Quick Fix Cabbage

When I'm not cooking for my husband, I don't care much what I eat.  It's usually just nibbling food - cucumbers and hummus, chips and salsa, apples and peanut butter.  Super healthy, right?  But I'm just being real with you, because that's what I promised to do here.  Every once in a while, though, I feel like cooking something healthy for myself, like when my body starts yelling for some nutrition.  But it can't be just anything.  It has to take under 15 minutes to make and have only 2 main ingredients (or less!) or it won't happen.

Today it was:

Cabbage & Squash with Flax Seed Oil and Plum Vinegar
Serves 6 as a side dish


2 Tbs olive oil
1 small head green cabbage, thinly sliced
2 small squash (yellow or green), diced
flax seed oil
ume (plum) vinegar (available at most grocery stores)
soy sauce
sesame oil
black sesame seeds

Heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add cabbage and squash and saute for 5 minutes.  Lower heat, cover, and let simmer for 10 more minutes.  Turn off heat and drizzle generously with flax seed oil (4 or 5 tablespooons?  Taste and adjust) and ume vinegar.  Add a few splashes of soy sauce and sesame oil and toss gently to coat vegetables.  Top with a sprinkle of black sesame seeds and enjoy!  This is great both hot and cold.

Sprinkle flax seed oil and ume vinegar on almost any vegetable and it will make it taste like butter!  Alicia got me into this.

Back to Macro and Feeling Good

I admit it.  I've been a bit off track with my eating lately.  Yes, there has been a lot of eating out...there have been some sweets...even...coffee (gasp).  I know, I know!  So for the last three days I've been focusing mostly on macro again, and it feels so good!  My cheeks are rosy, my energy is up, and I'm just feeling more balanced overall.  Here's a sample menu, to give you an idea of how I kept my meals mostly macro:

Monday:

• Breakfast - Oatmeal with a small teaspoon of maple syrup
• Lunch - half a sweet potato (I had a late breakfast that day...I made up for it with dinner though)
• Dinner - brown rice, arame with carrots & onions, sauteed shredded cabbage drizzled with flax seed oil, ume vinegar and gomashio, and seasoned mixed beets (recipe below)

Tuesday:

• Breakfast - brown rice with leftover the arame/carrot/onion thingy
• Lunch - polenta cake and half a sweet potato
• Snack - brown rice cake (the crispy kind) with peanut butter and brown rice syrup
• Dinner - rice pilaf with Caramelized Onions and adzuki beans with kabocha squash

Wednesday:

• Breakfast - miso soup with bok choy and dark greens, leftover rice pilaf (added some sauteed cabbage to freshen it up), natto and toasted nori
• Lunch - stir-fried soba noodles with veggies

• Dinner - I'm planning veggie soup with a side of whole grain bread

I was so tempted to make coffee this morning, but instead I brewed some kukicha tea and tried to forget about the taste of rich, creamy espresso...(single teardrop)...

After finishing dinner on Monday, The Boy told me he was so glad to have me as his wife because I cook healthy meals that he likes, and needs, to eat.  Awwwww :)

Seasoned Mixed Beets:

Serves 4 as a small side dish

12 small golden and chioggia beets, peeled and quartered

1 Tbs brown rice syrup

4 Tbs apple cider vinegar

In a large pot with a lid, steam beets in 1/2 cup of water until tender, about 20 minutes.  Strain and toss gently with brown rice syrup and vinegar.  Serve warm or chilled.