Don’t Underestimate Cabbage: Recipes To Change Minds!

Cabbage may be thought of as a lowly cheap vegetable, but it’s delicious and nutritious. Related to broccoli, kale and Brussels sprouts, it’s also very low in calories (hence why health farms serve cabbage soup!) One cup of steamed cabbage contains just 22 calories.

Yet the same cup gives you almost a third of your daily vitamin C, and also aids everything from immunity to good skin.

Vegan fried cabbage (The Veggie Yaya) is a Ukrainian-inspired recipe.

Check medication before eating cabbage, due to vitamin K (same if awaiting surgery as it can affect blood thinners).

For recipes, unless you have a food waste bin (made into biogas), it’s best to just bin allium scraps (onion/garlic/shallots/leeks/chives), as acids could harm compost creatures.

For tinned ingredients, rinse/remove lids (or pop ring-pulls over holes) then step on the can to pinch the inner rims together, to avoid wildlife getting trapped at recycling points.

The most common cabbage varieties are:

• Green (good for coleslaw, stir-fries and roll-ups)
• Red or purple: Has a deeper flavour but tougher leaves. Good for adding vibrancy to salads.
• Savoy – crinkled emerald leaves, this is mild and sweet, nice in soups or wraps.
• Napa Chinese cabbage – the frilly leaves are used for stir-fries and the Korean spicy dish of kimchi

How to prepare cabbage

• You can shred it and use it for vegan coleslaw and raw salads
• Slice and fry over high heat with garlic, ginger or soy sauce
• Roast thick wedges, after brushing with oil. They then turn crispy and sweet.
• Fermenting turns cabbage into sauerkraut or Korean kimchi. People with low immunity (including pregnancy/nursing and children) are best avoiding fermented foods.

Crispy cabbage steaks (4 ingredients)

Crispy cabbage steaks (Lucy & Lentils) literally only need four ingredients: cabbages, oil, salt and herbs. How good is that?

Roasted red cabbage (very tasty!)

Roasted red cabbage (A Virtual Vegan) is delicious served with other veggies, vegan mashed potato and veggie sausages.

Slimming cabbage soup

No need for an expensive trip to the health farm! Try this affordable cabbage soup (The Simple Veganista). With carrots, green beans, tomatoes and Italian herbs.

Homemade spicy coleslaw

This spicy coleslaw (The Simple Veganista) is covered with a tahini-mustard dressing.