Back to veggies for lunch

 

Wednesday is volunteer day at PDHC, so I pack a lunch. Lately I’ve been eating too many sandwiches and cookies because it is easy and quick. Sometimes I take a Hormel dinner which can be warmed up. I gained weight while I was sick in January and February.

So it’s back to veggies for lunch. I like to steam vegetables and then use the broth as a nice hot drink to replace coffee or tea. It’s also very fast—about 5-7 minutes. I prefer something warm for lunch on these cold days, so I steamed a cut up potato with a little onion. I put it in a container and added a hard cooked egg with a few olives. Then steamed some cabbage and corn together and put in another small container, all of which I can warm up in the staff room at PDHC.

• There are 164 calories in 1 medium potato (flesh and skin). Calorie breakdown: 1% fat, 91% carbs, 8% protein.
• One large hard-boiled egg has 78 calories and 6 grams of protein with all of the essential amino acids. An egg is a good source of vitamins B12 and E, folic acid, iron and zinc. The egg yolk also provides vitamin D.
• A 1/2 cup of steamed cabbage has about 20 calories, and probably 20% of vitamin C for the day. I mixed in about 2 tablespoons of frozen corn.
• At about 20 calories for a very small amount corn, it is rich in vitamin C, magnesium, B vitamins and carotenoids, such as leutin and zeaxanthin. Corn contains very little fat, less than 1 gram per serving (without toppings), and in a full serving is a good source of fiber, clocking in around 3 grams per half cup.

So that’s 282 calories, plus all that other good stuff like protein and fiber and vitamin C and B. A Hormel ready to eat dinner has about 300-400 calories and is high in fat (contains meat) and salt. USDA clocks a ham and cheese sandwich on whole wheat with a little mayo and mustard at 461 calories. A single slice of ham has 4.7 grams of protein and 2.4 grams of fat, while a single slice of cheese has 5.2 grams of protein and 1.5 grams of fat. And of course, I’m not taking a couple of cookies or carton of yogurt with me.

I love cabbage

I like it raw, or grilled in a little butter, or shredded on lettuce for some crunch in a salad.  I really enjoy coleslaw, either plain or with apples or raisins in a sweet dressing. 

Look at this list of pesticides for cabbage found in lab research. But before you say “eeyu” and swear off cabbage, these are pesticides which the cabbage plant produces.  99.99% of all the pesticides we eat are produced by the plant itself. Plants produce toxins to protect themselves against fungi, insects, and animal predators.  Tens of thousands of these chemicals have been found and tested, and each plant is different.

Glucosinolates: 2-propenyl glucosinolate (sinigrin),* 3-methylthiopropyl glucosinolate, 3-methylsulfinylpropyl glucosinolate, 3-butenyl
glucosinolate, 2-hydroxy-3-butenyl glucosinolate, 4-methylthiobutyl glucosinolate, 4-methylsulfinylbutyl glucosinolate,
4-methylsulfonylbutyl glucosinolate, benzyl glucosinolate, 2-phenylethyl glucosinolate, propyl glucosinolate, butyl glucosinolate
Indole glucosinolates and related indoles: 3-indolylmethyl glucosinolate (glucobrassicin), 1-methoxy-3-indolylmethyl glucosinolate
(neoglucobrassicin), indole-3-carbinol,* indole-3-acetonitrile, bis(3-indolyl)methane
Isothiocyanates and goitrin: allyl isothiocyanate,* 3-methylthiopropyl isothiocyanate, 3-methylsulfinylpropyl isothiocyanate, 3-butenyl
isothiocyanate, 5-vinyloxazolidine-2-thione (goitrin), 4-methylthiobutyl isothiocyanate, 4-methylsulfinylbutyl isothiocyanate,
4-methylsulfonylbutyl isothiocyanate, 4-pentenyl isothiocyanate, benzyl isothiocyanate, phenylethyl isothiocyanate
Cyanides: 1-cyano-2,3-epithiopropane, 1-cyano-3,4-epithiobutane, 1-cyano-3,4-epithiopentane, threo-1-cyano-2-hydroxy-3,4-epithiobutane,
erythro-1-cyano-2-hydroxy-3,4-epithiobutane, 2-phenylpropionitrile, allyl cyanide,* 1-cyano-2-hydroxy-3-butene, 1-cyano-3-
methylsulfinylpropane, 1-cyano-4-methylsulfinylbutane
Terpenes: menthol, neomenthol, isomenthol, carvone*
Phenols: 2-methoxyphenol, 3-caffoylquinic acid (chlorogenic acid),* 4-caffoylquinic acid,* 5-caffoylquinic acid (neochlorogenic acid),*
4-(p-coumaroyl)quinic acid, 5-(p-coumaroyl)quinic acid, 5-feruloylquinic acid

