Quite possibly one of the easiest dinners I’ve made in a while!
I had a head of cabbage kicking around that needed to be used ASAP, so I sautéed it and mixed it with quinoa pasta for a quick and easy meal! I love the way cabbage sweetens when sautéed. Adding fresh lemon juice, garlic and parsley makes for a light and savory dish. For a little bit of crunch, I added roasted and salted sunflower seeds, but I’m sure walnuts or pine nuts would taste great too!
Cabbage is often overlooked, but it is super healthy! The American Cancer Society recommends eating cruciferous vegetables on a regular basis to reduce risk of cancer. Along with broccoli, brussels sprouts and cauliflower, cabbage is of the cruciferous vegetable family. They contain more phytochemicals and anticancer properties than any other group of vegetables. That’s huge! The active compound in cruciferous vegetables called glucosinolates are responsible for helping rid the body of harmful toxins, hormones and free-radicals. Specifically, the glucosinolate named indole-3-carbinole (I3C) which, “increases the rate at which estrogen is broken down through the liver’s detoxification pathway by nearly 50 percent.” The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods
This cabbage dish honestly will be ready before the pasta water is even boiling! It’s a quick, healthy and satisfying meal to whip together on those busy nights when you don’t feel like cooking. We ate ours with a side of roasted asparagus, Noah’s favorite vegetable! He doesn’t always eat the foods I wish he would, but the fact that I can get him to eat asparagus on any given night makes me happy!
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ head cabbage, thinly sliced
- 1 lemon, juiced
- sea salt and pepper to taste
- 1 pound pasta (I used gluten free pasta)
- ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- ¼-1/2 cup roasted sunflower seeds, walnuts or pine nuts
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, around 2 minutes.
- Add cabbage and sauté until wilted, stirring occasionally.
- Add lemon juice, sea salt and pepper to taste. Turn heat down to low, continue to cook until cabbage is lightly golden.
- Meanwhile, cook pasta of your choice according to package.
- When pasta is ready, reserve ¼ cup of pasta water. Drain and add pasta to a large dish, mix with cooked cabbage. Add ⅛-1/4 cup pasta water if needed for moisture.
- Top with chopped parsley, roasted nuts or seeds of your choice and sea salt and pepper as needed.
- Enjoy!
Hope you enjoy this Meatless Monday meal idea 