Hey girl! I am so excited to share this guest post with you today from food blogger Melissa Haithcock with A Happy Healthy Heart! Melissa was kind enough to share her cabbage salad recipe with us since it's the perfect healthy lunch for the on-the-go bride! Hopping from appointment to appointment on your lunch break and after work gets hectic – and finding time to eat healthy in hopes to look your best on your wedding day isn't always the easiest! But this cabbage salad recipe is one that will put these worries to rest. The delicious + fresh ingredients are sure to give your tastebuds a treat! Without further ado, I'll let Melissa share her story + recipe with y'all!
Melissa from A Happy Healthy Heart: I haven’t always loved vegetables and when I first started experimenting with recipes that included them I had to make myself want to eat them. For me, this meant they had to be pretty! Our eyes are drawn to attractive things so I figured that if the food looked good then it must taste good too! I have now learned that the prettier the food, the better it is for you because the color comes from the nutrients within it.
On Sundays, my mom would steam cabbage before church so that it would be ready for lunch later that afternoon. I remember waking up to the smell of it and thinking it was awful! The scent would drift into my room just as I was opening my eyes and because I didn’t like the way it smelled, I never ate it. I didn’t eat cabbage until a couple of years ago but now I absolutely love it; especially red cabbage.
I love combining all kinds of fresh vegetables into one bowl to make a complete meal. This dish is just that. The quinoa offers protein, the vegetables are full of nutrients and the peanut butter sauce is a source of good fat. If you like, you can always substitute almond butter in the sauce. It’s just a matter of preference.
If you have an extra 20 minutes this week, make this nutrient-dense salad and let me know what you think. Wiley (my husband) absolutely loves it and I’m always happy to make it. Enjoy!
Ingredients
¼ head red cabbage, thinly sliced
¼ head green cabbage, thinly sliced
1 head broccoli, chopped
5 mini bell peppers, sliced
½ sweet onion, minced
2 carrots, peeled and shredded
1 ¼ cup quinoa
¼ cup vegetable broth
handful of cilantro
Sauce
2 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp tamari (or sub liquid aminos)
1 tsp chili flakes
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Once all vegetables are chopped, combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl, mix until well incorporated and set aside.
Cook quinoa according to package instructions.
In a large saucepan heated to medium heat, cook vegetable broth, onions, broccoli and peppers together. The vegetable broth should simmer and absorb into the vegetables. Allow to cook for 7-8 minutes.
In a large bowl combine quinoa, cabbage, carrots, cooked vegetables, and sauce. Mix well and until sauce has covered all ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve warm or cold. Store in air tight container for up to a week.
Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe with us, Melissa! You can check out her healthy food blog A Happy Healthy Heart here online and also be sure to follow her for more healthy recipes on Instagram here!
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