“ 27 natural pesticides that are rodent carcinogens are present
in the following foods: anise, apple, apricot, banana, basil,
broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cantaloupe, caraway,
carrot, cauliflower, celery, cherries, cinnamon, cloves, cocoa,
coffee, collard greens, comfrey herb tea, currants, dill,
eggplant, endive, fennel, grapefruit juice, grapes, guava,
honey, honeydew melon, horseradish, kale, lentils, lettuce,
mango, mushrooms, mustard, nutmeg, orange juice, parsley,
parsnip, peach, pear, peas, black pepper, pineapple, plum,
potato, radish, raspberries, rosemary, sesame seeds, tarragon,
tea, tomato, and turnip. Thus, it is probable that almost
every fruit and vegetable in the supermarket contains natural
plant pesticides that are rodent carcinogens. The levels of
these 27 rodent carcinogens in the above plants are commonly
thousands of times higher than the levels of synthetic
pesticides.”

Pesticide residues on fruits and vegetables are minuscule compared with the cancer-causing potential of some natural chemicals in plants.

Fried Cabbage with sausage

I love fried cabbage.  I like to buy shredded/chopped cabbage and just toss some in the skillet for lunch. You don’t need this much butter, but it’s in the recipe. Or use olive oil.

FRIED CABBAGE WITH SAUSAGE

1 stick butter or margarine
1 small head of cabbage, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 pound smoked sausage, sliced into round pieces (I use turkey)
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes or rotel tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Melt butter in large skillet. Add cabbage, onion, and cook on medium high for about 5 minutes stirring to keep from sticking to pan. Add remaining ingredients, cover and simmer for 20 – 25 minutes.
Makes about 8 servings. Only 4 g net carbs per serving.

Sylvia posted this on Facebook, from Trisha Renee.

Un-stuffed cabbage rolls

I love cabbage rolls, and although this has no rice (which I recall is in my recipe), I think this sounds yummy—in fact I think I’ve made it and just didn’t have a name. From Fifty Plus and Getting Fit.  I usually skip oil and to test it I’ll probably use half the amounts or we’d be eating it for a week.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds lean ground beef or turkey
  1 tablespoon oil
  1 large onion, chopped
  1 clove garlic, minced
  1 small cabbage, chopped
  2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes
  1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
  1/2 cup water
  1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  1 teaspoon sea salt

Preparation:

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the ground beef and onion and cook, stirring, until ground beef is no longer pink and onion is tender.
Add the garlic and continue cooking for 1 minute.

Add the chopped cabbage, tomatoes, tomato sauce, pepper, and salt. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until cabbage is tender.
Yield: Serves 6 to 8

I love cabbage—this looks so good

Garlic Rubbed Roasted Cabbage Steaks

This is a simple side dish worthy of a dinner party and couldn’t be easier to make. Four ingredients, a couple of minutes to prepare and toss in the oven for an hour.

Ingredients

• 1 (approximately 2lb) head of organic green cabbage, cut into 1″ thick slices
• 1.5 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 to 3 large garlic cloves,
• smashed kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• spray olive oil OR non-stick cooking spray Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F and spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Pull outer leaf off cabbage (it’s usually dirty and nasty looking), cut cabbage from top to bottom (bottom being root) into 1″ thick slices. 2. Rub both sides of cabbage with smashed garlic. 3. Use a pastry brush to evenly spread the olive oil over both sides of the cabbage slices. 4. Finally, sprinkle each side with a bit of kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. 5. Roast on the middle rack for 30 minutes. Carefully flip the cabbage steaks and roast for an additional 30 minutes until edges are brown and crispy. Serve hot and Enjoy!

