Cabbage Crunch Recipe

It does not receive as much attention as other cruciferous vegetables, but cabbage (Brassica oleracea), actually packs a good nutritional punch, and is one of the most potent medicinal foods that you can buy anywhere.

But before you consider adding cabbage to your stir fry, here’s a better idea: why not serve it raw to maximize its nutrients? Here’s a basic, but lip-smacking cabbage salad recipe you can make at home.  

Cabbage Crunch Preparation Tips

This cabbage salad recipe is one of your best choices if you want to get all the nutrients and antioxidants that this cruciferous vegetable has to offer. Cabbage tastes good when served tender-crisp, with an appealing crunch that you’ll surely find delightful.

When buying cabbage, looks for heads that have shiny compact leaves, and that are free of blemishes. Avoid those that have leaf damage, and are light for their size.

Ideally, you should strive to buy foods organic, but in the case of cabbage, you can opt for conventionally grown produce. According to the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) “2014 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticide in Produce,” cabbage is classified as one of the “Clean Fifteen” – vegetables and fruits that have low pesticide content.¹

Aside from this cabbage salad recipe, you can also steam or sauté cabbage quickly. Fermenting and juicing cabbage are also ideal options. As much as possible, avoid any cabbage recipes that require heating or exposing the vegetable to high heat for long periods of time, as this can deplete its nutritional content.

Why Is Cabbage Crunch Good for You?

You can get 85 percent of your body’s daily requirement for vitamin K1 from one serving of cabbage. Many people are deficient in this fat-soluble vitamin, which is well-known for its role in blood clotting and bone metabolism. Vitamin K1 is also an Alzheimer’s disease preventive that helps limit neuron damage in your brain.

Other notable nutrients in cabbage include B vitamins like folate, vitamin B1 (thiamin), B5 (pyridoxine), and B6 (pantothenic acid). These are not only essential for energy, but may also help slow brain shrinkage by as much as seven-fold in brain regions that are most impacted by Alzheimer’s disease.

The George Mateljan Foundation² also highlighted some of the latest news about cabbage, and one of the most notable findings was its ability for cancer prevention. Almost 500 studies found that cabbage has anti-cancer powers due to its:

• Antioxidants – Vitamins A and C and phytonutrients like thiocyantes, zeaxanthin, lutein, isothiocyanates, and sulforaphane are abundant in cabbage, and have the ability to stimulate detoxifying enzymes that may protect against breast, colon, and prostate cancers. Sulforaphane in particular targets cancer stem cells, which effectively prevents the cancer from recurring or spreading.
• Anti-inflammatory properties – The anthocyanins in cabbage, red cabbage in particular, can efficiently keep inflammation at bay.
• Glucosinolates – These phytochemicals break down into sulforaphane, indoles, and other cancer-preventive substances. Indole-3 carbinol actually interferes with the cell cycle in a way that turns off a gene that is crucial for a cancer cell to thrive.

  Interestingly, different types of cabbage, including red, green, and Savoy, have been found to contain different patterns of glucosinolates, suggesting that you should try to eat a variety of cabbage for the best health effects – which makes this recipe just perfect.