Hooray for... cabbage!?

So this one might be weird but today I’m here to sing the praises of the bagged coleslaw mix!

I am SO OVER the mesclun mix, the “baby” spinach bag. Like, thank you for shipping me a large container all the way from California that often can't be recycled and half the leaves are slimy and wilty. It’s rare we ever use the whole bag at once, but also rare for it to last more than an extra day in the fridge once opened. Result – lots of expensive and well-traveled compost material for the green bin. This is an unsustainable model for getting your greens during Saskatchewan winters in a lot of ways, but it doesn’t have to be like this. I made the switch to cabbage a couple years ago and I’m never going back.

Cabbage holds up and lasts in the fridge for a couple weeks (even after it’s opened). It isn’t delicate and doesn’t require a large special plastic box to transport it (again, all the way from California). Cabbage is also much more nutritious and satiating than lettuce,  AND let’s not forget that a 1lb bag of coleslaw mix is usually $2-2.50 regular price, while a bag of spinach or mesclun will be at LEAST $4. This adds up if you are buying it every week! (This could be even further reduced if you buy a whole head and shred it yourself, but let's start off with baby steps.)

Cabbage is also way more versatile than what I’ll call the “fragile greens”. You can make a salad with it, or soup, or fry it up to eat as a cooked vegetable. You are not limited to mayo-based coleslaw with a coleslaw mix! I usually make a quick vinaigrette with oil, vinegar, maple syrup, salt and pepper, and toss in a few fun things like pumpkin seeds, feta, and craisins – i.e., exactly what you’d probably do with a mesclun mix, just cheaper, and you don’t have to throw it out if you don’t finish it within an hour. Cabbage slaw is especially awesome if you have to bring a salad to a potluck because you KNOW no one will actually finish the salad when there’s Swedish meatballs, perogies, and lasagna on the table, so you can take it home and eat it for lunch the next day.

(Listen, I know I am not a great food photographer, and cabbage is also not photogenic, but this is better than nothing and it was a delicious soup.)

One of the main reasons I use the internet is Smitten Kitchen (as much for the gorgeous and hilarious writing as for the delicious recipes) and I think it’s safe to say that her own love of cabbage has helped inspire mine. Two of my go-to’s she tipped me off to are her Winter Slaw with Farro, and Joshua McFadden’s cabbage soup from Six Seasons (a very good cookbook that I should probably buy). I am also 100% sold on using cabbage as the base for taco salad, don’t even talk to me about romaine. I forget how I initially stumbled upon this recipe for Fried Cabbage with Bacon and Cheddar but it’s super easy and rich and somehow you forget that you’re mainly just eating a pile of healthy cabbage for supper.

I know switching from mesclun or spinach to cabbage for winter salads seems like such a small and insignificant thing – but I swear it’s improved my life! I feel less guilty for wasting food (because there is so little waste with cabbage compared to fragile greens), my salad-based environmental footprint is smaller, I save money, and the dish itself just feels a little more substantial. Sometimes it is these seemingly tiny swaps that actually make a huge difference.

(Okay okay - what about kale? I personally am one of those weirdos who actually likes the taste and texture of kale, but I find there is a time and place for it. Cabbage is just nicer to eat raw, is far less bitter, and you can't buy a $2 bag of prewashed fork-sized kale pieces that you can quickly dump a vinaigrette on and call it a day.)