Cauliflower “Faux”-sotto- Recipe ReDux # 9

Now that the holidays are over and the New Year has arrived it is common for most of to re-evaluate our eating and try to get “back on track”.  I strongly feel that one of the best things that can be done along these lines is to EAT MORE VEGETABLES, namely the non-starchy ones! You really cannot go wrong with veggies- they are low in calories, high in fiber (to fill you up) and chock full of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals (plant chemicals that have shown to provide many favorable health effects, such as chronic disease prevention). 

The Recipe ReDux Challenge for January is “A Trend in Every Pot” and we were encouraged to “take a trend and use it in a soup, stew, one-pot meal or Crock Pot recipe to warm up readers”.  Well two hot trends that are all the rage right now are cauliflower and alternative grains and the recipe I have created combines the two. Last week I posted a tutorial on hot to make Cauliflower “rice”- a great substitute for rice and grain replacement that is very nutritious and easy to make.  So for this month’s challenge I am bringing you one of my favorite ways to use cauliflower rice- in a risotto type fashion.  This one pot dish is much easier and faster to make than most risottos and it is much higher in fiber, lower in calories, is gluten-free and is sky high in nutrients as well. So whip up a batch of my Cauliflower “Faux”-sotto to work in this wonderful veggie into your next meal, and while you are at it check out the rest of Food Trend healthy recipes from the talented group of bloggers in the Recipe ReDux Group!

Ingredients:

4 cups cauliflower rice(see how to make this HERE)

½ cup finely chopped onion

1 cup finely sliced asparagus

4 cups sliced mushrooms

2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic

1 teaspoon olive oil

½ cup vegetable or chicken broth

salt and pepper (optional)

parmesan cheese (optional for garnish)

Directions:

Coat a large pan or skillet with the 1 teaspoon olive oil, add the onions and garlic and sauté on medium-high heat until starting to brown (about 2-3 minutes). Add the mushrooms, asparagus and half of the broth (1/4 cup), cover and cook for another 3-5 minutes, stirring often.  Pour in the second half of the broth (1/4 cup), throw in the cauliflower and continue to cook about 4-5 minutes, until everything is lightly browned and slightly soft.

Makes 4.5 cups, about 4 servings

Serving size: a little over 1 cup Calories 80 Protein 5 g Carb 12 g Fiber 4 g Sugars 5 g Fat 2 g Saturated fat 0 g Sodium 200  mg

 

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Cauliflower “Rice”

Trying to cut carbs and calories?  Want to get more veggies into your family’s everyday diet?  Well here is one recipe that does the trick! Cauliflower can be a great substitute for rice or cous-cous when prepared in this special way. And 1 cup of cauliflower rice has 20 calories vs. 1 cup of regular white rice which has 240 calories! In addition, cauliflower has vitamin C (almost 100 percent of the daily value in a cup!), healthy plant compounds called phytochemicals and fiber which make this white veggie a winning choice! Below are the quick and easy steps to make what I call cauliflower "rice”.

Step one:  Rinse the head of cauliflower and cut into small-to medium florets. 1 cup of florets will make approximately 1 cup of cauliflower rice.

Step Two: Add the florets to your food processor or chopper and pulse a few times until you get small granules the size of rice/cous cous.  Don’t have a food processor?  You can do this by hand by keeping the cauliflower head whole, and start shaving off the top using a serrated knive or grater with a plate or cutting board underneath to catch the granules.  Then chop them a little more until desired consistency is reached. 

Step Three: Voila! You now have your cauliflower “rice”.  Sprinkle it raw on salads to add some crunch.  Cooking it takes little time. I just put mine in a microwave dish, sprinkle a few tiny drops of water on there and and heat for about a minute per cup cauliflower.  Pat any excess moisture off with a paper towel and then serve! Or you can add a teaspoon of olive oil to a small pan, add the cauliflower and sauté for 3-5 minutes, this gets them soft but a little toasty and lightly browned too, which is nice flavor. You can also throw the raw granules into any of your favorite dishes that use rice, adding them during the last 3-4 minutes of cooking, since they cook so fast.  Cauliflower rice has worked vey well in my Black Eyed Pea and Zucchini Jambalaya and Veggie Fried Rice recipes and I cannot wait to try it in some more!

Nutrition facts for one cup of cauliflower “rice”

Calories 25 Protein  2 g Carb 5 g Fiber  2 g Sugars 2 g Fat 0 g Saturated fat 0 g Sodium  30 mg

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Winter Fruit Salad

This makes a nice healthy dessert, breakfast or snack to help start the New Year out right!!

Ingredients:

1 medium apple (gala, honey crisp, fuji work well)

1 medium pear

2 large or three small clementines

¼ cup pomegranate seeds

(optional toppings- slivered almonds, shaved coconut)

Directions

Wash all the fruit, then core and chop the pear and apple into ½ inch cubes. Peel the clementines, divide into sections and cut each in half.  Put all of the chopped fruit into a medium sized bowl and add the pomegranate seeds and mix well.  Chill if not serving immediately.  Top with slived almonds and coconut if desired.

