The aha cabbage moment

Last weekend, I made this Masala recipe for some friends. When I weighed out my cauliflower, I realized I didn’t have enough. No worries, I thought, I can just substitute other veggies. I knew I had part of a red bell pepper and some cabbage—that should work!

I went to the fridge and started looking through my produce bins. I found the partial pepper, awesome. But the cabbage eluded me. I looked and looked and could not find it. It was then I said to myself, out loud, with a dramatic amount of disbelief:

Who the hell doesn’t have cabbage in their fridge?!?

Right after I said it, I laughed at myself because actually, a LOT of people, I would say MOST people don’t have cabbage in their fridge. As I stood in front of the produce drawers, gobsmacked about my cabbage-less situation, I realized that, for me, always having cabbage is the equivalent of the average American always having eggs. It’s one of those staples I don’t go without.

I use it all the time. 
I toss it in salads, stir-fries, and soups.
I add it to burritos, wraps, and bowls.
I use it for slaw and garnish.
I even make steaks out of it.

In fact, a few months after my sister gave birth to my niece, I walked into her house one day and found her lying on the couch topless with red cabbage leaves on her boobs. I thought she was experiencing some kind of postpartum psychotic break or I was on drugs, but no! It turns out cabbage helps unclog milk ducts! (BTW, “clogged milk duct” is number 87 of the 5,384 reasons I’m glad I never birthed any humans.)

Apart from cabbage working miracles on clogged nipples, Dr. Gregor at Nutrition Facts found that red cabbage is the healthiest food for the price! Why wouldn’t everyone want this nutrient-dense, affordable staple in their fridge?!

When you transition to a whole-food plant-based way of eating, your kitchen, fridge, and pantry will also transition.
Instead of eggs, butter, and cheese as staples, you’ll be well stocked with cabbage, tofu, and nutritional yeast.
Instead of endless condiment bottles, you’ll have endless spice bottles.
Instead of meat, you’ll have beans.
Instead of chips and crackers, you’ll have carrots and a never-ending supply of chickpeas. Where there were once deli meats, there will now be beet burgers.
Until pretty soon, you’re standing in front of your fridge, slack-jawed and bug-eyed, wondering how in the hell you don’t have any cabbage.

As it turns out, I DID have cabbage. It was well hidden behind the sweet potatoes and carrots. Once I dug it out, I added the peppers and cabbage to the bowl of cauliflower and continued making the Masala. It turned out AMAZING (of course it did, our recipes are super versatile), and the recipe has been on repeat ever since.

If you want to transition your fridge to more veggies, join us for our Big Ass Salads for a Badass Summer challenge! You can read all the details here.

In a couple days, I’m visiting Tokyo for ten days to enjoy big city life and ALL the vegan food. I’ll be posting to our Clean Food Dirty Girl Instagram and my personal Instagram if you want to follow along.

I hope you’re having a wonderful summer.

Molly