I do not follow a specific diet but I do try to live by the principles of Weight Watchers – everything in moderation and portion control. I have cut back on carbs, sugar and fat and I have eliminated certain ingredients but there is a limit as to how far I will go. I’m happy that cabbage is healthy in probably just about every diet!
A keto diet is not for me as I know I never could follow it. I mean restrict carbohydrates especially found in pasta, rice and bread and of course sugar-laden foods. No problem with sweets but I enjoy pasta, rice and whole wheat bread occasionally. I have cut back for sure, but to eliminate them – I don’t think so!
Also, limiting fresh fruit (I basically have given up bananas – 27 g of carbs) and beans are some things I really enjoy eating. This diet also uses a lot of coconut products which I am not fond of. Wine is empty calories with no nutritional value. The calories are the first to burn (in the form of ethanol) because they are toxic to the bloodstream. This puts all other calories on hold, indirectly leading to fat storage. I learned something new!
A keto diet means strict low-carb and high-fat. This goes against my many years being a Lifetime Member of Weight Watcher’s. I do, however, have a number of keto recipes (without knowing it at first) on my blog!
Cabbage is high on the list of good vegetables to eat as well as any other vegetables that are grown above ground. This is good because I love cabbage in all forms from a slaw to Sauerkraut Apple Latkes to Stuffed Cabbage Rolls. I even bought one “Keto” cookbook, The Keto Reset Diet: Reboot your Metabolism in 21 Days and Burn Fat Forever” by Mark Sisson with Brad Kearns to understand this diet better.
The first 200 pages discuss this ketogenic diet which could represent a nutritional breakthrough and might be one of the healthiest and most effective weight-loss strategies ever. Following this lengthy introduction are over 100 low-carb, high-fat ketogenic recipes. I have noted a number of recipes and plan to try them, like his salad dressings.
Keto Asian Cabbage Stir-Fry
- 1-2/3 lbs. green cabbage (you will need a big head of cabbage)
- 4 tbsp. butter to stir-fry the cabbage and 1 tbsp. vegetable oil to saute the garlic, chili flakes and ginger
- 1 lb. ground beef (I used Laura’s all natural lean beef, 92% lean and 8% fat)
- 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced (to taste)
- 3 scallions (white and green) sliced (enough to garnish too)
- 1 tsp. chili flakes (to taste as chili flakes can differ in the heat level)
- 1/2 tbsp. fresh ginger, minced on a microplane
- 1 tbsp. sesame oil
- 1 cup mayonnaise (I used low fat or you could make your own Primal mayonnaise)
- 1 tbsp. wasabi paste – this added some wonderful flavor and I highly recommend
Shred the cabbage finely and stir-fry in 2-3 oz. butter in a wok over medium-high heat. Do not brown but it will take 5-10 minutes for the cabbage to soften.
Stir in the spices and vinegar; stir-fry for a few minutes and put the cabbage mixture in a bowl.
Add the tbsp. oil in the wok; heat and then the minced garlic, chili flakes and ginger; stir-fry for a few minutes. Add the ground beef and brown until the meat is thoroughly cooked and the liquid has evaporated.
Add scallions and cabbage mixture to the meat. Stir until everything is heated through. Adjust seasonings; garnish with the sesame seed oil before serving.
For the wasabi mayonnaise add a small amount of wasabi paste to the mayonnaise and add more to taste. The mayonnaise mixture is an important part of this recipe – do try it! Cleared out my sinuses!
Note 1 – April 14: Instead of adding the wasabi paste to the mayo which is added calories how about adding it to the dish itself? The wasabi (horseradish) flavor is really, really good!
Serve the cabbage stir-fry with a dollop (or two) of wasabi mayonnaise on top.
Recipe by cookingwithauntjuju.com
I do love cabbage 🥬! This sounds tasty but I’m not sure about the mayo on top :-). I was very surprised to read the other day that the Keto diet is actually meant for epileptics!
Cheers
Sherry
Thanks – I’m not into mayo much unless wasabi paste or sriracha is added to it. Nice pop of “hot” flavor. I may not care to be 100% keto but the diet does interest me and has some interesting facts about “food” and what it does to the body. I’m just not willing to give up some favorites 🙂
I’m not into all these fads diets, and don’t believe in eliminating certain food groups, but this dish looks tasty regardless! 🙂
I’m not into these fad diets either; keto or plant based or the grapefruit diet (my Dad gave me info about this diet many, many years ago – LOL). I believe in a balanced diet where I can eat anything as long as it is in moderation and I control my portions. This recipe is very good and the Asian twist made it delicious 🙂
So true! 🙂
I love cabbage now and I use it a lot. This year Im growing some too. This looks yummy, Judi!😃❤️
Thanks Mary – cabbage is a wonderful, healthy veggie. This is not a “typical” stir-fry as I know it but it was good – low carb and I didn’t use rice 🙂
Some recipes happen to fall into the description of some diets even when we are lot following them. The stir fry sounds good…I just can’t get my mind around the mayo. Although thinking about it, I would eat a burger if it had it on it. 🙂
This is not exactly like any Asian stir-fries I have made and I have a lot on my blog. The “Keto Diet” seems to be the “in thing” right now – I don’t know how as it is too restrictive. As always I enjoy researching new things and there are some good things about the diet. Plain mayo would not work but kick it up a notch with the wasabi (horseradish) and it gave the dish a nice little kick!
mmm. . . this looks wonderful. I really like the presentation. Just looking at the picture makes me hungry.
Thanks Sheryl – I love my cabbage dishes! A simple Asian stir-fry and no rice is needed. It’s very good on its own but the wasabi paste adds some extra flavor. I enjoyed looking into the diet many people are raving about…
Great cabbage recipe and one I will be giving a try. I love the thought of using wasabi paste.
I’m with you when it comes to carbs. Not willing to surrender them, don’t mind reducing them. But I sure don’t wish to surrender them.
I’ve struggled with weight my entire life and tried many diets. In the end, for me, it’s watching calories and portion control.
I love cabbage and wasabi paste/horseradish. I never mind a little “heat” to my food. I was curious about this Keto diet and like you I have cut back on carbs but to give them up – I don’t think so! I enjoy pasta, pizza, rice and potatoes too much! Too bad some fruit has to be so high in carbs but I eat them in moderation 🙂
Hi Aunt Juju! Tommy and I made this dish the other night–it did not disappoint! We loved the kick the wasabi mayo added. I will be adding this to my dinner rotation! Thank you for sharing your gift and it was so nice to meet you over zoom the other day! 🙂
-Alex
Hey Alex – I’m glad you and Tommy tried it. It’s simple and healthy – I love wasabi paste too – it gives an extra “zip” to the recipe. It was fun meeting and talking to you last Sunday – hope to see you again. Thanks for commenting and your feedback 🙂