Every Friday, I post a photo sent in by a reader and offer feedback and comments on the meal. This is YOUR CHANCE to have your meals critiqued by a real live nutritionist. If you’d like to participate, email your photo to feedbackfriday@maryvancenc.com with a description of your meal. I’ll choose a new one each week, so make sure to check back every Friday to see if your meal was selected! Follow me on facebook for more details and reminders.
Now, on to the fun stuff. This week, reader Kayron B. sends her beautiful dinner:
MY FEEDBACK
This looks awesome. They’re cute little cabbage wraps! I need to start requesting recipes to go along with the photos, LOL. This is a grain, dairy and gluten free meal. My first comment is that it looks like the cabbage leaves are steamed or cooked, which is great. Raw cabbage (and any raw cruciferous) contains goitrogenic compounds that can suppress thyroid function. Cooking deactivates the goitrogens. Raw cabbage, kale and broccoli can also cause digestive upset, so good on you for cooking your cabbage, Kayron.
There’s not much to pick on here. This meal has a good protein source, organic pork, (albeit pork is not particularly rich in beneficial fatty acids like grass fed beef, lamb and salmon) and a good mix of veggies and spices. From a culinary perspective, I would suggest using lime instead of the OJ and even cilantro too. Cilantro chelates heavy metals from the body. The only other thing I could pick on is the Sriracha. Now, don’t get me wrong. I LOVE Sriracha, but the chemical preservatives potassium sorbate, sodium bisulfite bum me out. That’s why Nom Nom Paleo created a natural, preservative-free Sriracha. Shazam!
Mary Vance is a Certified Nutrition Consultant and author specializing in digestive health. She combines a science-based approach with natural therapies to rebalance the body. In addition to her 1:1 coaching, she offers courses to help you heal your gut and improve your health. Mary lives in San Francisco and Lake Tahoe in Northern California. Read more about her coaching practice here and her background here.
Thanks for the comments. The cabbage was raw…..the crunch is awesome, but didn’t realize that raw cabbage was not good. I’ll send the recipe to you. Thanks for the input! Yes, Sriracha is a weakness of mine.
probably fine occasionally UNLESS you already have hypothyroid issues and as long as it doesn’t cause gas/bloating. But best not to make it a regular occurrence!
So, for a cooked cabbage leaf…..how long to steam them? Is it possible for a light steam where they still have a little crunch and not soft and mushy? For this dish, I would still want something to be firm enough up to being able to hold the meat mixture. Thoughts?
And, THANK YOU for the homemade version of the Sriracha Sauce!!! That is awesome!
sure, lightly steaming would be fine so there is still crunch.