It’s hard to believe March is almost over and that means National Nutrition Month is cruising right along.  During the second week of my Evolve Your Eating Challenge, “Going with Grains”, I featured a recipe, Spicy Brown Rice Cabbage Cups, and a few of you have requested it. 

Well, here it is.  Inspired by my Slovak roots, in which we grew up eating stuffed cabbage or holubky, which were traditionally rolled with rice, chopped meat, onions, garlic, paprika and topped with tomato sauce and baked until the cabbage leaves were soft and the flavors melded together perfectly.  (I wish I had a photo of my grandmother’s holubky to show you!).

I chose red or purple cabbage in this dish because it’s so pretty on the plate. You can steam the cabbage slightly to make it a bit softer (as this dish is not baked) or you can use delicate Romaine lettuce cups (I get them at Costco and they work beautifully for a dish like this as they wrap easily).

Spicy Brown Rice Cabbage Cups

Make 4 cabbage cups (1/2 cup rice mixture in each)

Ingredients

1 cup brown rice

2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

1 large carrot, peeled and chopped

1/4 cup unsalted pistachios, shelled and coarsely chopped

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 heaping teaspoon spicy curry powder or smoked paprika

Pinch of salt

4 large red or purple cabbage leaves

Directions: Simply place rice and broth in a medium sauce pan over high heat.  Bring to a boil and then turn heat down to simmer, cover. Stir occasionally.  When water is evaporated and rice is cooked, remove from heat.   Add carrots, pistachios, olive oil, curry or paprika and salt.  Stir until combined.  Dollop 1/2 cup of brown rice mixture into each cabbage leaf and fold in the sides to close (like a burrito) or push up the side (like a taco) and serve.  This dish is perfect for a party as an appetizer or as a main dish with a lentil or bean soup.

Nutrition Information (per each leaf w/ 1/2 cup rice filling): Calories 177, Total Fat 6 g, Sat Fat 1 g, Trans fat 0 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Sodium 188 mg, Carbohydrates 28 g, Dietary Fiber 3 g, Sugars 3 g, Protein 4 g

Enjoy evolving your eating today!

Happy & healthy eating,

-Vicki