How to eat good but cook less after your workouts? We're making a menu of post-workout meals that cook themselves 🍲
Alice Sun (@alicecsun) shares a unique view into her life through the ways she uses food to nurture wellness, cross cultural divides, and bring people together, all through the medium of storytelling.
Alice Sun•
March 24, 2026
Expecting yourself to want to cook AFTER the workout when you’re starving is a battle you’re set up to fail at…it’s just not happening! And it’s not because you’re lazy, it’s because your brain is wired to find the fastest energy source possible when you're depleted.
So instead of expecting the impossible, it’s all about making the impossible possible with a few little tricks to make things easier. These are one of my favorite freezer meals that I prep during the weekend, so all I need to do on a weeknight is pop a few to simmer while I’m showering, so dinner’s ready when I’m out.
You can call them cozy cabbage dumplings or cabbage wraps, but the best part to them is how high fiber, protein packed, and light of a dinner they can be. The brocolli and carrots get blended finely before getting folded into the ground chicke. The five spice powder adds that smoky flavor that also helps to flavor the chicken broth these get simmered in.
Serve them with a bowl of rice or noodles and it’s a full meal of everything your body needs after a workout. Here’s how to make them.
Separate leaves from the napa cabbage (1 head), then wash.
In a pot, bring enough water to boil that would submerge the leaves.
Place the leaves in the water and let them cook for 2 mins or until wilted.
Remove from the hot water once softened, then let cool on the side.
For the filling, boil the broccolli (1 head) for a few mins until vibrant green, and boil the carrot (1 whole) until soft when poked with a fork.
Blitz both of them in a blender until finely chopped, then add to a bowl with the ground chicken (1 lb) at the bottom, cilantro stems (1 handful) finely chopped, salt (1 Tbsp), and the five spice powder (2 tsp) at the top.
Bring ½ cup of oil until smoking (net EVOO) then pour over the filling, making sure to bloom the five spice powder.
Mix in the egg yolk (1) until all items are evenly distributed.
To create the cabbage dumplings, place 1 Tbsp of filling at the bottom part of the napa cabbage leaf, then roll it up.
Place them on parchment paper, then slice them into ZipLoc bags for the freezer.
Day you want them, drop them in chicken stock (2 cups) and bring everything to a simmer for 15 mins — just enough for a shower!
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