Cabbage Vs Corned Beef:

The Meat Is No Match In Nutrition Contest

By Kendra Bobowick

Cabbage and corned beef are as inseparable as green beer and its frosty mug on St Patrick’s Day.

Irish tradition fills the dinner table with tender slices of meat that send salty aromas into the air, but healthy habits encourage revelers to slice into succulent green leaves instead.

Nutritionist Elizabeth Lenkowski at New Morning Natural & Organic Foods in Woodbury advises against a diet rich in red meats.

“Corned beef is not so great,” she said, also explaining that meat has its downsides. Meats have fat and cholesterol and lack beneficial contents of fruits and vegetables, she said.

The St. Patrick’s Day spread has some redeeming ingredients, however.

“Cabbage is good for a lot of reasons,” Ms Lenkowski said. The leafy green vegetable has cruciferous values, meaning its properties induce a strong cancer-fighting response in the human body, based on information found on Nutritionhorizon.com.

Ms Lenkowski agreed that cabbage, among other green vegetables, is rich in anticancer chemicals.

However, she warns against cabbage for those using blood thinners. “Certain vitamins in cabbage act as anticoagulants,” she said.

Cabbage offers another health benefit, like its cousins kale and spinach: “It’s high in fiber and provides certain benefits not found in processed foods,” she said.

Offering some general dietary advice Ms Lenkowski suggests increasing fiber, which can be found in fruits and vegetables, and keeping the intake of red meat to a maximum of two times a week.

Although cabbage is high on her good foods list its preparation also has much to do with the nutritional value. She offers a reminder that boiling or deep cooking vegetables drains them of vitamins and nutrients.

New Morning Natural & Organic Foods chef Carol Byer-Alcorace recommends recipe ideas for corned-beef alternatives that she finds successful: marinated and baked tofu or tempeh. Tempeh is a fermented grain variety, often soy, that can fill the dish rather than corned beef.

For those seeking a substitute she said, “It has a texture like ground beef and can be marinated and baked.” She indicates this alternative for those vegetarians who are not ready to switch to a completely unknown food.

“They want the right texture in their mouth,” she said. Tempeh also can be used to make a Reuben sandwich.

She notes another traditional Irish dish, colcannon, one of the store’s best sellers. It is a potato and cabbage mixture with sautéed onions flavored with Caraway seeds.

“Delicious,” she said.

Danbury Hospital Dietician Mary Lou Viola provides further perspective.

Cabbage, carrots, and potatoes can all be cooked without fat, she said, but the corned beef is full of calories, fat, and sodium.

Listing the data she said 3.5 ounces of corned beef, the approximate size of a deck of cards, contains 250 calories, 19 grams of fat, and 1100 milligrams of sodium. She said turkey-pastrami would help reduce those numbers to 7 grams of fat and 160 calories. Another helpful cooking tip, Ms Viola said, “Cook the cabbage and vegetables separate and cook the beef alone to avoid the salt.” She also said that soaking the meat overnight in water would help leach away some salt content.

Corned beef never makes the shopping cart for some.

Nancy Crevier has not eaten meat in more than 20 years.

Although her plate will not include corned beef on St Patrick’s Day, she is not interested in alternatives. “Meat substitutes are just not very good,” she said. She dislikes eating animals and additionally refuses imitations.

“I don’t want anything that pretends to be meat,” she said. Tastes and textures of would-be meats “are just not good and not necessary.”

Explaining her literal distaste for look-alike meat products, she said, “If you choose not to eat meat, you will look for a nutritional substitute rather than a meat substitute.”

Also enjoying a meat-free diet is Caroline Korth. Despite her heritage, she encounters little complication on St Patrick’s Day.

“I am Irish, and I don’t eat corned beef, but I cook it,” she said. Other family members enjoy the traditional meal. Her decisions to follow vegetarian eating habits stemmed from personal concerns.

“Red meat doesn’t come into it when you’re thinking about your health,” she said. To fill her plate she uses a lot of soy.

For St Patrick’s Day she said she will enjoy the side dishes, vegetables, and possibly cook some rice to complete the meal. Her cooking habits include many soy recipes, mixed with spices and prepared in soups and pastas. She also will sauté tofu in spices, she said.

Making the switch to a meat-free routine was not difficult for Ms Korth, but presents some challenges.

“It’s not a big deal, but I have a family, and sometimes it’s hard,” she said, explaining that one of her children especially enjoys red meat.

The traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner has practical origins, explained Ancient Order of Hibernians Waterbury Chapter President Frances Doolan.

“Corned beef was probably used because it was the cheapest piece of meat you could get,” he said. Historically, before corned beef was the primary St. Patrick’s Day fare, he said, “Any meat that was left over and good was thrown into the pickling vat.” In fact, corned beef is the Americanized version of the St Patrick’s Day menu. Lamb is used in Ireland, he said.

Complementing the corned beef is often the traditional soda bread and cabbage. Mr Doolan surmises that cabbage “could be easily grown,” and prepared in various ways.

Washing down the traditional meals is often the green-tinted mug of beer.