Recipe: Cauliflower “Mac” & Cheese

Sauté the cauliflower in a pan until tender. Drain off any liquid, add in the tablespoon of cream cheese and the grated cheese, sprinkle with cajun,  cook until melted, and enjoy. This serves 1-2 depending on how big of a vegetable serving you are having today. Of course you can double or more the recipe if you have many to serve. This is a great low carb, healthy fat, Keto approved comfort food!

Recipe: Cauliflower Stuffed Peppers

I always saw the stuffed peppers and thought how pretty they looked, but they were always stuffed with high carb rice, and so I never thought about them again.  Then after I started eating yellow peppers, they are the mildest, sweetest of these peppers, I had a revelation!  The first time I made these stuffed peppers, I used cauliflower that had been “riced” in the food processor, I added a bit of Ed’s deer sausage, along with some cheese and they were quite a hit.  I seem to never make them the same again, but for Ed’s, I will add sausage or meat and cheese, for mine I go for lower calorie, skip the sausage, but add cheese.  Each pepper is stuffed with about 1cup of riced cauliflower mixture.  I use my favorite spice Tony Cacheres Cajun, along with 1oz of cheese per pepper, then mix cheese and cauliflower together , along with some Cajun.  I stuff the peppers, packing down the cauliflower filling to get as much of the veggie mixture in the pepper.  Bake for 1-1.5 hours at 350 degrees.  Use your imagination and what you have on hand to make a fabulous stuffed healthy peppers, different cheese will deftly change the flavor.  Feel free to increase the recipe to fill all the peppers you have ann to serve all those coming to dinner! Serves 2 – 1 pepper per person.

  • 2 C “riced” Cauliflower
  • 2 T Cream Cheese
  • 2 oz Cheese of your choice, grated
  • Tony Cacheres Cajun Spice
  • 1-2 oz sausage – optional

Recipe: Greater Tots

Got some broccoli that’s not so pretty any more? Too much cauliflower in the drawer? Want something that tastes bad for you but isn’t? It takes a bit of time, but the results are worth it. My husband calls these “Greater Tots”, because grated up veggies turn into a healthy “tater” tot!

I have used several different veggies – broccoli, cauliflower and broccoli slaw. One time I used green beans but will not do that again as the flavor was too strong!

With the food processor, grate the veggie of your choice. Don’t be bashful – make a bunch. Mix 2½ cups of the grated veggies, with a bit of Cajun Spice (Tony Chachere), and 1-2 oz of shredded cheese – cheddar, mozzarella, pepper jack or whatever you have on hand. Mix well. Spray a mini-muffin pan with non-stick spray. Divide the veggie mixture up into all the 24 cups and press the mixture into each cup. Bake at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes until they are good and crispy. This makes one large serving for yourself or 2 small servings if you feel like sharing. Use a narrow spatula to pop them out of the cups, and enjoy guilt-free crispy veggies. You can’t make too many of them! Change up the cheese for different flavors. Let me know how yours turn out!

Recipe: Greater Grilled Cheese

Greater Grilled Cheese

Single serving, double if you are having lunch with your honey

Mix together the riced veggie, spice, and egg.  Form into patties on plastic wrap or wax paper, I make mine bread shaped. I make sure each patty is on its own piece of plastic wrap and used the plastic wrap to help me put in in the skillet I have sprayed with oil.

Heat up a skilled, add nonstick spray.  I have actually put coconut oil in a spray bottle lately to get the good fats without the processed oil.
Place cauliflower bread shaped patties in the pan,

cook until golden.  Flip one patty,

Add the cheese to the cooked side now showing. Place the non turned patty cooked side down on top of the cheese.

Continue to cook, flip over and  until golden brown all.

Cauliflower Grilled Cheese

Broccoli Grilled Cheese

This health veggies sandwich makes a great Saturday afternoon lunch.

The cheese holds the patties together to make a great sandwich you can pick up and eat.

