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Whether you are Irish or not, St. Patrick's Day is a great reason to get together with friends and family to enjoy a delicious meal of corned beef and cabbage. And while cabbage is a classic accompaniment to corned beef, it's also an excellent complement to a range of other foods, proving there's no reason to reserve cabbage just for St. Patrick's Day dining!

This delicious and healthy veggie is refreshing, crisp, tasty, and incredibly versatile too. A longstanding dietary staple throughout the world, it is widely cultivated and available year round, although it's best during its peak season of autumn and winter. It is fantastic for hearty cold-weather favorites like soups, stews and cabbage wraps, adds fantastic flavor and texture to salads, and is delicious for stir-fry.

In the same family of vegetables as kale, Brussels sprouts and broccoli, cabbage is prized for its terrific nutritional content. Cabbage contains phytonutrients, which can help the body eliminate damage-causing compounds. It is also an excellent source of vitamin K, and contains Vitamin C, which can aid in the body's absorption of fiber while helping to protect cells from free-radical damage.

The crisp crunch and light texture of cabbage makes it delightful when paired with healthy produce picks like apples, oranges, pineapple and celery, as well as nuts like cashews and peanuts. When diced or chopped, these ingredients all add tremendous color, texture and flavor to a crunchy cabbage-based slaw or salad. Or, try an Asian-inspired side dish with Chinese cabbage and protein-containing ingredients like chopped cashews or peanuts, or light and healthy additions like diced green onion or toasted sesame seeds. Shredded raw cabbage is also fantastic atop sandwiches!

So celebrate this St. Patty's Day with a hearty feast of corned beef and cabbage, and find some other ways to go green by incorporating this tasty veggie into your balanced menus all year long!