Cabbage Slaw with Vinegar Dressing

If you’ve been following along on my blog, you know when it comes to dessert I don’t hold back.  Butter, sugar, nuts, sweet, yummy goodness, no matter the calorie count.  I try to keep my portions in check, sometimes I’m more successful than others.  Dessert is what I spend all day looking forward to.  But I am health conscious, believe it or not.  Being healthy and feeling good are important to me, so I find a balance in life.

Desserts are my splurge; when it comes to savory food I crave healthy foods.  That’s right I crave them.  Fresh ingredients, flavorful, low-calorie condiments, and lean proteins are what make up my pre-dessert meals.

About a year ago, I craved some kind of slaw.  The problem: I don’t like mayonnaise, and adding a bunch of it to super healthy vegetables weighs it down and defeats the purpose.  After a lot of thought and trial and error, I created my own recipe for slaw without a heavy dressing.

The vegetables are the basics you would normally find in slaw: red and green cabbage, carrot, zucchini, and onion.  The cabbage, carrot, and zucchini are all grated on a box grater.  A food processor would probably do the job, but it may change the texture.  In order to have a bit of variety in the size and shape of the vegetables, I like to cut the onion in half and slice very thin half moons.  The colors are stunning, making it really appealing.

Then there’s the dressing.  Vinegar, sugar, mustard, salt, and pepper.  That’s it.  I use Heinz Distilled White Vinegar.  It’s the classic whether used for cooking, cleaning, or dying Easter eggs.  My salt and pepper are McCormick grinders; I don’t know what I did before they found a permanent place in my pantry.  If you haven’t tried them, you can find them in pretty much any grocery store.  Then there’s the mustard.  I’m totally obsessed with Raye’s Mustard.  It’s the only stone ground mustard mill left in America.  It can be a little costly, but it is totally worth it.  I have fallen in love with all the varieties I’ve tried.  The quality and flavor is impeccable.  Their mustards are great in this, salad dressings, on fish or meat, or any other way you’d normally use mustard.  Some gourmet stores stock a couple flavors of Raye’s Mustard, but I always get them from www.rayesmustard.com so I know they haven’t been sitting around on the grocery shelf.  If you find the dressing to be too tart (I like really tart dressing), add a little more sugar.  Play around until you find the perfect combination for your palate.  It is awesome the first night but even better a day or two later when the flavors have melded together and the color from the red cabbage has tinted the other vegetables and dressing.

I eat this year around, but as we enter into spring and summer, it is perfect for the season.  Please try this.  It is the first savory recipe I am sharing with you because though it’s slightly time consuming to make, it is absolutely delicious and super healthy.