Recipe: Cauliflower Salad – the Better “Potato” Salad

Headed to a gathering and need something healthy to bring? Try my no potatoes in it potato salad. The secret ingredient is cauliflower and you will not miss the potatoes!

  • 1 large head of cauliflower, chopped, cooked and cooled
  • Mayonnaise
  • Yellow Mustard
  • 3 boiled eggs, chopped and cooled
  • Dill Pickle Relish
  • Tony Chachere Cajun spice to taste

 

Chop up a large head of cauliflower  (about 9 cups or so)

Cook until soft, either in the microwave or steam on the stove.

Cool on a clean towel to soak up any water and to spread out for faster cooling.

Depending on how much Cauliflower you have, add, mayonnaise, mustard and Tony Chachere Cajun spice. Sometimes I also add garlic

Then add chopped eggs, lately I have been using 3 eggs, and chopped dill pickles or prepared relish.

Mix together, add additional mayonnaise or mustard or spices until you are happy with the taste and consistency.

Take to your next picnic or barbeque and watch it disappear. I took it to a party last week and everyone loved it. People who thought it was potato salad and did not try it were super anxious to try it after I told them it was cauliflower. You will never make the carb excessive, labor intensive potato salad again. The cauliflower wins hands down!

I have found it is better if I make it the night before needed, the flavors seem to sync, and just before serving, if you would like some extra flavor, add some crumbled bacon. If you add the night before serving, the bacon will get soggy, instead of being the wonderfully crispy addition.

Recipe: Veggie Smoothie

Smoothies seem to be the rage right now. When I first heard about it, I was not interested in trying them.  I had no desire to drink my food. Then I was doing some research about tightening up my diet. I would love to have an amazing muscular stomach, which means I need to be leaner than I am currently. My neighbor then started telling me she was juicing her breakfast, feeling great and dropping weight, without changing anything else. I thought ok, if I need to add more veggies into my diet and I am not interested in eating cups of veggies for breakfast, maybe I need to think about the juicing or smoothie option.  I started looking for veggie smoothie recipes online. All the recipes I found online had lots of carbs- fruit and strong flavored veggies I do not want for breakfast.  

Necessity is the mother of invention!

I started with favorite mild veggies that pack a  good veggie punch, and I came up with my recipe. This has become my breakfast most mornings. I can put it together on the way out the door and drink it at my desk while I am working. I am aiming for about 300 calories, and relatively low carb. I do not want to take a ton of insulin for breakfast. Net carbs = 17 – I am having to take 2-3 units.

  • 1c unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/2 c fat free greek yogurt
  • 100g zucchini
  • handful of greens
  • 2 cups cauliflower
  • 1 scoop protein powder

1 cup or 240grams of unsweetened Almond milk

1/2 cup or 115 grams of plain greek yogurt

100grams of zucchini, about 1/2 a cup

1 handful of greens.  I like the Aldi mixed greens with baby kale and baby spinach.

I have used both vanilla and strawberry protein powder. I like them both.  I buy whatever is reasonably priced, with minimal carbs.  25 grams of protein,  and less than 150 calories per serving.  

1 scoop = 33 grams of protein powder

I add the protein powder on top of the greens so it does not get wet too soon and stick to the side of the blender cup.

I then cut up and fill the blender cup with cauliflower.  About two cups or so of chopped cauliflower

Once the blender cup is full, screw on the blender blade lid. Blend until super smooth.  

I then add the secret morning ingredient, coffee!

Since the smoothie is somewhat thick to start with, and I drink cold coffee anyway, I add black coffee to the veggie smoothie, which thins it out, ads a bit of flavor along with my morning caffeine. I love it.  I get 3 cups of vegetables, along with the kick from my coffee, and plenty of protein for my breakfast.  It takes me a couple of hours to drink while I am working, so it keeps me full all morning until time for lunch.

I have made this for my mother and my husband without the coffee and they both really like it, so it is kid and mother approved! Husband=kid!

Please let me know what you think of the Pamtastic smoothie…