Clean Eating & Cabbage Steaks

When people around me used to talk about clean eating, I zoned out. My idea of clean eating was taking a shower and then binge eating Swedish Fish and Sour Patch Kids. Clean + Eating. Done.

Fast forward to fall 2013 when I visited Sarah and her style of cooking and eating completely inspired me. The first night I visited, she made a 100% clean & gluten free meal–and it was so good I could have licked the pan. Except that would have probably made our first visit together, our last. So, I skipped licking her dishes and studied her ways.

One of the big misconceptions I had about clean eating was that it was all rubber chicken and vegetables. BO-RING! But, I was SO wrong. Some of my favorites include these stuffed peppers and these sweet potato banana waffles–far from flavorless OR boring.

I’m happy to say 2014 has been an almost effortlessly clean eating year so far. I swear, if I can do it, so can you.
One of my latest finds was a dish my mom made–vegetable soup with cabbage steaks.

I have to admit, I was 455% wary when she first announced it was what was for dinner–WHAT ABOUT A REAL STEAK, LADY?!
Let’s start with the soup, because it’s just as delicious sans cabbage steak.
You Will Need:
2 medium uncooked carrots, diced
2 small uncooked zucchini, diced
2 cups uncooked shredded cabbage (I like to buy the pre-shredded bags)
2 cups uncooked broccoli, chopped
1 medium uncooked onion, diced
1 uncooked bell pepper (I like yellow & red!), diced
1 stalk of uncooked celery, chopped
2 tsp. thyme
6 cups of vegetable broth
2 cloves of garlic, minced
salt, pepper to taste

1. Put garlic, broth, thyme and vegetables into a large stock pot.
2. Cover and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat and let simmer.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste!

*Note: I added my new favorite ingredient–black rice–to the soup this time, but it’s equally good without it!

Now, onward to the cabbage steaks!

You Will Need:
1 large head of cabbage
garlic powder
salt
olive oil, spray

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Slice head of cabbage into thick slices, or “steaks”
3. Spray olive oil onto each side of cabbage.
4. Sprinkle garlic powder and a small amount of salt onto each side.
5. Roast for 5-10 minutes on each side–and enjoy!

Are you a clean eater?
Send me your recipes–I’d love to try ’em out!