Coleslaw

Cabbage: Yes it's good! Try it!

 Most of us don't eat enough of the cruciferous vegetables, which are essential for heart health, and therefore improve our dental health.  Cabbage belongs to the same family as brocolli, brussel sprouts, bok choy, and kale.  Cabbage is a food high in fiber and anti-oxidants, preventing many forms of illness.

Often people have no idea how to prepare it.  Cabbage is very inexpensive and 1 head goes a long way.  Cabbage is in season in the fall and can easily be chopped and frozen (no need to buy it pre-chopped, it's so easy, especially if you have a food processor!).  You'll pay a lot more if you purchase pre-shredded cabbage and it won't taste as sweet and crisp.

Coleslaw is usually loaded with fat, in the form of oils or mayonaise.  The recipe below has very little fat, and no calories.

Asian Coleslaw: 

• Half head chopped of both green and purple cabbage (you'll need about 4-5 cups of each kind-shred remaining cabbage and put into fridge for use later in the week for a stir-fry or the freezer to be used in soups)
• 5 tbsp brown rice vinegar (any mild vingar will do)
• 5 tbsp soy sauce (low sodium)
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1/2 tbsp agave nectar or honey

Directions:

Mix above ingredients in a bowl.  Slaw will keep for about 2-3 days before getting soggy

Note: make smaller amounts of this each day if you prefer slaw to be crunchy.  1 tbsp of soy sauce/vinegar: cabbage.  Left over slaw is great on top of sandwiches, burgers, or on top of a salad

Fresh, undressed cabbage is great thrown as added crunch into a traditional salad.

Nutritional Benefits:
1 cup cabbage contains: 67% of daily Vitamin K and 43% of Vitamin K
High in anti-oxidants, cabbage helps to decrease inflammation
Red cabbage is much high in anti-oxidants than green cabbage (so if you want to replace all the cabbage with red, feel free!)

Apple Sauce-low to no added sugar

Use those apples that are awesome right now and make a delicious low sugar sauce to put on top of chicken, turkey, or to snack on.  If you're craving a warm, and comforting dessert-heat a little apple sauce up and it'll satisfy you (without added fat and sugar)!

.

 Directions:
1) Cut up apples (easiest way is to use an apple peeler).  You can keep skins on if you don't mind the fact that some will be floating around in sauce (does provide added fiber and nutrients, however).  The total amount of apples you use depends on how much sauce you want.  It does cook down a lot.

2)  Place in a large pot with a little bit of orange juice to prevent browning

3)  Add cinnamon and nutmeg to taste, and depending on amount of apples being used, add water or cider to prevent sticking and to allow apples to steam. *we use a large soup pot and add about 2 -3 cups of liquid and about 4 tsp cinnamon and 2 tsp nutmeg (adjust accordingly to taste)

4) Allow pot to steam and come to a slight boil, stirring to prevent sticking.

5) Once apples have cooked down and have mushed out, taste.  You can add a little bit of honey at this time. To a large pot we add no more than 1/3 cup of honey to keep added sugars low.

6) To save you sauce you can put into freezer containers or can.  To can, place hot apple sauce into hot jars, leaving 1" head space.  Place lids on and process in hot water bath for 10 minutes (pints) and 15 minutes (quarts).


Nutritional Benefits:
Little to no added sugar
No Fat
Cinnamon: aids in blood circulation
Apples: High in fiber and Vitamin C, a vitamin that aids in healing and disease prevention (anti-oxidant), soluble fiber helps to improve heart health by lowering cholesterol levels in the blood.  In 1 small apple there is 17% of your daily fiber needs and 14% of Vitamin C, so by consuming applesauce, you are consuming a great quantity of apples, and therefore fiber and Vitamin C amount (just watch total sugar)