Egg Roll Bowl
If you’re a busy parent who’s hellbent on serving your children the healthiest, organically grown, nutrient-rich food… yet you’re floundering when it comes to making your own healthy meals, you’ll find so much value in this recipe.
Now, I know cabbage isn’t the sexiest vegetable, but it is beautifully practical. It rivals kale in health benefits, and it absorbs flavor like no other Brassica. Whether your goal is to find more healthy meals for your family, to get in the habit of simple meal prep, or to begin a lasting weight loss journey, this recipe is a refreshing place to start. Refreshing because this cabbage-filled recipe is:
- filling and satisfying, yet it doesn’t leave you feeling overly full.
- like a classic black top: you can dress this dish up or down by altering the toppings, base, or both.
- incredibly satiating; it contains the perfect combination of sweet, salty and astringent flavors to leave your taste buds happy until your next meal.
I’m going to step away from the cabbage for a moment, and share the following with you only because most of the women I know, myself included, have struggled with their relationship with food and/or their bodies at some point in their life (or know someone who has).
When women reach out to me about weight loss, postpartum health or a strong desire to make lasting nutritional shifts, two particular aspects are completely overlooked and underrated: awareness and satiation,
and the two go hand in hand. On a physical level, satiation prevents the discomfort of over-eating, mindless post-meal grazing, and cravings that distract you from your wellness goals. Satiation, the sense of satisfaction during and after a meal, happens when nourish our bodies with combinations of food that satisfy both our palate and our stomach. When we are satiated and feel like we received just enough, we are more likely to give our bodies a break between meals. Not only does this signal our nervous system to “rest and digest,” but it also facilitates healthy weight management/loss. Satiation gives us the opportunity to get to know our bodies again, to pay attention to true hunger signals, and to step back and remember what it feels like to be content with what is in this moment.
In my experience, it’s not one particular diet or food trend (gluten-free, dairy-free, veganism, paleo, raw, etc) that brings lasting change to one’s body and one’s life. It’s the awareness of what your unique body needs. It’s flexing our muscles of patience, when we’d rather take the quick, easy, fleeting path. It’s learning to listen to our bodies. It’s trusting the wisdom within.
…and this “cabbage” recipe will empower you to learn all of this, lose the weight and transform into an intuitive Supermom?
No. But, it will open the doors to satiation… and you have the option to walk through, giving yourself space to release patterns that no longer serve you. The satiation sensation grants you the space to pause just long enough for your mind to witness the “why” of particular desires, cravings and eating patterns. If you choose to open up to this awareness, whether you want to call it intuitive eating, mindfulness or simply “watching,” know that you will also give your hard working body the opportunity to rest and absorb all the goodness within your meal. In our impossibly fast, high-stress world, rest is an invaluable gift.
Maybe you want to call bullshit, maybe this is striking a cord in your heart. Either way, I’ll let you in on one simple mindfulness exercise that keeps me from (continuing to) mindlessly snack. When I find myself grazing through the late afternoon or mindlessly searching for something more after dinner, I ask myself one question: why? Why am I searching? Why do I want more (food)? Why do I want this particular snack? What am I actually feeling? Not always, but on many occasions, I discover that I’m actually bored, under prepared or dissatisfied. Sometimes that dissatisfaction is as simple as: I didn’t have enough fat in my last meal… and sometimes (the ugly, I-don’t-really-want-to-admit-this truth) dissatisfaction is rooted in an aspect of my life that needs attention, healing or release.
Whether or not you’re in the same boat, I challenge you to ask the question next time you notice yourself 
scooping up a handful of mixed nuts, mid-stride. You might be surprised by your answer, and if you’re open, that answer could lead you down a path toward a healthier, more mindful and more joy-filled way of eating. My hope for every woman working toward any goal, from baby-weight-loss to finding a purpose-filled career is that, as she works toward her goal, her strides bring her presence, joy and nourishment throughout her entire being.
Alright, let’s dig into these Egg Roll Bowls!*
*Inspired by Clean Eating Magazine
SERVING: 8+ (servings increase when you use one of the base options)
INGREDIENTS
2T sesame oil / olive oil
1lb ground pork
3T pure maple syrup
3T tamari
Pinch ground black pepper
1 large white onion, thinly sliced
1/4 head red or green cabbage, thinly sliced
1/2 head red cabbage, thinly sliced
4T peeled and minced ginger
5 cloves garlic, pressed
5 carrots, grated
GARNISH:
1 bunch green onion, chopped (divided)
2C Cashews (divided)
BASE OPTIONS
Serve over brown rice, egg noodles or a bed of spinach
DIRECTIONS
- In a large skillet on medium-high, heat oil. Add pork and sear until browned, stirring frequently. Approx. 5-7 minutes.
- In a small bowl, whisk together maple syrum, tamari and black pepper. Pour over pork and stir to coat. Add onion and saute until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add cabbages, ginger and garlic and saute until fragrant, about 7 minutes. Stir in carrots and heat through, about 1 minute.
- Divide among bowls and top with green onion and cashews. Serve over brown rice, egg noodles or a bed of spinach… or enjoy as is.
MAKE IT LAST
- While this recipe stands on its own, without a base, I prefer a smaller serving with a heap of baby spinach, 1/4C noodles and 1/4C cashews.
- I also divide half of each batch into single-serving containers (without extra toppings or the base) and freeze for future use.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Leave a comment below, sharing what your favorite combo is! What toppings and base(s) do you love?
