Recipe: Purple Cabbage & Apple Salad

So, a friends was asking for salad ideas on facebook today and this salad came to mind. I looked through my pictures and discovered that I actually took photos awhile ago to blog about this recipe and forgot! Oops.

Anyway, I can't take complete credit for this one. This is my slight variation on a salad found in the recipe book that goes along with the TurboFire fitness program created by Chalene Johnson and produced by Beachbody. I am a big fan of this workout and, obviously, the food guide isn't too bad either. My main changes are that I added lime juice and I do not add walnuts or dried cranberries. They are an optional add-in for sure, but the salad tastes great without them and the lack of these two ingredients makes it easy to add in as a side salad to your main meal since it is very low on calories.

What I like about this recipe is that it has some key features that are always a big plus. The first is that it is simple. There are few ingredients and it takes only a few minutes to throw it together. Second, it is healthy. Other than the vinegar, this is as unprocessed as it gets. Third, it gives an example of a salad made from something other than greens. Don't get me wrong, I like greens. However, salads made the same way all the time get boring and when things get boring, that is when we start making bad choices. And of course, it is also super yummy!

I am also a big fan of having a variety of color in my food. In a previous blog post I talked about how the color of fruits and vegetables is actually an indicator of the kinds of phytochemicals they contain. According to the American Cancer Society, "Phytochemicals are promoted for the prevention and treatment of many health conditions, including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure." So eating a variety of colors and getting a variety of phytochemcials in your diet is a great plan!

Purple Cabbage & Apple Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 Small to Medium Purple Cabbage
• 1 Medium Lime
• 1 Granny Smith Apple
• 1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar (approx.)

Directions:

First take out a large bowl and a cutting board. Cut your apple in half and remove the seeds. Cut your apple into thin slices and place them in the bowl. Juice the lime over the slices and toss to coat.

I originally did this thinking it would keep the apple from turning brown. This was pointless because the balsamic turns the apple brown anyway. However, I have continued to use the lime because I think it adds a freshness to the salad and cuts some of the sweetness of the balsamic.

Now we go to the cabbage. Remove the softer outer leaves of the cabbage. For this recipe we actually want to use the crunchy interior. Cut the cabbage in half and then start cutting slices. If your cabbage is a little large, you can quarter your chunch before you start slicing. While we like the crunchy part, you might want to remove the really thick stalk part of the cabage that holds it all together. Its a bit large and hard to cut through.

Add your chopped cabbage to your apples and add 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar. This amount may very depending on exactly how big you cabbage is.

There isn't a lot in this salad to hold on to the vinegar so always toss before serving to redistribute the liquid that will pool at the bottom of the bowl. Enjoy!

I put the ingredients for this recipe into Sparks People Recipe Analyzer. Assuming this recipe makes 4 servings (though it probably makes more than that), we get the following nutritional information. This recipe is low on calories and high on fiber, potassium, vitamin c, and vitamin B6.

Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories		96.9
Total Fat		0.6 g
	Saturated Fat	0.1 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.3 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	0.0 g
Cholesterol		0.0 mg
Sodium		61.9 mg
Potassium		527.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate		24.3 g
	Dietary Fiber	5.5 g
	Sugars	12.7 g
Protein		3.1 g

Vitamin A	47.0 %
Vitamin B-12	0.0 %
Vitamin B-6	22.2 %
Vitamin C	208.5 %
Vitamin D	0.0 %
Vitamin E	1.2 %
Calcium	9.7 %
Copper	2.0 %
Folate	9.8 %
Iron	9.4 %
Magnesium	8.7 %
Manganese	25.6 %
Niacin	4.5 %
Pantothenic Acid	3.3 %
Phosphorus	6.5 %
Riboflavin	8.6 %
Selenium	1.8 %
Thiamin	9.2 %
Zinc	3.2 %

Recipe: Carrot & Zuchinni Spice Oatmeal

So, if you are like me, you are always wondering if you are getting enough vegetables in your daily diet. Lets face it, if you have a busy schedule, it can be really hard working in those servings. Sure, a salad might do the trick, but sometimes that isn't the convenient option and it can take some creativity to keep salads  interesting day after day,but that is another blog post.

So how many servings of vegetables do we need a day? Well, that all depends. Here is a table provided by www.choosemyplate.gov that helps to break it down.

