This red cabbage salad is packed with texture and a diversity of flavors, from bitter to savory to sweet.

Cabbage is a hit-or-miss ingredient for me. Unless it’s cooked the right way or paired with the right ingredients, I don’t find it to be something to write home about. But I don’t let my picky food standards prevent me from enjoying the vegetable on the reg, as it is packed with nutrition and should be an integral part of everyone’s diet. I especially like to find new ways to enjoy it raw. This cabbage salad with radishes, walnuts, and mint is a scrumptious go-to dish to fulfill your noshing needs.

One cup of raw red cabbage has 28 calories, 0 grams fat, 2 grams dietary fiber, 20 percent of the RDA of vitamin, 85 percent of the RDA of vitamin C, and 4 percent of the RDA of both calcium and iron, respectively. It is also a good source of thiamin, riboflavin, folate, calcium, and magnesium. It is chockfull of anthocyanins, an antioxidant that is usually fond in blue, purple, and red plants. Antioxidants can decrease inflammation, prevent cancer, and boost brain function. Cabbage has also shown the ability to treat diabetes.

Aside from its health benefits cabbage may already very well be the ideal vegetable. It stays fresh for a long time (about 3 weeks!) and is incredibly versatile, popping up in all sorts of cuisines – Chinese, European, Mexican, Middle Eastern, and Japanese, among many others. It can be pickled, soaked, stewed, baked, fried, or enjoyed raw. The possibilities are endless, which means you have no excuse not to integrate it into your dietary regimen!

Start with this cabbage salad recipe and expand your repertoire from there. For this cabbage salad recipe, the Brassica family vegetable is accompanied by bitter radishes, dense walnuts, and fragrant mint. Enjoy!

Cabbage Salad with Radishes, Walnuts, and Mint

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the salad

• 4 cups finely shredded red/purple cabbage
• 8-10 radishes, thinly sliced
• Handful of walnuts, chopped
• Handful of mint, chopped

For the dressing

• ¼ cup lemon juice
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Directions

Combine the salad ingredients in a bowl. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until the cabbage, radishes, walnuts, and mint are evenly coated. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge to set for about 30 minutes. The cabbage will soften and absorb the flavors of the dressing the longer it sits. Enjoy!

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Red Cabbage Image from Shutterstock

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Get buzzed all winter long off this fragrant and light winter sangria recipe.

Sangria may remind you of summer, but it transitions easily into the cold-weather season, too. A fusion of cinnamon, cloves, red wine, and citrus–and this recipe for winter sangria will give you a warm buzz full of grounding spices and soul-soothing aromas. Entertain a crowd and sip into the night!

While the recipe does call for sugar, which helps to augment and marry together all the flavors, it is optional. You could nix it altogether or replace it with a alternative sweetener of choice, such as a few drops of liquid stevia, or an equal amount of maple syrup, honey, or coconut palm syrup.

You could also get more creative with the add-ins. Pomegranate is a deliciously sweet and tart winter fruit. If you’re looking for more diverse flavors, add the seeds of one pomegranate to the mix. The seeds also make for a beautiful garnish.

And, as with any sangria recipe, only use a wine you would drink on its own! Fruitier wines work best in sangria, but don’t choose one that you don’t enjoy by itself or that has been out for too long and tastes funky. The takeaway: your sangria will only taste as good as the wine you use as its foundation.

Winter Sangria Recipe

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

• 1 cup freshly-squeezed orange juice
• ½ cup freshly-squeezed grapefruit juice
• 1 cup sliced oranges
• 1/3 cup Triple Sec
• ¼ cup sugar (optional)
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 1 lime, sliced
• 1 bottle fruity red wine
• Fresh mint leaves for garnish

Directions

Combine all of the ingredients in a pitcher and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight. Garnish with mint leaves upon serving.

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Sangria Image from Shutterstock

The post Aromatic and Light Winter Sangria Recipe: Bully Winter Blues Away with the Punch Bowl appeared first on EcoSalon.