Who needs noodles when you can have 'cabboodles'?

As any mom on a budget can tell you, rice, potatoes and noodles can really help stretch the grocery dollars. Unfortunately, when you adopt a low carb way of eating, these inexpensive ingredients are no longer on the menu. Easily digestible starches like pasta and pilaf will undermine your weight loss efforts by spiking your blood sugar, raising your insulin levels, and putting your body in to fat storage mode. 

Fortunately there is a low cost, low carb option that will perform the same function as the fattening starches - stretch the food budget, extend flavor and soak up tasty sauces. Cabbage noodles, or as I like to call them, "cabboodles", provide that handy backdrop to your dishes just like noodles, but without the unnecessary dose of carbs. Not only are these a good way for low carbers to get their daily dose of veggies, they are a good option for people with wheat or egg allergies. 

Shredded cabbage makes an excellent noodle substitute.

You can simply cut fresh cabbage in to noodle-shaped ribbons or even buy the prepacked, pre-cut bags of cabbage from the grocery store if you need to save some time. The raw cabbage can then be steamed or fried in butter and seasoned with salt and pepper before topping them with your favorite meats and sauces. The cabbage cooks down quite a bit, so plan on using an entire medium head of cabbage or 2 packages of pre-shredded to feed 4 adults. 

Some of my favorites cabboodle toppers include chicken alfredo, shrimp and mushrooms with red pepper sauce, or beef medallions and cauliflower with sour cream and white wine sauce. The shrimp dish shown above took less than 10 minutes to throw together with thawed frozen shrimp, some fresh sliced mushrooms in butter, a can of red pepper alfredo sauce, and fried pre-shredded angel hair cabbage.