The other night I had a pound of grass-fed ground beef thawing and I was in need of some healthy inspiration. We have tired of our weekly burgers, taco salad and ground beef bowls. So, I polled the Healthy Living How To Facebook fans for some ideas. When my friend Susan suggested “crack slaw” — an old low-carb favorite — my wheels started spinning. Instead of slaw, how about cabbage noodles, made using my spiral veggie slicer. To give the dish an Asian flair, I decided to spice it up with almond butter chili sauce — the same sauce I used for my Thai Turkey Burger. Voila a new recipe was born! And — it was declared an all-time favorite by both my husband and son.
Noodles are not part of my low-carb lifestyle and haven't been for well over a decade. Besides being high in carbs, most also contain wheat and gluten, two things I avoid. Yes, I know there are gluten-free noodles, however, they still spike blood sugar like the wheat and gluten containing noodles do. Which is why I prefer to ditch the grains all together and instead get creative in the kitchen and come up with nutrient-dense ways to enjoy healthy noodles.
One thing I have found helpful on this journey of healthy eating, is to re-train my brain about food. Once I understood why glutenous grains and processed carbohydrates were not figure friendly and actually detrimental to my health, they just become a non-option. No need to feel deprived though, as there is a plethora of low-carb REAL FOOD to be had.
Zoodles, or zucchini noodles, are a favorite and can be easily made with a julienne peeler or a spiral veggie slicer. They pair really well with a tomato based sauce. Today's recipe features cabbage noodles — made with my spiral veggie slicer — watch this short video and see how in less than a minute you have low-carb noodles ready to steam and enjoy!
Now, I won't begrudge you if you are thinking — why not just pick up a bag of coleslaw — instead of going to the hassle of making these fancy schmancy cabbage noodles. Yep, you can certainly do that. Heck, you can even buy a whole head of cabbage and slice it with a chef's knife if you like. As I've said all along, kitchen gadgets aren't a necessity to cook healthy meals for yourself or your family, they are just fun to have.
I will say though, we were all highly entertained attempting to eat this meal with chopsticks — as well as slurping up our noodles.
When you make and devour a delicious bowl of healthy noodles with whatever healthy sauce you dream up, you have my permission to feel more than a little bit smug. Smug, because you made it with fresh grown, not factory made, ingredients, that don’t detract from your health, but actually lends to it.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Ground Beef
- 1 Small Head Cabbage, Noodled
- 6 Tbsp. Almond Butter
- 2 Tbsp. Coconut Vinegar
- 2 Tbsp. Coconut Aminos
- 2 Tbsp. Filtered Water
- 2 Tbsp. Toasted Sesame Oil
- 2 Tbsp. Sriracha Sauce
- 10-14 drops Liquid Stevia
- Toasted Sesame Seeds (for garnish)
- Green Onions (for garnish)
Directions
- In large skillet add ground beef. Spread in bottom of pan.
- Top ground beef with noodled cabbage and cover.
- Cook covered over medium-high heat for 10 minutes.
- Uncover and mix and cook until cabbage noodles are tender, about 5 more minutes.
- In small mixing bowl whisk together almond butter, vinegar, aminos, water, sesame oil, siraracha sauce and stevia.
- Pour over cooked beef and cabbage noodles and mix to heat through.
- Plate and garnish with sliced green onions and toasted seasame seeds.
