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Red Cabbage: Healthy on (and for) a Budget

by Elisa Lipton | Aug 1, 2012

For a time. when I was new to Honolulu and trying to make ends meet without panicking over grocery sticker shock, I worked as local personal assistant to Dr. Patricia Bragg, Naturopath, “living green” pioneer, and CEO of Bragg’s Health Foods. En route to one of our many thrift store adventures, and wondering what I could afford to eat for dinner that night, I asked, “Dr. Bragg, if you could bring only one vegetable on a desert island, what would it be and why?”

“Well, Dear, red cabbage!” Dr. Bragg immediately replied. “It’s full of antioxidants, phytonutrients that fight cancer. And, oh boy–and fiber! You can make salads, steam it, put it in a bean stew.”

So, there I had it. And at $1.49/ lb. at local farmer’s markets and $1.99 at the grocery store, red cabbage is a deal.

If you have the budget for more than red cabbage (I hope you do!), I recommend shopping Chinatown for cheap fresh produce. However, for guaranteed local produce at a comparably low price, check out Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation sponsored farmers’ markets. Kailua’s, on Thursday evenings, works both as shopping trip and social hour; I invite friends to meet me there in lieu of going out for pricey happy hours. Plus, you just never know who you may bump into over organic greens, Dear.

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