Recipe: Raw Tuscan cabbage salad

Raw Tuscan cabbage salad

I eat a lot of salad. And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT. Whilst I love my trusty favourite, occasionally I stray into adventure-land and try something different.

Tuscan cabbage

I use a lot of Tuscan cabbage for my green juices, so thought I'd give it a run in a salad.  Tuscan cabbage, is known as Cavolo Nero in Italy and is also known as black cabbage or Tuscan kale.

Tuscan cabbage is actually a type of kale and has long, narrow, wrinkled leaves which are very firm. It has a rich and astringent, mild cabbage flavour and its amazing versatility makes it equally at home in a soup or in a salad such as ours.

With it's dark green leaves, it is full of antioxidants and are low in calories and high in fibre, which is great at preventing Western diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer. We should eat (or drink) more green leafy veggies, and eating Tuscan cabbage raw in a salad is a perfect way of doing this whilst retaining all the fibre.

Ingredients

1/2 bunch Tuscan cabbage

2 cups peas, cooked

Handful of mint leaves, shredded

Olive oil

Aged balsamic (I used Pukara pomegranate balsamic)

Sale to taste

Method

Finely shred cabbage leaves and mint leaves. Cook peas and combine with cabbage and mint. Dress salad with balsamic or lemon and oil season to taste.

Recipe: Choc Chia Chomps

Choc chia chompsThis is another recipe in my quest to satisfy my seemingly never-ending quest for something sweet and something chocolatey, but not being evil. These little guys really fit the bill! Not only are they nutritious, but they're darned tasty as well and will answer most chocolate cravings.

Raw cashews supply healthy fats and numerous minerals. More than 70 percent of the fat in raw cashews is heart-healthy unsaturated fat. They also contain protein which is essential for the growth and repair of the body's tissues.

Dates are power houses nutrition that also satisfy a sweet tooth and provide natural sugar for this treat. Dates are loaded with fibre, both soluble and insoluble and are an excellent source of potassium and many other vitamins & minerals. 

Chia seeds contain the highest natural percentage of Omega-3 essential fatty acid known to man (60-64%). Not only that but chia are a powerful source of antioxidants and unlike most other sources of Omega-3, do not need to be refrigerated to maintain freshness. They're also high in protein and contain 3 times more iron than spinach. We can see why chia seeds are now becoming very popular, especially as they have very little flavour.

Ingredients 
1 cup cashews 
3 tablespoons creamed coconut 
5 tbsp raw cacao 
5 dates 
1 tsp cinnamon 
3 tbsp coconut nectar 
1/4 cup coconut oil 
2 tbsp chia seeds 
Method
Pulverize cashews in food processor until very finely ground (although a few small bits are fine). Add everything else except the chia. Mix in food processor until mixed through. 
Stir through chia. Squish and roll teaspoon-sized balls onto a tray and refrigerate. 
Store in the fridge. Makes 35 choc chia chomps.