Healthy Vegan Unstuffed Red Cabbage Rolls

The week I went for a Ukrainian inspired feast, was a magical week indeed.

I was craving hearty, healthy, flavourful Ukrainian food, so here we are. Vegan unstuffed cabbage rolls along with some breakfast ideas, snack ideas, and an easy dinner idea to last you the week.

I think what triggered my cravings was going to this incredible Ukrainian restaurant in New Westminster, BC. It’s called Kozak Ukrainian Eatery.

They have incredible vegan options and everything is made in-house! The only downside is that the sour cream is just vegetarian, we forgot to ask for them to not bother with it.

PXL_20210313_035634756.jpg

My Meal Planning Method.

I suggest doing your main cooked meal at the beginning of the week for your meal prep. This way, your big cooking day is done. I highly suggest that you meal prep your lunch for the rest of the week at the beginning of the week. This way all you have to do is warm up your vegan unstuffed red cabbage rolls for lunch.

Vegan unstuffed cabbage rolls

Vegan Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls

Then I suggest taking what people usually would consider a lunch item and eating that for dinner!

For instance, making a sandwich for dinner means less cooking and less clean-up. As well, sandwiches and salads taste a million times better when they’re made fresh. Hence for this week, I take a Ukrainian/ Polish inspiration for an insanely tasty sandwich you can assemble each night in minutes.

Let’s get into it!

Lunch

As always, my lunch course is the biggest thing that I meal prep at the beginning of the week. This week, it is…

Vegan Unstuffed Red Cabbage Rolls!

As red cabbage seems to be far more nutrient-dense than its light green counterpart, I opted for that option this time around.

  • One medium to large red cabbage

  • Two cans of lentils (BPA free and ideally low sodium)

  • Two beyond meat sausages (optional, can include mushrooms instead)

  • One medium sweet onion, diced

  • Two garlic cloves, minced

  • 1/4 cup maple syrup

  • 1-2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

  • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

  • A healthy pinch of salt

  • 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce

  • One can diced tomatoes, drain liquid but keep the liquid on the side.

  • One bunch parsley

  • 2 -3 cups brown rice

  • Vegan sour cream (store-bought, or you can make your cashew cream!)

  • Vegan Sauerkraut

How to make vegan unstuffed cabbage rolls:

  1. Sautee onions and garlic until the onions are translucent.

  2. Add in the drained tomatoes, maple syrup, vinegar, red cabbage, and a healthy pinch of salt. Cook the red cabbage in the pot mixed with all these items for about 15-20 minutes.

  3. If using the beyond sausage, push the vegan meat out of the casing and crumble it into small pieces. Throw it in the pot along with the two cans of rinsed lentils.

  4. According to your taste, add in some of the leftover tomato liquid from the drained canned tomatoes. Continue to cook the mixture on medium heat for about 15 more minutes.

  5. During this time, cook your rice according to the package instructions.

  6. Chop a bunch of parsley and store it in Tupperware in your fridge.

  7. Have some store-bought vegan sour cream ready to go as well as sauerkraut.

  8. Serve on rice, topped with sour cream and parsley! Enjoy!

Easy Snack Ideas:

  • Dried apple chips

  • Dried mangos (no sugar added)

  • A small vinaigrette salad with nuts and dried cranberries on top

Easy Dinner Option

Vegan Ukrainian Open-Faced Sandwich

Ingredients:

  • Rye or whole wheat bread

  • 1 package of sliced vegan ham

  • 1 cucumber, sliced

  • 3 medium tomatoes, sliced

  • Half a block of firm tofu

  • 5 Tbsp Mayo

  • 4 Tbsp Dijon

  • 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

  • Salt and Black Salt to taste

  • Green onion, sliced

  • Vegan Cheese, Optional

  • Pickles, Optional

Directions:

  1. In a food processor, mix half a block of tofu, mayonnaise, mustard, salt, apple cider vinegar, and black salt until smooth. Store in a separate container in the fridge for the week. Make more according to your needs.

  2. Toast bread of choice.

  3. Spread vegan butter on one piece of bread and vegan butter lightly on the other piece of bread.

  4. Add your vegan ham slice.

  5. Add sliced cucumbers, vegan cheese, and a tomato slice.

  6. Add a dollop of the tofu egg blend on top.

  7. Garnish with chopped green onion and pickles.

  8. Crack some fresh black pepper.

  9. Top your sandwich and enjoy!

Ukrainian Inspired Vegan Unstuffed Red Cabbage Rolls and Open-Faced Sandwich

I hope you enjoy these recipe ideas that are inspired by Ukraine!

Personally, I’ve been loving whipping up extremely simple sandwiches for dinner that packs a tonne of flavor. I’m all about making things as easy as possible.

I’m not a big fan of cooking a million different things at the beginning of the week, hence this method where I just prepare lunches for the rest of the week is really working for me.

As a pro-tip, there are lots of extremely cheap vegan-friendly perogy options at most regular grocery stores!

So if you need a perogy fix, I highly recommend just grabbing a bag of $3 potato stuffed perogies! Add vegan sour cream, some sauteed onion, chopped green onion, and call yourself a chef.

Meal Prep Ideas, The TalesAlly Fellas