Red Cabbage with Avocado and Sunflower Seeds

I have been reading a lot about adding nutrient dense plant based foods to  my diet in order to decrease the amount of snacking I do after dinner in the evenings.   For some reason, it has become an issue, and I am not happy about it.

So, the gist of it all is to eat more veggies so you won't have cravings for more, and your belly will be so full that you won't want to snack anyway.  I have been working on it for the past few weeks and it led me to joining a Facebook group where everyone has the same goal.  And it has spurred me to doing some experimenting in the kitchen again.

I got this idea from one of the women in the group... and at first it sounded quite odd... but very intriguing. I have made the dish twice now.  The first time it was our whole dinner.  And it was very filling and quite tasty.  The second time, I made about half and we had it as a side dish with some BBQ'd pork.  I think that The Captain preferred having it this way. I liked it better as dinner.  You can decide for yourself.

But I do hope you will give it a try.  I have never really been a fan of cooked cabbage... cabbage rolls, for example, have never really been a favorite of mine... but this red cabbage is sauteed only until soft, not cooked all the way to limp, so that may be the difference.  And of course the lime and avocado are just a natural pair.

Here is how it goes... These are the amounts I used for our main dish meal.  Adjust for your own table.

Red Cabbage with Avocado and Sunflower Seeds
Makes 2 servings.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups shredded red cabbage
• 2 tsp coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed and minced
• 2 Tbs raw sunflower seeds
• 1 medium avocado, about 4 ounces, peeled, seeded and cut into large slices
• juice from one lime
• Salt and Pepper to season

Instructions:

1. Set a large saute pan over MEDIUM heat and place the coconut oil in it to melt.
2. Add the cabbage, salt and garlic, and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes
3. Remove to 2 large bowls or plates and sprinkle each with half of the sunflower seeds.
4. Place half the avocado slices on each plate.
5. Drizzle each with half the lime juice.
6. Serve with salt and pepper on the side.

Per serving.

Weight Watchers Smart Points = 4 (because the cabbage and lime juice is not counted)

Calories 240

Fat 17g

Saturated Fat 5g

Carbohydrates 20g

Sugar 7g

Fibre 9g

Protein 5g

Saute the salted cabbage with garlic in the coconut oil till softened but not limp.

Plate and serve warm.

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Do you enjoy meatless meals occasionally?

If you enjoy this recipe I hope you will PIN it.  Thanks for sharing.

Asian Beef Slaw

In Canada our extra lean ground beef is not nearly as lean as what you can buy in the U.S…. I believe our leanest is 15% fat, as opposed to the 4% fat that I know I bought the few winters that we lived in WA state. 

But we do really like our Canadian beef products and so tend to buy in bulk when it is on sale… then I have to come up with new and interesting ways to serve it!

I made this Asian Beef Slaw recently.  It is prettty tasty and makes up very quickly and easily because I used a premixed bag of coleslaw… and when it was time for leftovers, I added some pineapple just to change it up a bit.  If you are chopping your own cabbage and carrots, you will need about 12 cups in total.

 

Asian Beef Slaw
Makes 4 servings

• 1 pound extra lean ground beef
• 1 cup chopped white or yellow onion
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed and minced
• 1 bag coleslaw mix
• 1/4 cup tamari soy sauce or coconut aminos
• 1/4 cup white or rice vinegar
• 1/2 Tbs sesame oil

1. Place ground beef in a large skillet on MEDIUM-HIGH setting.
2. Stir occasionally till meat starts to brown and then add chopped onions and minced garlic to the pan.  Cook, stirring occasionally, till beef is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
3. Add coleslaw mix, soy sauce and vinegar to the pan and cook only a few minutes, till cabbage is limp.
4. Remove from heat and stir in sesame oil.
5. Divide and serve.

Per serving.
Weight Watchers P+ = 8.
Calories 317; Protein 29g; Carbohydrate 18g; Fat 14g; Fibre 6g.

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Do you have any favorite ground beef ideas or recipes you would like to share? You are welcome to leave a link in your comment.

Thank You!

An Old Standby... Asian Chicken and Cabbage

I found this recipe a couple of years ago, in a old issue of Cooking Light Magazine (November 2002).  We have enjoyed it several times now and the only change I make is that I use fresh garlic cloves and fresh ginger root, instead of bottled minced garlic and bottled ground fresh ginger.

I seem to make it whenever there is coleslaw mix in the fridge that needs to be used!

I always halve the ingredients for the 2 of us as I don't think leftovers would be very good!

