All About Food! Celebrating National Nutrition Month

March is National Nutrition Month! YWCA Minneapolis' proven Early Childhood Education nutrition programs focus on whole grains, whole foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, along with ethnically diverse foods that support optimal health and energy. We also structure our menus to minimize sodium, sugar, saturated fats, food dyes and artificial ingredients whenever possible to provide the healthiest nutrition for children.To promote healthy eating throughout our Early Childhood Education programs, we incorporate lessons about food (like how it grows and what it does for our health) in our classrooms and create a monthly nutrition newsletter for parents and caregivers. Each newsletter includes food of the month, like pumpkins or beets, a couple cooking/nutrition tips and a delicious recipe. To celebrate National Nutrition Month, we are sharing content from the latest issue. Enjoy!

Food of the Month – Cabbage aka Brassica oleracea

• As you can see in the photo, there are many different varieties of cabbage including leafy green, red (purple), savoy and napa cabbages among others.
• Cabbage is a good source of vitamin K (helps your blood clot), vitamin C (healthy skin and good function of your bones) and insoluble (non-absorbing) fiber which improves digestion.
• It can be eaten raw, steamed and even stewed, sautéed and pickled (making dishes like sauerkraut or kimchi).

Stir-Fried Cabbage Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 head medium-sized Napa Cabbage (2 lbs)
• ¼ cup sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons minced ginger root
• ¼ cup sweet chili sauce
• 5 cloves minced garlic or 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• ½ teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups shredded carrots

Directions:

1. First, chop cabbage in half lengthwise; then chop each half into long strips.
2. Then chop cabbage into 1/2 inch pieces. (It may look like quite a bit, but it will shrink once cooked.)
3. Shred carrots in a food processor or cheese grater.
4. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
5. Add cabbage, salt, black pepper, garlic, ginger root; Stir constantly for 5-6 minutes (until cabbage is tender).
6.  The cabbage will also start to shrink at this point because it's losing its water content.
7. Stir in sweet chili sauce and soy sauce. Drain excess liquid and serve while still warm.

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