Cleaned Up Coleslaw

Well tonight I worked on a new recipe. It involved brown rice, spinach, feta, and tahini. It was okay but it needs a little work before I can post it. It has the potential to be really good so I need to try a couple things with it. Tahini is a raw sesame paste that is so good in case you were wondering.

This was a new brand for me tonight and I really liked it which is great since you can get this in town at Cashwise (health food section). You can make a great dressing for salads from this and a great sauce for chicken and rice dishes and I am sure plenty of other things but we will stick with those for now.

Our meal was a hodge podge of sorts. We ate the leftover root vegetables, the rice dish I worked on and some coleslaw. Nothing really went together but we ate a lot of veggies so I am happy. I also didn't need any recipes again tonight. Hooray!

Since I can't post our main dish recipe yet I decided that I could tell you how to clean up your coleslaw. For the record, I hate mayonnaise based coleslaw. I won't really go near it because a soupy mess of mayonnaise in a salad is nasty. Plus they aren't healthy that way. So when I make a coleslaw it is always vinegar based.

Are you thinking about that coleslaw that everyone makes with the Ramen Noodles and the seasoning packet that comes with them? I used to love that one too. I just found a better way to make it so I can still enjoy it now without the MSG in that seasoning packet and who knows what in those noodles.

Plus I think this one is prettier with both red and green cabbage!

Tonight I cut up about half of each head of cabbage. They were fairly small heads so I am guessing I had about 4 cups of cabbage when it was all chopped up. Then I added some sliced almonds and sesame seeds. If I had sunflower seeds I would have added those as well. This way you still get the crunch that everyone enjoys when you use Ramen Noodles but in a much healthier and tasty way. I forgot that I also like green onion in this salad.

For the dressing you need to use some of this vinegar....

You can find this at Wal-Mart next to all the other vinegars and it comes in different flavors as well but I think this plain one works best for coleslaw.

Then you need a little of this magic ingredient to replace the seasoning packet...

Yep, again! I know I use this a lot but it works. Just a teaspoon or so is all you need for the coleslaw. Mix that in with some olive oil, the vinegar, and a couple packets of Stevia or sugar if you must. Give it a good whisk and pour it over your cabbage. It is best if you can give it a little time to marinate. I also added a little pepper.

So there you have it. Pretty simple but completely cleaned up and healthy. Better oil, no sugar, no MSG, and honestly, BETTER FLAVOR! You may need to add or subtract vinegar and oil according to your tastes. Here is a recipe to follow for those of you who need that.

Cleaned Up Coleslaw:

1/2 head of small green cabbage chopped

1/2 head of small red cabbage chopped

3-4 green onions chopped

sliced almonds

sesame seeds

sunflower seeds

Dressing:

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 -1/3 cup rice vinegar

1 teaspoon chicken base

2 packets Stevia

1 teaspoon pepper

Mix dressing ingredients together and taste. Adjust according to your taste. Pour over chopped cabbage and onion then sprinkle on almonds, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds. Mix well and chill for 30 minutes to marinate.