Cabbage and Its Well-Rounded Benefits to Keto Dieters
Cabbage is white, green or purple vegetable normally grown in wild fields. The cruciferous vegetable belongs to a family of cold crops that also includes, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts and broccoli. Cabbage-based dishes are quite common around the world, especially in China, Italy and Ireland.
Keto-Friendly Cabbage
So what makes cabbage a keto-friendly veggie? To begin with, one cup only has about 2. If youre avoiding carbs to enter ketosis, cabbage is a most perfect choice.
Methods of Preparation
If you eat the vegetable raw, youll find that its a little bitter, but it can be a great addition to a lot of salads. When you roast it, it looks kind of sparkly, and tastes and feel like butter on your tongue. It can be cooked in broths or soups, but expect the flavor to be muted because of all the other ingredients that will go in. If you want the veggies natural flavors to be prominent, pick ingredients that will work with it instead of against it.
In reality, you can prepare cabbage a whole range of ways – braised, steamed, sauteed and even fermented.
Southern Fried Cabbage
Certainly, one of the most popular dishes that mainly features cabbage is simply Southern fried cabbage, a great combination of flavor and comfort. For this dish, onion, especially caramelized, is a must – no tasty dish will not ask for onion! Of course, youd like to add some of that keto superstar, bacon, to make the dish taste more robust.
Health and Wellness
Cabbages minimal carb count is not the only reason that gives cabbage its rightful part in your ketogenic diet. Its so rich in healthy nutrients too. It has vitamin C and vitamin K in amounts 20% more than the recommended daily allowance. It comes with zero fat, zero cholesterol and lots of vitamin B6 and folate. You can think of it as a nutrient-rich canvas on which you can paint your keto highlights.
But thats not where it ends. It has glucosinolates and sulforaphane – two unique phytochemicals that stimulate the synthesis of enzymes that detox the body as part of the metabolic process.
There are even studies suggesting that cabbage helps prevent or fight colon cancer. The purple variant of the vegetable has a rich supply of the antioxidant, anthocyanin, and hence fights cancer. Vitamin C is an immune booster, and the veggies fiber helps digestion. Versatile cabbage even has lots of sulfur, which is a good defense against infection.
All in all, cabbage is a well-rounded vegetable that you can have as part of your keto diet. Its not just low carb but it provides so many nutrients too.