?
Nutrient levels: antioxidants, vitamin C, vitamin A, riboflavin, polyphenols and fiber.
Help with inflammation – due to the antioxidants found in most cruciferous vegetables, it has been found in studies to help with chronic inflammation especially. (Sulforaphene and Kaempferol are 2 of the antioxidants that they give credit to the remarkable anti-inflammatory effect.
Packed with Vitamin C: Vitamin C is so helpful in collagen production which helps us look young but also great for our joints, cancer reduction and the immune system. Also helps bind non-heme iron the type of iron found in plants preventing anemia.
Improve digestion: How? Well by being an insoluble fiber that feeds probiotics like Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli.
May help protect the heart and lower blood pressure: Potassium found in cabbage is an important electrolyte that helps regulate blood pressure by counteracting with sodium in the body. The anthocyanins have a protective effect on the blood vessels also preventing heart disease.
Good Source of Vitamin K1: There are 2 types of K- vitamins K1 (phylloquinone) which is found in plant food sources mainly and K2 (menaquinone) which is found in animal food sources and fermented foods.
K1 is a co-factor for enzymes that do blood clotting, without it our blood wouldn’t clot.
I love cabbage but some people don’t know how to get started eating it. Here are a few recipes and my favorite place to get a cabbage salad.
Vegan Kimchi ( it keeps longer in the fridge if not everyone in your family eats it), Sauerkraut fermented not the vinegar kind as the whole veggie itself in both napa, purple and green cabbage.
A Local favorite of mine is at the Purple Onion the Chinese Chicken Salad is awesome. https://www.purpleonionca.com/s/order
Recipes: I love this recipe from the blog: https://www.wellplated.com/asian-cabbage-salad/
There are many other blogs that have cabbage salads, I like ones that have a lot of different types of veggies since this helps the whole body with many type of nutrients and fiber to.
Cabbage Salad
FOR THE SALAD:
1/2 cup sliced or slivered almonds
½ small head green cabbage finely sliced (about 3 cups)*
½ small head red cabbage finely sliced (about 3 cups)**
1 medium red bell pepper very thinly sliced
1 cup shredded carrots about 2 medium
1 cup frozen shelled edamame thawed
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
FOR THE DRESSING
¼ cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
Cabbage Sauteed. By https://www.wellplated.com/sauteed-cabbage/
1 small head green cabbage about 2 1/2 pounds
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar plus additional to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme optional
There are lots of foods that pair with sautéed spinach at our house we do it with chicken or our buddha bowl. Also recommend trying with chow mein noodles.
**The cabbage in the photo today was from our Imperfect produce box and happens to be one of the largest most dense heads of cabbage that I have ever seen. *** Try imperfect today: https://www.imperfectfoods.com/