Cabbage Rolls in Tomato Sauce

Day 2 without fruit and nuts.. I've been pretty hungry these past 2 days and started noticing how often I actually ate fruits and nuts. I already incorporated more protein in all of my meals, but I still get hungry in between. So after my workout tonight, I'm going to do some more cooking for the next few days to make sure I won't reach for the fruits and nuts. Maybe I should add some more fat to my meals and snacks?
I haven't been getting any cravings for fruits and nuts though, so that's a good thing! And my energy levels are very stable and seem to be higher all day long :D This is definitely going to work for me!

Had cabbage rolls for dinner tonight, and they worked out pretty well! The biggest challenge was to get the cabbage leaves off in 1 piece, which took quite some work. (I ended up boiling the whole cabbage, which made pulling the leaves off much easier, but after a few layers I had to repeat the whole process..)
All in all, I'm very satisfied with the result! Next time, I'm going to make them Asian style.

     

This recipe will probably make slightly more beef mixture than you can use to fill your cabbage rolls. Simply heat some oil in a frying pan and fry the leftover beef mixture, add 2 eggs and a chopped tomato and fry until cooked. Makes a great breakfast!

Cabbage Rolls in Tomato Sauce (serves 4)
- 12 cabbage leaves
- 500g ground beef
- 1 egg
- 3 cups purslane (or spinach), roughly chopped
- 1 green paprika/pepper, finely chopped
- 3 spring onions, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tsp paprika powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 3 tbsp thyme
- 1 tbsp oregano
- ground black pepper
- 1 can chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius, fan heated (otherwise put it to 200 degrees Celsius)
2. Boil the cabbage leaves for 3-4 minutes, until soft enough to make rolls without cracking them.
3. In a large bowl, mix ground beef, egg, purslane, paprika, spring onions, garlic, paprika powder, cumin, 1 tbsp thyme, oregano and some black pepper. Stir well.
4. Drop about 1/4 cup of the mixture into each cabbage leaf, fold the sides over and roll them up.
5. Put the rolls into an oven dish and divide the chopped tomatoes, olive oil, some black pepper and 2 tbsp thyme over them.
6. Cover the dish with aluminium foil and bake for approx. 45 minutes until done. Enjoy!