The main ingredient in Baked Armpit

When Mr. Jelly Belly made his hilarious (to him) comment about my dinner smelling like baked armpit, I wasn’t offended. That vegetable-hating carnivore has no idea what he’s missing. Not only in taste (of which he has none) but in some awesome cancer-fighting nutrients.

The mystery ingredient? Cabbage! It’s my obsession of the moment. I was reading about someone loving a dish of fried (in coconut oil) cabbage and onions, so I thought I’d try it. Eh. It wasn’t so thrilling. Not nearly as good as my fried red cabbage with apples, a little Splenda brown sugar and a splash of apple cider vinegar. Now THAT’S delicious. Especially with pork.

But, anyway, this prompted me to try baking the chopped cabbage and onions, topped with a can of diced chili-flavored tomatoes. I think the tomatoes were where the armpit smell came in. Cumin, probably. I piled it in an 8 x 8 baking dish, covered it, and baked it for about 45 minutes or so and it was So Good. Especially when I threw a blob of fat-free sour cream on top. That quarter of a head of cabbage, half of an onion and one can of tomatoes made two really cheap and filling meals for me. I will probably further experiment with adding some chicken or beans, but I’m in no rush.

I’ve always loved sauerkraut and coleslaw (Calorie-reducing tip: Drain your deli-bought coleslaw in a colander; it removes a lot of the calories, but the flavor is already marinated into the cabbage, so it still tastes delicious), but plain, old cabbage? Not usually. Unless it was rolled around some beef and rice and topped with tomato sauce.

So while I’m surprised to be so in love with cabbage, I was even more surprised to find out how good it is for you. It’s one of those cruciferous vegetables that we talked about in an earlier post (broccoli, brussel sprouts, kale, cauliflower, radishes, bok choy etc.) that contain phytonutrients shown to significantly reduce the risk of some cancers, including breast, prostate, ovarian and bladder. Cabbage, specifically, was linked to a lowered risk of cancers of the stomach, colon and lungs.

Cabbage is an excellent source of vitamin C. It is also a very good source of fiber, manganese, folate, vitamin B6, potassium, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Interestingly, red cabbage is actually better for you than white and may be helpful in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. And, not surprisingly, organically grown cabbage has a higher level of phytonutrients than those that are conventionally grown.

But here’s the bad news: To get the most benefit from all cruciferous vegetables, they should be steamed lightly and not overcooked. So much for my Baked Armpit. It can, however, be lightly sautéed for 10-15 minutes (and sauerkraut is considered to be “lightly cooked”).

The other bad news is that RAW cruciferous vegetables contain goitrogens, naturally occurring substances that may or may not mess with your thyroid function – if you already have a thyroid disorder. The research is not clear as to whether or not cooking the vegetables decreases the risk, or exactly how big the risk really is. If you have a known thyroid condition, you might want to research that a little further. Or cook the bejeezus out of your cabbage. I guess for us thyroid people, we need to decide whether to go for the proven cancer benefit or the possible thyroid benefit.

But the good news is you only need 3 to 5 servings per week (less than one serving per day) of cruciferous vegetables to lower your risk of cancer.

And I don’t think that sounds all too difficult.