Easy, Healthy Curry Cabbage and Cauliflower Stir Fry for All Diets
8 minute read
Cabbage is an incredible super food. It’s loaded with nutrients and packs a powerful health punch that can give you a variety of different benefits. This stir fry recipe involves a heavy dose of cabbage, so it’s important to understand just how this powerful vegetable can benefit your health.
Here are a few of the ways that cabbage can give a boost to your body. Plus, since cauliflower is also a cruciferous vegetable, it contains many of the same benefits.
Vitamin C
Cabbage is a great source of vitamin C, which is one of the best vitamins for your immune system and your health overall. Typically, when you think of vitamin C, you probably think of citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and limes.
| Related: 16 Foods High in Vitamin C |
But cabbage is an underrated source of vitamin C that can be a great addition a a number of different recipes.
Fights Inflammation
In addition to vitamin C, cabbage has been shown to help fight against inflammation. Inflammation has been linked to many different health issues, such as leaky gut syndrome, heart disease, depression, and more.
| Related: 8 Health Benefits of Pineapples: Anti-Inflammatory and More |
Luckily, cabbage, cauliflower, the turmeric found in curry or supplements, and other foods can all be potent inflammation fighters.
Fiber
Fiber is one of the most important substances for your digestion, and cabbage has fiber to spare. As a prebiotic, fiber helps feed the “good” bacteria that live inside your gut, and these bacteria are crucial to maintaining your body’s energy levels and other functions.
| Related: Enjoy This Pasta With Cauliflower for Fiber & Antioxidants |
Not only that, but junk food cravings can lead to unwanted weight gain. Needless to say, fiber, which can help defend your gut against the “bad” bacteria, is an essential when it comes to maintaining good gut health.
Boosted Heart Health
Cabbage has also been shown to help with heart health. Cardiovascular issues are some of the most dangerous health problems that can affect American adults, and this has been true for decades.
Since adding cabbage to your diet can help reduce inflammation, it can consequently help keep your risk of heart issues at bay as well.
Cabbage isn’t often thought of as a heart-healthy food, at least not as much as berries and other fruits, but this green vegetable is a powerful way to help maintain healthy heart function.
Low in Carbs
Another great health benefit of cabbage is that it is very low in total carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are necessary for energy, but too much of them can lead to unwanted weight gain and other health issues.
Gluten Free
For people who may have issues digesting gluten or other grain-based foods, cabbage is a great alternative if you’re looking to add a gluten-free option into your diet. Cabbage is easily digested by your gut, and it can help keep you functioning at peak efficiency.
Good for Your Gut
Your gut health is extremely important to the operation of your entire body. For example, your gut can actually communicate with your brain via the brain/gut axis, a connection that can affect everything from mood to hormone regulation.
Keeping your gut in good health will give you noticeable health benefits throughout your entire body, and cabbage is a great way to feed the “good” bacteria in your gut microbiome.
When you keep the balance of “good” to “bad” bacteria in the proper ratio in your gut microbiome, it allows you to break down food more efficiently. Your body can then devote more energy to other tasks.
It also helps you convert food into energy better, so you have a natural source of cellular energy that can run all day with no crash.
Makes You Feel Full
Even though cabbage is low in carbs, it can actually help you feel full, which is crucial if you’re trying to lose weight and maintain a low carbohydrate diet. Cabbage can help reduce your food cravings by keeping your body and mind functioning as if you’re completely full.
There’s a difference between empty calories and good, nutritious calories, and cabbage offers the latter. Nutritious calories mean that your body is getting the minerals and vitamins that it needs to perform tasks on a cellular level.
When you keep your fuel levels “filled up” with nutritious calories like the kind found in cabbage, it can cause your entire body to feel better, function better, and perform at a more efficient level.
Antioxidants
Cabbage also is rich in antioxidants, which can help protect your body against dangerous “Free radicals.” Free radicals are particles that have been linked to numerous ailments. They are found both external to the body and are also produced naturally in the body as part of the breakdown of certain chemicals.
Because free radicals are so hard to avoid, it’s important to stock up on antioxidants. Cabbage is a great way to do this, and this recipe will show you how to create a cabbage dish that you and anyone in your family or group of friends will enjoy.
Curry Cabbage and Cauliflower Stir Fry
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
½ whole cabbage shredded
1 cup frozen peas
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 onion diced
1 cup “riced” cauliflower
½ tsp sea salt
½ lemon, juiced
½ tsp cumin
1 tsp fresh ginger minced
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp curry
Instructions:
1. Take a food processor and shred the cabbage with the riced cauliflower.
2. In a large saute pan, heat the coconut oil. Add onion plus ¼ tsp of the salt and cook until the onion is soft, or about 3 minutes.
3. Add the shredded cabbage one handful at a time, until all the cabbage is in the pan.
4. Stir in ginger, spices, and the remaining salt.
5. Add the cauliflower and peas, and then mex gently to combine it all.
6. Top with lemon juice before serving.
The Bottom Line
Cabbage, cauliflower, not to mention the turmeric found in curry, all contain numerous health benefits. When put together, you get a great part of a healthy menu.
As a vegetarian dish, you can bet this will be a hit with all dietary preferences as well. Try spicing up your dinner tonight with this tasty stir fry.
