Cabbage Salad

For the longest time, I never thought I cared for eating raw cabbage. My only real experience with it had been traditional coleslaw, which I am don't care for. I have a problem with most mayonnaise based salads. So imagine my surprise when I went to a function a couple of years ago and found a German style coleslaw on the sideboard. German style coleslaw is basically sliced cabbage in a vinaigrette... there is no mayonnaise involved! Just my thing. What I found was that the cabbage is so nice and crispy and often actually quite sweet. I was sold!

This salad makes a lovely side dish and cabbage is very healthy for you! A cup of shredded, raw cabbage has only 22 calories and is chock full of dietary fiber, vitamins C and K, and a wide variety of other vitamins and minerals. While you can dress is ahead of time, I like it best freshly dressed... I like it when the cabbage is at its crispiest. 

The salad shown above was very quick to make. I shredded the cabbage myself, but you could always use the pre-cut stuff. I added some shredded carrot and some Craisins. I then dressed it with my poppy seed vinaigrette. So easy and delicious... and, oh, so beautiful!