I'm a big cabbage fan. Can't say I was a big cabbage fan growing up, but over the past ten years, I've grown to love all varieties of this incredibly nutritious vegetable beloging to the Brassicaceae family. Closely related to broccoli and Brussels sprouts, there are plenty of good reasons to eat this fiber-full food.

You can steam, roast and pickle cabbage, too (check out this pickling recipe).  I made this crispy salad using raw cabbage. Because green cabbage can be a little tough to chew, I prefer to chop my cabbage up as finely as possible.

Of the many reasons why I love this salad, here are a few of my favorites. This salad is anything but dead calories. Loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber, it's the perfect summer (or anytime) salad.

• Green Cabbage contain lots of vitamin K to boost bone health, vitamin C for your immune system and glucotropaeolin to help fight cancer. It's also worth noting that cabbage juice has long since been touted as a great remedy for peptic ulcers.
• Carrots contain lots of vitamin A to help your vision, potassium to reduce high blood pressure and stress, fiber to help remove toxins from your body.
• Green Onions contain a compound called allyl sulphide, which has been shown to fight colon cancer, sulfur to ward off fungal infections and quercetin to help reduce inflammation. 
• Cashews contain quite a bit of copper which helps to improve connective tissue and fight free radicals that damage our body from the inside out.

Summer Crunch Cabbage Salad
Serves 6

Salad
1 medium green cabbage, finely chopped or shredded
6 green onions, chopped, include white and green parts
2 carrots, shredded
1/2 cup cashews, crushed

Dressing
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon peanut butter (preferably organic)
1 tablespoon gluten free tamari or soy sauce

1. Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside.
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine all dressing ingredients. Whisk thoroughly.
3. Toss the dressing into the salad mixture for at least one minute, or until all vegetables are covered.
4. Refrigerate or serve immediately.

Note: If you have a tough time digesting raw vegetables (a lot of people have know idea they do), simply allow the dressing to marinate with the salad a little longer (a few hours or up to a day). This will help to break down the hard-to-digest nutrients, making the enzymes more available to you.