 For someone my age and sex, 2 1/2 cups is the answer if I am not really pushing my workouts (the table doesn't give us much help there). Seems simple enough, right? Well according to Nutrition: Concents & Controversies 12th edition, the actual U.S. intake of vegetables is only about 75% of what is recommended (page 40). That is all before we stop to consider how many in the U.S. are actually getting the recommended variety of the vegetable subgroups  (yes! subgroups!) like dark green, orange, legumes, starchy vegetables, and other vegetables, but we will skip this for now.

So why are vegetables so important? First, there are many vegetables that are high in fiber, which brings a number of health benefits. Eating a variety of vegetables also means you are getting a variety of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and antioxidants. These not only help your body function, but they can help reduce the risk of cancers and some diseases and can actually help increase your chances of surviving cancer.

I'll admit, I often think over my day and what I have eaten, knowing I have been lacking, and shrug it off. I know I shouldn't. I know I should say, "I will do better tomorrow!" and take a stand at being more proactive about my daily nutrition in general and my fruit and vegetable intake specifically. In an attempt to do just that, I decided to tackle breakfast.

Yes, breakfast. That morning meal that people either skip all together or compose completely of grains, simple sugars, and fatty proteins. Yeah, I'm talking about those pancakes in syrup, orange juice, eggs and sausage or bacon. Yeah, I am guilty too. Especially of the eggs.

I am forever trying to find ways to bring vegetables into breakfasts in a healthy way and make it either super easy or something I can make once and eat multiple mornings during the week. This is my latest creation.

Carrot & Zuchinni Spiced Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 2 cups old fashioned oats
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp cardamom
• 1 cup grated carrot
• 1 cup grated zuchinni
• 1/3 cup blueberries

Directions

Start with a large pot and your basic directions for making 4 servings of oatmeals. This is real oats now, not the instant kind. Bring the water and salt to a boil.  While you are waiting, grate your carrot and zuchinni.

Once the water is boiling, add the oats. Now things get exciting, go ahead and add the applesauce and the spices. If you are feeling really into the health groove, grate your own apple (I would recommend a granny smith) rather than using the applesauce.

Now, you don't want the zuchinni and carrot to be mushy, so wait about a minute for the oatmeal to start sticking together before adding the zuchinni and carrot. Stir to combine.

Add your blueberries. You can also be more creative and add raisins or something else. I chose blueberries because the purple is a color I do not yet have in this dish and it was what I had on hand. You can add more than 1/3 cup if desired, but obviously that is what I based my nutritional info on.

Let cook until oatmeal is at the desired consistancy and the blueberries have begun to soften and pop. This recipe makes 4 servings so you can share it with family or, like me, I ate one serving and packaged the others for breakfast later in the week. It isn't super sweet, so you may want to add just a tad of sugar or truvia. Eat like you would regular oatmeal. Milk is optional.

So I will admit, the orange and green specks amid the sea of brown isn't the most attractive dish I have ever made, but it was pretty tasty. The carrot especially maintained some firmness so it gave a pleasant texture to the oatmeal. In the future, I might go for raisins over blueberries to add some chewiness.

So how did we do nutrition wise? Not bad. I used Sparks People recipe analyzer to come up with the below values. This dish comes to only 203.6 calories per serving and brings 6.9 grams of fiber and 5.9 grams of protein. Best of all, it leaves plenty of room in case you want to sneak in a hard-boiled egg for added protein. There were 2 cups of vegetables in this dish. Divided by 4 servings, this breakfast gives about 1/2 cup of vegetables per serving. It may not be a lot, but at least its a step in the right direction at the start of the day!

Nutrition Facts User Entered Recipe 4 Servings Amount Per Serving Calories 203.6 Total Fat 3.2 g Saturated Fat 0.5 g Polyunsaturated Fat 1.1 g Monounsaturated Fat 1.0 g Cholesterol 0.0 mg Sodium 167.7 mg Potassium 234.6 mg Total Carbohydrate 40.5 g Dietary Fiber 6.9 g Sugars 9.7 g Protein 5.9 g Vitamin A 68.9 % Vitamin B-12 0.0 % Vitamin B-6 4.8 % Vitamin C 11.9 % Vitamin D 0.0 % Vitamin E 1.3 % Calcium 3.2 % Copper 3.1 % Folate 3.5 % Iron 14.6 % Magnesium 1.9 % Manganese 25.0 % Niacin 2.8 % Pantothenic Acid 1.4 % Phosphorus 2.7 % Riboflavin 4.8 % Selenium 0.7 % Thiamin 13.2 % Zinc 1.5 % *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs