Both green and red cabbage belong to the cruciferous vegetables which also contain powerhouses like broccoli, collards, kale, radishes and arugula, among many others. You can’t go wrong eating either of them, really, but there area few differences. One cup of red cabbage has 51 milligrams of Vitamin C vs 37 milligrams for green cabbage. One cup of chopped green cabbage has 57 percent of the daily intake of Vitamin K, compared to 28 percent in red cabbage. Vitamin K is important in blood clotting to heal from injury and bone mineralization. One cup of chopped red cabbage has 33 percent of the recommended daily intake of vitamin A. The same portion of green cabbage only has 3 percent. Cabbage vitamin A is in the form of the carotenoids beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin. Beta-carotene is an antioxidant that can also be converted into the vitamin A you need for vision and to keep your skin and immune system healthy. Lutein and zeaxanthin function only as antioxidants in the eyes and can prevent early macular degeneration.
You can eat both colors of cabbage raw and cooked. A really yummy and easy peasy fresh salad is: sliver 4 C of cabbage (mix the two colors), a chopped bunch of cilantro leaves and then toss in the juice of 2 limes, 3 T of olive oil, salt, pepper. I have heard that to preserve the sweetness of the cabbage, either cook for less than 6 minutes, or braise for a looooong time -this increases flavor and digestibility. An Epicurious recipe of braised red cabbage is here. I’m sure you could substitute green cabbage for equally delicious results. Both recipes are excellent and visually vibrant side dishes for the holidays.