I was inspired to create this recipe to honour my dear Grandmother Anne and our annual Ukrainian Christmas celebration, which took place in her basement every January. This is a modern take on the traditional cabbage roll recipe. As you may already know, Cabbage Rolls are simply cabbage stuffed with tomatoes, ground beef, spices and rice. This version is “lazy” in that they are not in “roll” form. However, this makes for a great dinner that you can prep quickly. I must say that it tastes much better on day 2, once the flavours have come together.

This recipe is: dairy free, gluten-free, with no refined sugar. It is a nutrient-dense, high in protein meal that is also low on the glycemic index.  It’s the perfect meal to balance your blood sugar levels, which is essential for weight loss.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1/2 head of green cabbage, chopped (core removed)
1 lb of lean ground beef
1 tbsp of Ghee or Coconut Oil
1/2 of an onion
1 tsp of sea salt
2 tsp of caraway seeds
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp of coconut sugar
1.5 cans of diced tomatoes
Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
1 tbsp of Dried Thyme
1/4 cup of Chicken or Vegetable Broth/Stock (for flavour)
3-4 tbsp of fresh dill, chopped (topping)
Additional Sea Salt & Pepper to taste
Brown Rice, (1-2 cups)

Instructions:

Brown rice:
Prepare the brown rice in either a rice cooker or on the stove. Start the rice at least 20 minutes prior to the beef/cabbage mixture so that it is ready on time.

Cabbage/Beef mixture:
1. Heat a deep pan on medium heat and add Ghee or Coconut Oil. Once melted, add in ground beef. Saute for a few minutes. Add in the onion and garlic.
2. Continue to cook until meat is browned. Feel free to drain some of the fat/oil.
3. Add in chopped cabbage and diced tomatoes. Combine everything together well.
4. Add in sea salt, caraway seeds, cayenne pepper, thyme and coconut sugar.
5. Once the juices have started to evaporate, slowly add in broth. Continue to stir. Cook until the cabbage has softened. The longer this cooks, the better! Feel free to turn the heat down and let it simmer.
6. Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Note that the flavours will improve over time so try not to add too much salt.
7. Add in brown rice.
8. Top mixture with fresh dill.
9. Place mixture on plates and top with full fat sour cream (optional).

Note: If you want to keep this low carb, then you can simply eliminate the brown rice. 

Feel free to leave a comment below regarding this recipe 🙂