Purple Power Slaw: Your Ultimate Antioxidant-Rich & Vibrant Healthy Salad Recipe
Dive into a vibrant bowl of health with our Purple Power Slaw! This stunning salad is a true gem, featuring crisp purple cabbage, sharp red onion, and earthy ruby beets, all gleaming with natural goodness. More than just a pretty plate, this slaw is packed with life-giving energy and bursts with fantastic color, making it an ideal way to enjoy your vegetables while loading up on powerful antioxidants. Prepare to nourish your body and delight your senses with every crunchy bite.
Embracing the Journey: My Dive into Culinary Nutrition
This past season has felt like a deep dive into uncharted waters – not literal swimming, but rather an exhilarating and sometimes overwhelming paddle to stay afloat in a sea of new knowledge. After several decades, I found myself back in the rhythm of student life, albeit a very different kind. There were no bustling campuses or crowded lecture halls, no mad dashes between classes with a backpack full of textbooks and a handful of trail mix for lunch. Instead, my “campus” became my home office, often adorned with pajamas, surrounded by towering stacks of research papers, cookbooks, and textbooks that slowly formed untidy mounds around my computer.
Despite the lack of traditional student scenery, the experience has been incredibly intense and profoundly rewarding. My days were filled with long hours at the computer, punctuated by triumphant shouts with every submitted online assignment and a fair share of exasperated sighs while battling the ever-challenging tech monster to merge files, create charts, and format footnotes. Each week brought new research papers, recipe development tasks, extensive note-taking, and significant projects. This demanding schedule left me utterly exhausted, yet strangely elated, marveling at how quickly the semester flew by.
My journey back to academia began this summer when I enrolled in the online Academy of Culinary Nutrition’s Culinary Nutrition Expert program. This was a course I had eyed for three years, and committing to it has been truly life-changing. The sheer volume of new insights I’ve gained about nutrition and the profound impact of food on our bodies has opened up a whole new world. The workload proved significantly heavier than I anticipated, but the rewards have been immense. While studying at home offers the comfort of wearing sweats, playing music during lectures, and grabbing coffee on demand, it also demands immense self-motivation and discipline to stay on track. The program involved weekly video lectures, online chat sessions, a series of recipe assignments (requiring cooking, photographing, and summarizing), and weekly written assignments or projects – some of which were quite challenging! Additionally, there was a substantial amount of required reading and documentaries to watch, followed by written critiques.
Yet, through it all, I’m still smiling and breathing, testament to the transformative power of this learning experience. A whole new universe of culinary nutrition has unfolded before me, and I am absorbing so much! This old dog is definitely learning a plethora of new tricks, and it’s exhilarating.
The Inspiration: Harnessing the Power of Plant-Rich Nutrition
With my mind buzzing with newfound knowledge about vitamins, phytonutrients, antioxidants, digestive systems, the microbiome, disease prevention, healing properties, prebiotics, and the unparalleled power of a plant-rich diet, I felt compelled to share a recipe that perfectly embodies these principles: this beautiful Purple Power Slaw. If your goal is to add more vibrant color and potent nutrients to your plate – which is precisely where the “power” in this slaw comes from – then this salad is an absolute masterpiece. It’s an edible jewel-toned burst of healthful goodness that will elevate any meal.
Understanding the Power: Why Color Matters for Your Health
The equation is simple yet profound: **More Color on Your Plate = More Antioxidants.** Antioxidants are crucial for our health because they tirelessly combat free radical damage – the cellular harm caused by environmental toxins and everyday metabolic processes. When our cells are damaged, they can become “wonky,” leading to various health issues. By consuming antioxidant-rich foods, we help protect our cells, keeping them healthy and functional.
The Star Ingredients and Their Incredible Benefits:
-
Purple/Red Cabbage: The Antioxidant Powerhouse
This vibrant vegetable is a nutritional champion, exceptionally high in vitamins C, K, and A. Its striking purple hue comes from anthocyanins, a powerful group of antioxidants known for their ability to reduce inflammation, protect against heart disease, and potentially lower the risk of certain cancers. The abundant vitamin C in red cabbage also acts as a vital antioxidant within our bodies, bolstering our immune systems and maintaining the elasticity and youthful appearance of our skin. Plus, its satisfying crunch adds a delightful texture to the slaw.
-
Beets: Ruby Roots of Vitality
Beets are undeniable superstars in the realm of antioxidants; just look at their intense, beautiful color! I recall a doctor advising my grandmother to eat beets daily (a recommendation also echoed by health experts like Dr. Oz). She followed this advice diligently, and while beets weren’t solely responsible, they certainly played a small part in her remarkable resilience and long life, despite incredible hardships and health crises during wartime Germany. These ruby roots are bursting with an astonishing array of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytochemicals, anti-inflammatory compounds, and fiber. Their comprehensive nutritional profile makes them invaluable for overall well-being. Simply put: eat your beets – they are truly awesome for you!