Copied from Jodie Strickland’s FB page, who got it from Skinny Body Care with Greg.

Delicious coleslaw recipe

Years ago I submitted my mother’s coleslaw recipe to Old Farmer’s Almanac 2000  and it got in (p. 204).  Mom got to see it in print before she died since it was published in 1999. This isn’t it.

I've learned a really fast, delicious way to make coleslaw. 1) buy a very small container of it from the deli case, 2) buy a large package of shredded cabbage, 3) mix, add chopped apples or raisins if you wish, 4) serve, 5) enjoy the compliments. The deli version has way too much dressing, but mixed with a bunch more cabbage, it's just about right.  Also, you don’t have shredded cabbage all over the kitchen and no skinned knuckles.

Do you like cooked cabbage?

I really like cooked cabbage, but I could do without the ginger and vinegar; still useful information about cutting it. Very nutritious and low in calories. Steaming it is better than microwaving because "two minutes of microwaving destroys the same amount of myrosinase enzymes as seven minutes of steaming, and you need those myrosinase enzymes to help convert cabbage's glucosinolates into cancer-preventive compounds." After I grill it in a pan, I put the lid on and turn off the heat--I call that "steaming."

"A recent study showed that a 100 gram (about 3 ounces) serving of raw red cabbage delivers 196.5 milligrams of polyphenols, of which 28.3 milligrams are anthocyanins. Green cabbages yielded much less per 100 grams: 45 milligrams of polyphenols including 0.01 milligram of anthocyanins. The vitamin C equivalent, a measure of antioxidant capacity, of red cabbage is also six to eight times higher than that of green cabbage. Red cabbage is one of the most nutritious and best tasting vegetables around and a great addition to your Healthiest Way of Eating."
WHFoods: Cabbage

Church kitchens

As long as I was employed, the church kitchens of Columbus were safe. But this week I've worked in two different church kitchens, one to make candy and one to serve an Advent lunch (I also served communion, but that's not done in the kitchen). Yesterday I made cole slaw a new way and wanted to record the recipe before I forgot it. I think it is called "Asian cole slaw," (but not quite). It doesn't taste at all like my mother's slaw, which was sweet and had apples and raisins.

The woman in charge of the kitchen and Advent lunches wasn't there--she has a part-time Christmas job, so she had written out the instructions and purchased the ingredients. Fortunately, a woman I knew whose teen-agers were in Luther League (or whatever it was called in the 80s) with mine had made this before and was able to assist me. I've looked this recipe up in Google today, but most versions have sugar, some have peanuts, some have mayo, some have onions, some seseme seeds and most had more salt. I tend to over salt things, and I thought this was fine and it wasn't dripping with oil like so many church salads. Because so many of the guests are 80 or over, or have special dietary needs, I suspect sugar and extra salt is left out.

First, find a really huge bowl, bigger than anything you have at home and a giant spoon. If you don't spend much time in church kitchens, this is the first challenge--our church has a commercial grade kitchen, guaranteed to drive the ordinary woman crazy.

Add four packages of chopped raw cabbage slaw mix (don't know the size but I'd recognize it if I saw it) to the bowl.

Mix in four packages of Ramen noodles, reserving the flavor packets which are inside (I think this is what it is called--real stiff, hard things in little curls?) Crunch and separate the hard dry Ramen noodles, and mix with the cabbage. If you don't do this, you'll have hard dry lumps in the slaw and your guests will break a tooth. I'm so glad the other lady had made this before, because that part was left out of the written instructions.

Then mix the 4 flavor packets into the dressing, which is made of

2 cups of oil
1/4 cup of rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of pepper


Mix the dressing thoroughly with the cabbage/noodle mix. Ignore the more experienced church ladies who try to rush you.

Put the bowl in the commercial size frig for at least an hour; friend from the 80s said overnight is even better to enhance the flavor.

Before serving, toss in 2-3 small packages of slivered almonds.

Serve this crunchy delight with the black bean and rice soup, corn bread, and scoops of colorful sherbet in plastic cups with a crisp sandwich ice cream cookie on the side (these are fixed ahead, refrigerated, and put out with the meal) on tables decorated for the season by the other church ladies who were asked to help.

Bring the leftovers home after they've first been offered to the guests; a perk of service for Jesus.