A Jewish staple, stuffed cabbage is a delicate, melt-in-your-mouth pocket full of goodness that's loaded with equally as sinful calories. Whenever Rich and I go to Zan's Kosher Deli in Lake Grove, NY we share this fantastic meal. My mother gave me her old Vermont Cookbook - a collection of recipes that belonged to the women of Ohave Zedek Synagogue and I decided to take one of their Stuffed Cabbage recipes and reduce it! A recipe redux! Keep in mind this was my very first attempt - even though it tasted amazing, next time I plan to tweak some things.

What's your favorite cultural food? How can it be tweaked to make it healthier?

Healthy Stuffed Cabbage

Prep time: 20 min. - cook time: 50-60 min.- makes 6 servings

Filling:

1 lb. Ground meat (I used 85% fat-free natural) 1 whole egg 1 medium grated yellow onion 1/4 cup oat flour (if you don't have oat flour, you can grind oats in a blender) 2 tablespoons artificial sweetener (I used Nectresse) 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 2 tablespoons lemon juice

In a large bowl combine all ingredients.

Cabbage:

Place a head of cabbage in pot (remove core). Fill with hot water and cook for 10 minutes; drain. Pour cold water over cabbage; drain. Remove leaves. Fill and fold each leaf like an envelope. Then prepare sauce.

Sauce:

1 cup  tomato sauce 1 chopped yellow onion 2 tablespoons artificial sweetener (I used Nectresse) 1/4 cup lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon sea salt dash of pepper 1/2 cup raisins 3/4 cup water (to cover)

Cook together in a heavy pan for 5 minutes. Place cabbage envelopes in sauce. If envelopes are not covered, add the rest of the can of tomato sauce. Cook, covered, for 30 minutes on medium/high heat. Reduce heat; simmer for 20 minutes longer. Bake in oven at 250 degrees, uncovered, until brown.

Nutrition Facts provided by nutritiondata.com Nutrition per serving: Calories: 279, Total Fats: 13 g, Saturated Fat: 5 g, Trans Fat: 1 g, Cholesterol: 86 mg, Sodium: 676 mg, Total Carbohydrates: 23 g, Dietary Fiber: 4 g, Sugars: 10 g, Protein: 19 g, Iron: 2.9 mg