-
Red Onion: Gut Health Ally
Beyond their distinctive flavor, onions are fantastic prebiotics. They provide nourishment for probiotics – the beneficial bacteria in your gut – which are essential for a healthy digestive system and overall immune function.
-
Raisins: Sweet Bites of Antioxidant Goodness
These naturally sweet additions aren’t just for flavor; raisins deliver a concentrated dose of antioxidant power, contributing to the body’s defense against oxidative stress.
-
Sunflower Seeds: Vitamin E Champions
Raw sunflower seeds are exceptionally rich in vitamin E, a crucial antioxidant vitamin that plays a vital role in supporting a robust immune system and protecting cells from damage.
-
Caraway Seeds: Digestive Support
Often overlooked, caraway seeds are a wonderful addition that not only adds a unique flavor but also aids in digestion, making this slaw even more gut-friendly.
-
Raw Apple Cider Vinegar: A Multi-Benefit Liquid Gold
Raw, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar is renowned for its diverse health benefits. It can help reduce triglycerides (fats) and cholesterol in the blood, and may assist with insulin resistance by contributing to lower blood sugar levels.
-
Avocado Oil: Healthy Fats for Heart Health
This neutral-tasting oil is a healthy choice, rich in oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat that is beneficial for heart health and can help improve cholesterol profiles.
Phew! That’s an impressive list of health benefits, isn’t it? But here’s the best part: just as important as all those nutrients, Purple Power Slaw tastes absolutely delicious! Its crunchy texture, tangy dressing, and subtle sweetness make it a truly satisfying and enjoyable dish.
I promise not to always embark on such extensive nutritional “rants” (well, perhaps just tiny ones!), but my mind is currently overflowing with all this incredible knowledge. The sheer power of whole, healthy, natural food to nourish, energize, and heal our bodies is truly mind-blowing. This Purple Power Slaw is a perfect embodiment of that philosophy, bringing together simple ingredients to create something extraordinary for your health.
Guten Appetit!
* * * * *
Purple Power Slaw
Margaret Bose Johnson
Save to Pinterest
Ingredients
- 5 cups shredded red cabbage, lightly packed (about 500gms/1lb 2oz, or ½ of a medium-large head)
- ¼ of a medium red onion, very thinly sliced
- 2 large (350gms total) raw beets, peeled & shredded, about 2 cups lightly packed
- ¼ cup (40gms) raisins
- ¼ cup (40gms) raw sunflower seeds
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup (60ml) avocado oil
- ¼ cup (60ml) raw, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- To prepare your vegetables, first carefully cut the core out of the cabbage quarter. Then, finely shred the cabbage crosswise using a sharp knife. You should aim for approximately 5 cups of shredded cabbage, lightly packed. Next, slice the red onion as thinly as possible. For the beets, trim the ends, peel them with a vegetable peeler, and then shred them using the large holes of a box grater. This should yield about 2 cups of lightly packed shredded beets.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the prepared shredded cabbage, thinly sliced onion, and grated beets. Add the raisins, raw sunflower seeds, and caraway seeds to the bowl.
- Evenly sprinkle the salt and pepper over the ingredients in the bowl. Pour the avocado oil and raw apple cider vinegar over everything. Toss all the ingredients very thoroughly until the salt is completely dissolved and all components are well mixed and coated with the dressing.
- Taste the slaw and adjust the seasoning as needed. If you prefer a tangier flavor, add a little more apple cider vinegar. Add more salt or pepper to your preference.
- For an elegant touch, garnish the finished Purple Power Slaw with a few fresh baby beet leaves and a sprinkle of extra sunflower seeds, if desired.
- This recipe typically serves 6 to 8 people and yields approximately 6 cups of delicious Purple Power Slaw.
Notes
For a delightful sweet and crisp variation, consider adding a small shredded or diced apple to the slaw. It complements the existing flavors beautifully.
Feel free to customize this recipe to your taste! You can easily substitute the raisins with dried cranberries for a different kind of sweetness, or swap the sunflower seeds for any other nuts or seeds you enjoy, such as chopped walnuts or pumpkin seeds.
Nutrition
Want to receive new Kitchen Frau recipes directly to your email? Sign up here and you’ll get a handy and useful kitchen tip along with each recipe, too. (No spam ever.)
If you like my recipes, follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook. You’d make my day!
PIN IT HERE to save this incredibly healthy and vibrant recipe for later:
Full of healthy antioxidants, crunchy, flavorful, and easy to make, Purple Power Slaw is a jewel of a salad that also tastes fantastic!
You might also like these healthy salad recipes:
Shaved Brussels Sprout Slaw with Cranberries and Pumpkin Seeds
Asian Pear and Chicken Slaw
Purple Salad: A Touch of Color in a Winter White World
Beet and Fennel Salad
Charklis Chogi: Georgian Beets with Sour Cherries and Dill