Hey All

Here is a comment from one of my latest home based healthy eating cooking demos:

I think it’s a great thing for families to do together. Since the demo Mum has been over to my house and we have been food shopping together discussing the whole concept of healthy eating etc

Let me know if you are interested in a home based cooking demo by contacting me on lucy@spogsracing.com

The frost this winter affected many farmers and some of them have lost quite a bit of their crop. I asked a farmer recently what survived the best and he said turnips and cabbages were fairly hardy. So this week is an ode to this great Irish vegetable...

Cabbage

I think many people have been turned off cabbage due to poor cooking in the past and so I'll give you a few tasty recipes to help with this.

Cabbage belong to the cruciferous family (Brassica) and so share many of the incredible health properties of kale and broccoli mentioned previously. As a reminder!! the cruciferous family are showing strong links to cancer prevention, as well as assisting the body in terms of detoxification and hormone regulation. Cabbage is also known to hep with digestive disorders such as peptic ulcers. It is packed full of anti-oxidants which are beneficial for so many areas of healthy eating.

There are several types of cabbage, from green, red, savoy, bok choy. Always try to choose cabbage that are vibrant in colour, heavy and dense (with only a few leaves hanging loose). Discard the outside leaves.

A whole head of cabbage can be stored for up to 10 days in the fridge but if you are cutting pieces from it, cover and keep in fridge for only 2-3 longer.

Try to slice cabbage in fairly even slices to ensure the similar cooking time. One tip is to slice the cabbage and leave exposed to the air for 5 - 10 mins before cooking - allowing its health promoting properties to be activated.

A simple way of cooking is to put a small amount of water in a pan, barely covering the base of the pan, heat and as it starts to steam, add cabbage a saute for 5 mins. Add any flavouring you wish, for example, a little lemon juice, a little garlic or ginger. Remember you can always eat rawin salads or homemade coleslaw's.

Recipes.

The below recipes will certainly help you start to achieve your healthy eating goals. I've chosen a raw and cooked recipe to show that both are possible. Hopefuly these cooking methods will change your mind about the possible taste and flavour of cabbage. Both will go nicely with red meat or chicken.

Slaw

Half a small red cabbage 2 beetroots 70g cashews 70g raisins Dressing 4 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil 2 tblsp vinegar (whatever you have) 1 teaspoon honey Salt and freshly cracked pepper

Wash and peel beetroot and place in a little water and steam for 30 mins. this should soften the beetroot slightly but it should still have still have a slight crunch. Allow to cool. Grate. Finely shred cabbage and mix with the cooled beetroot. Toast cashews under the grill for a few minutes and roughly chop. Add to mixing bowl along with raisins. Mix the ingredients for the dressing and pour over mixture.

Stir fried cabbage

150g of broccoli (a small head) 150g savoy cabbage 1 leek 2 spring onions 1 inch root ginger (grated) 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped) 1 tablespoon tamari (or other soy sauce) 2 tblsp Mirin Some freshly cracked pepper

Cut all the veggies and set aside for 5 mins to allow the health promoting properties to be activated. Slice the cabbage and leek thinly and cut the broccoli into florets and half again. Slice the spring onions diagonally. Heat a large frying pan and place a little water in bottom and wait till it starts to steam. Add the garlic, leek and ginger and cook for a few minutes. Add the broccoli and stir in well. Next add the cabbage and stir in for a few minutes. Lastly add the spring onions and toss well for a minute or two. Serve immediately.

I'll soon be announcing some changes to the Food for Living newsletter soon so you're health tips and resources will be coming soon!!