I have trouble getting the hubby to eat any kind of vegetable, he’s a typical South African man who loves meat, potatoes and a good sauce. Being married to somebody with such a different diet to my own is strange, sometimes tough, it’s frustrating but I’m used to it now.

I just try to sneak the good stuff in where I can.

Give the man some lamb chops, rice and he’s good. One leaf of lettuce and a slice of tomato will make it to the mouth of everything else on the burger is in the correct proportion. I sneak some spinach into my basil pesto that he will eat on pasta and then cover in Parmesan.

Put simply, he’s a man of simple taste preferring a hot dog or burger over almost anything else.

Do NOT even get me started on our trips to IKEA. Yes, he’s the guy queueing for a hot dog while I wait for the receipt from the shop. (Or maybe only goes for the hot dogs).

You can imagine his happiness when we found a food stand on the corner of the street just outside of a marina we used to spend a lot of time in in St Thomas in the Caribbean’s Virgin Islands selling nothing but… hot dogs!

They were gourmet dogs with a choice of meat, a selection of toppings and then a sauce. All squished between a hefty bun.

One of his favourites was a spicy sausage mixed with a slaw they had on special one day. They never had it again (yes; we went back a lot!) and he was always a bit bummed, so I recreated it which has become my staple when I need to give him a veggie fix – even if it does mean as a side to sausage and some ketchup.

I will make a big batch of this and let it sit in the fridge for use in other meals as the dressing make the cabbage soggy and actually intensifies the flavour the longer it sits.

4 Servings as a side or 2 as a main salad base.

You will need:

1 Small Red Cabbage

2 Small Carrots

1 Spring Onion

1/2 Granny Smith

1 Small Handful Rocket

1 Handful Flat Leaf Parsley

2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 T Apple Cider Vinegar

1 T Whole Grain Dijon Mustard

1 T Orange Juice

1 t Red Pepper Flakes

Pinch of Salt and Pepper

Simply slice the cabbage as thin as you’d like, grate the carrots and slice the spring onion diagonally. Julienne the apple and stir all together.

In a small bowl or mug, mix the oil, vinegar, mustard and pepper flakes until thickened. Season with Salt and Pepper and stir into the slaw. Finish with the orange juice and chopped parsley.

Enjoy simply on top of a hot dog, as a side salad at a barbecue or as a main salad, adding cherry tomatoes & sliced avocado.

I love to have this along side a baked sweet potato with hummus.

However you want it, enjoy!

L, xo