Cole Slaw - The Reality Check

Red cabbage: It's just so pretty!

There's over 250 calories in a medium head of cabbage. Who knew!? Not me. I thought it was all fiber and water and had negative calories. I was wrong. Then while figuring out the calorie count for my supposed "healthier" cole slaw recipe I learned the truth. I was sad. 

Red cabbage does have a lot of vitamins water and fiber. It's filled with vitamins C, beta carotene, and K to name a few, plus some wonderful antioxidants. Besides, who can eat a whole head of cabbage anyway? Well... I could, but that's besides the point.

In all seriousness it is 4th of July weekend and just about everyone I know has plans to barbecue at some point. Cole slaw is a wonderful and traditional side dish for barbecues. It is also extremely fattening. It's loaded with mayonaise which is one of my favorite substances on the planet. I love mayo. I love coleslaw.

I had to do something. I really wanted a mayonaise cole slaw. So I made the following compromise with myself. I simply switched to light mayonaise. It isn't as low calorie as it could be, but it isn't too horrible either.

The Recipe - Serves 5 (~1 cup each)
Ingredients
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 head of shredded red cole slaw
1/2 cup of light mayonaise (I use the 35calorie Hellmans)
1 tbsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste ( I tend to omit salt because the mayo is salty)

Method
Mix it all in a bowl until the mayonaise is well incorporated.  Give it enough time for the ingredients to set in the refrigerator, about 1/2 hour, or don't if time doesn't permit.

Calories per serving approximately 120. If I used full fat mayonaise it would be approximately 210 calories per serving. It still isn't the most low calorie side dish, but it's still delicious and I call saving approximately 90 calories a serving a bargain.