Now that Kevin and I are on a health kick (and by health kick I mean we’ve successfully gone two full days without an abundance of dairy and carbs) I’ve been searching for good-for-you yet appealing dinner recipes. Now, if I were cooking just for me, that wouldn’t be a problem but if Kevin so much as even assumes the recipe isn’t heavily loaded with “Me a man, me need meat” protein, he won’t even consider it.

So here I am. I need healthy dish and one that’s full of meat. I’ve done stuffed peppers. I’ve done wraps. I look in the fridge and there it is. An organic head of cabbage staring me in the face. Viola. Stuffed cabbage rolls.

I looked through a few recipes, and for this most part, the ingredients and  for this polish dish (Gołąbki or Galumpkis) were very similar. I did see you can make this in a slow cooker as well. Here is the recipe I whipped together, adapted from Whole Eats and Whole Treats, using her great aunt’s cookbook.

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Ingredients
1 Head cabbage
1 pound ground beef (I used ground turkey, health kick remember?!)
1 chopped onion
½ cup uncooked brown rice (or quinoa)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (2 tsp dried)
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 egg
1 can plain tomato sauce
1 cup canned tomato chunks
1/2 cup grated Colby cheese, optional

Boil one large pot of water (the pot will need to be big enough to fit your head of cabbage.) Once boiling, add your head of cabbage and continue boiling for about 25 minutes. Carefully remove and let cool for 5-10 minutes so you are able to handle.

While you are working the cabbage, brown the beef and onion. In a bowl, mix the rice, salt, pepper, parsley and egg.

When your mixture is ready and your cabbage has cooled, carefully remove 10-15 leaves. Using a knife, cut out the thickest stalk part of the center rib from each leaf, about 1 to 2 inches. It will look as though you cut out a “V” from each leaf. Divide the meat mixture between the leaves and roll up, tucking in the ends so the filling stays put. Place the rolls in a greased casserole dish.

Pour the tomato sauce and tomato chunks over the rolls. Cover with either a lid or tin foil and bake at 350 for about an hour and a half. If adding cheese, remove foil and sprinkle on top and place back in the oven for an additional five minutes. Let set a few minutes before serving.

I’m not sure what they drink in Poland, but pair this with your favorite red and you’ll be all set. Enjoy!