EB’s Cabbage Salad Bowl

by | Jan 10, 2016 | Blog

My principle food rule is: eat foods I love that love me back. The “foods I love” part is pretty clear. I want my meals to be delicious.

“Love me back” is a little more nuanced. People ask me what that means all the time. A food that loves me back

  • Supports my health & body composition goals
  • Keeps my energy levels high
  • Satisfies my hunger
  • Doesn’t trigger cravings
  • Doesn’t make me feel bloated
  • Doesn’t make my skin break out
  • Makes me glad I ate it (as opposed to wishing I hadn’t)

The foods I love that love me back probably won’t be the same as the foods you love that love you back but I absolutely want to help you find those things for YOU! Finding that sweet spot of foods you love that also love you back is a huge key to mastering fat loss naturally.

A couple weeks ago I shared one of my favorite recipes on the podcast & a few times on Instagram and I have heard from at least a dozen people this week that they’re obsessed with it! 

It’s my staple brunch: raw shredded cabbage with bacon, eggs & avocado. Sometimes I add walnuts. Oftentimes I add Primal Kitchen Chipotle Lime Mayo. 

If you can’t stomach the idea of veggies, especially raw ones, for breakfast, that’s totally cool. You could easily have this for lunch or dinner. However, check out what people are saying (below) about having this earlier in the day. They’re shocked by how much they love it & it’s keeping them full for hours.

One of the things I love most about this meal is how it’s the perfect combination of crunchy, salty & creamy. But that’s not all:

  • It’s fast to make
  • It only requires 1 pan
  • It’s very inexpensive
  • It keeps me full for hours
  • It contains bacon (bonus points, right?)

Here’s what you’re going to need:

  • 2-4 cups raw, shredded cabbage (I prefer a mix of red & green but pick what you love most)
  • 2 slices bacon
  • 2 eggs (yes, I know the pic below has 3 eggs. I was making a double)
  • 1/4 – 1/2 ripe avocado
  • Salt
  • (nuts and PK Chipotle Lime Mayo are optional)

cabbage salad bowl

  1. Put your shredded cabbage in a bowl.
  2. Cook your bacon in a skillet until it’s nice & crispy.
  3. Remove the bacon but keep the skillet on heat.
  4. Add your two eggs to the skillet and cook them over easy – over medium.
  5. Combine your shredded cabbage, cooked bacon, avocado and eggs in a large bowl.
  6. Sprinkle with salt to taste.

I use my Oxo Salad chopper to then mix it all together, chopping up the bacon, avocado & eggs with the cabbage. You could certainly use a standard pizza cutter to do this or you could enjoy it without mixing it up.

I love mixing it together because you get the creamy avocado & egg yolk acting like a sauce with the cabbage and bacon & crunchy and a little salty.

A whole bunch of people have emailed me this week to let me know that they’ve tried it & they’re loving it! Here’s what they’re saying:

“Today is one of the most exciting days of my life and you are the reason for it. I ordered the OXO salad chopper. It arrived last night and today I put it to good use. I made your signature chopped cabbage/bacon/avocado/egg salad – OMG SO DELICIOUS!!!!!”

“I went out and bought a salad chopper because of your breakfast as a fat burning meal podcast today. Couldn’t resist making it tonight!! Omg it was AMAZINGLY GOOD!”

“I have never so much energy! Guess what? I am having it fit dinner too”

“Ok – You were right. I was wrong. I was sure that cabbage for breakfast would be nasty. It’s the best thing in the world. It was delicious and I wasn’t hungry for HOURS.”

Here are the most common questions I get about this dish:

How do you chop your cabbage?
The cheapest way to do this is to buy a head of your favorite cabbage & shred it in the food processor. Here’s what I do most often: I’ll buy 2 heads of cabbage, one red & one green, and cut them into quarters. I’ll pulse 1 quarter at a time in the food processor and keep it in tupperware. This gives me plenty of shredded cabbage for many meals. I personally like the blend of red & green and I’ll often throw in a carrot, though it doesn’t change the flavor of the dish at all. Just adds more color.

Alternatively, you can buy pre-shredded cabbage. Whole Foods often has pre-shredded red & green cabbage. You could buy a cole-slaw mix and not use the dressing, but that is often far more fine than doing it yourself and, in my opinion, that detracts from the texture.

Of course you can also do it with a knife.

Do I have to eat that much cabbage?
Of course not. How much you eat is relative to your entire day, your activity level and if you snack. I choose not to snack very often. I don’t like to have to make food choices all day long, so I eat 2 or 3 bigger meals. Eat until you’re satisfied. Do what works for you.

Cabbage is hard on my stomach. Could I use a different vegetable?
Absolutely. You could certainly use mixed greens. Leafy greens like spinach, arugula and lettuce will be lighter, less voluminous and not as rich in fiber. They’re also not crunchy, so you would lose that element, but the most important thing is that you’re eating foods you love that love you back. This will look different for everyone. Do what works for you.

If this isn’t your thing, that’s totally cool. Here’s another one of my favorite fat loss meals! It’s not as inexpensive or easy but it certainly is delicious & fat loss friendly!

Plus, I did an entire podcast episode on meals under $1.99! You do NOT want to miss that one!

Here are a couple others:

How to make breakfast a fat burning meal (most popular episode of the podcast)

Paleo lunch ideas

Have questions? Let’s hear them! I’m always happy to weigh in with my $0.02!

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