I suggest that you get all your ingredients and tools assembled before you get started cooking as it all comes together pretty quickly.

Asian Chicken and Cabbage

Makes 4 servings

• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon bottled ground fresh ginger
• 4 (4-ounce)  skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• Cooking spray
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 4 cups packaged coleslaw
• 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper  

1. Preheat broiler.
2. Combine first 3 ingredients; spread evenly over both sides of chicken. Place chicken on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; broil 6 minutes on each side or until done.
3. While chicken cooks, heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; saute 2 minutes. Add coleslaw; saute 1 minute or until coleslaw begins to wilt.
4. Place coleslaw mixture in a medium bowl. Add sesame oil, salt, and pepper, tossing to coat. Serve coleslaw mixture with chicken.

Per serving of 1 chicken breast half and 1/2 cup coleslaw mixture.
Weight Watchers P+ = 5.
Calories 189; Protein 28g; Carbohydrate 10g; Fat 4g; Fibre 2g.



Mix hoisin sauce with minced garlic and shredded ginger root.

Dice onion.

Coat chicken breasts on both sides with hoisin mixture and then place under hot broiler.

Saute onions and then add coleslaw mixture while chicken breasts are cooking.

The cabbage takes on a sheen and gets slightly translucent when cooked.

Transfer the cooked cabbage mixture to a bowl and toss with sesame oil and seasonings.

Serve with cooked chicken breasts.

White or brown rice makes a nice side dish.

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Apple and Dried Cranberries Sweeten up this Slaw

We eat this sweet coleslaw quite often.  Recently when I posted the recipe for Peanut Butter Pasta, I mentioned that a sweet crunchy coleslaw would be a nice side dish with it, and went to link to my recipe... but was quite surprised to find that I had never posted it!

I am rectifying that now as I did just make it to have with some store-bought gyoza and sauce.  It calls for ingredients that I almost always have on hand.  I guess that is why we have it so often!  That, and we really do like it.

And now I can go back and insert that link!

Sweet Crunchy Coleslaw
Makes 4 servings of 3/4 cup each

• 2 cups of bagged tricolor cabbage slaw or chop your own
• 1 small red apple, pared and chopped into small pieces
• 2 thin slices of white onion, chopped
• 1 Tbs dried cranberries

For the dressing:

• 2 Tbs fat free Miracle Whip or other mayo
• 1 Tbs red wine vinegar
• 1 packet Splenda

1. Place the first 4 ingredients into a medium bowl.
2. Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and mix till creamy and well-blended.
3. Pour the dressing over the salad in the medium bowl and mix well. 
4. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Per serving.
Weight Watchers P+ = 1.
Calories 42; Protein 1g; Carbohydrate 10g; Fat 0g; Fibre 2g.

Note:
The only ingredients in this recipe that have Points Plus values are the dried cranberries and the fat free Miracle Whip.  But Weight Watchers uses all the ingredients in a recipe to calculate the N.I.

Put the vegetables and fruit into a medium bowl.

Place the dressing ingredients into a small bowl.

Mix till creamy and then pour over the fruit and vegetables.  Stir till all the freggies are coated with dressing.

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Tangy Thai Slaw

I found this idea in a Kraft foods magazine called what's cooking - the Summer 2011 issue.  I don't often use the recipes because they usually call for branded ingredients that I don't purchase.

This slaw is pretty basic, but it has a nice twist with the addition of the cilantro, lime, and cashews.  The original called for slices of red onion, but I am using green onions instead.

This easily becomes a complete meal for 2 people with the addition of cooked shrimp, chicken, pork, or tofu cubes.  If you don't have time to slice cabbage and shred the carrot, pre-packaged coleslaw mix works very well.

Thai Slaw
Makes 4 servings, about 1 to 1-1/4 cups each

• 2-1/2 cups shredded cabbage
• 1/2 large red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1 medium carrot, shredded
• 1/4 cup salted cashews, coarsely chopped
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1-1/2 Tbs chopped cilantro

Dressing

• 1 medium lime
• 3 Tbs fat free mayonnaise

1. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Mix the llime juice, lime zest, and mayonnaise together in a small bowl.
3. Add the dressing to the cabbage mixture and toss to coat.

Per serving, if serving 4.

Weight Watchers P+ = 2.

Calories 87; Protein 3g; Carbohydrate 11g; Fat 4g; Fibre 3g.

Per serving, if serving 2.
Weight Watchers P+ = 5.
Calories 173; Protein 5g; Carbohydrate 22g; Fat 8g; Fibre 5g.

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