 

Makes 4 heaping cups, 4 servings

Serving size: A little over 1 cup (not including almonds or coconut)Calories 80  Protein 1 g Carb 20  g Fiber 4 g Sugars 14 g Fat  0 g Saturated fat0  g Sodium 0  mg

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Turning Four And Looking Forward To Another New Year!!

Another year has passed by and I am celebrating my FOURTH year of blogging and still going strong! I am continuing to increase my readership and improve my photos (many have been accepted on food sites like Tastespotting, Foodgawker, and Healthy Aperture!)  I also joined the Recipe ReDux group and have been enjoying creating recipes for their monthly challenge! This has been a great year of developing lots of yummy and healthy recipes too, especially my protein bars!  Thanks so much for all your support and I look forward to another fun year of cooking and blogging!  Here’s to a awesome new year- but first, here are some of my favorite recipes of 2012!  

Oat Raisin Cookie Dough Protein Bars

 Vegan Pumpkin Almond Oat Cookies or Bars 

Lentil Taco Filling

Carrot Cake Pancakes

Summer Squash Noodles

Single Serve Banana Pecan Baked Oats

Greek Chicken Pizza

Sausage And Brussels Skillet

Almond Cranberry White Chocolate Oat Squares

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Zucchini Spaghetti Primavera- Recipe ReDux Post # 8

I cannot believe that Christmas is almost here and I am knee deep in the holiday season already!  Luckily most of my shopping is done and I have picked out a lot of fun gifts too.  Speaking of gifts....this month's Recipe ReDux challenge is focused on that very subject- picking a favorite cooking "Gadget Gift"  and sharing a recipe that uses it.  Well my choice would have to be the julienne peeler, specifically the one made by Kuhn Rikon. I have previously featured this lovely tool in August in both my Summer Squash Noodle Tutorial and Zucchini Caprese Salad posts and today I will highlight it a bit more.  It is easy to use and clean and I find it works great to make thin shreds of veggies for salads or to use them cooked as faux noodles. It costs about $15.00 and I bought mine on Amazon.com.  Some features the manufacturer points out about it are that it "cuts food in one motion, has a stainless steel blade, has an easy to grip two-toned handle and it is dishwasher safe." A recent recipe that I have created using it is Zucchini Spaghetti Primavera- it's chocked full of veggies, low in calories and its red and green hues are perfect for the season.  Enjoy and happy holidays!!  Also check below to see some additional great Gadget Gifts and recipes that use them from the talented bloggers and members of the Recipe ReDux group.

Ingredients:

4 cups raw zucchini “noodles” SEE how to make these HERE

3 cups sliced mushrooms

½ cup chopped white onion

2 cups chopped sweet bell pepper (red, yellow recommended)

2 teaspoons olive oil

¼-½  teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup of your favorite basic marinara sauce (if you like it “saucier” you can add a bit more!)

chopped basil (optional for serving)

parmesan cheese (optional for serving)

Directions:

Coat a large pan with the olive oil, add the mushrooms, peppers and onion and sauté on medium heat for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned and softened.  Add the zucchini noodles, marinara sauce, garlic and mix well and then continue to heat for about 5-7 minutes covered, stirring occasionally, until softened and cooked through.  Top with basil and parmesan cheese if desired.

Makes a little over 4 cups, 4 servings

Serving size: A little over 1 cup (not including cheese)Calories  90 Protein 4 g Carb 13 g Fiber 4 g Sugars 7 g Fat 3 g Saturated fat 0 g Sodium  300 mg 

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Roasted Brussels Sprout Salad With Cranberries and Almonds

 

Brussels sprout salads are all the rage right now and I just HAD to jump on the bandwagon and create one J This recipe is a nice blend of sweet and savory and it makes a great holiday side dish with its red and green hues!

Ingredients:

8 cups Brussels sprouts, stems trims and halved 

2 tablespoons slivered almonds

2 tablespoons dried cranberries

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

salt and pepper

cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse and trim stems of Brussels sprouts and cut into halves. Place on baking sheet coated with cooking spray and roast for 20-30 minutes, (turn/toss them half way through) until lightly browned and tender but firm when pierced with a fork.  Let cool and set aside. In a medium bowl whisk together the olive oil, mustard, maple syrup.  Chop up the cooled Brussels sprouts and add them along with the cranberries and almonds to the bowl and mix well until evenly coated with dressing.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Chill in the fridge if not serving immediately.

Makes 8 cups 8 servings

Serving size: 1 cup Calories 110 Protein 3 g Carb 12 g Fiber 4 g Sugars 5 g Fat 6 g Saturated fat 1 g Sodium 65 mg

 

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Simple But Delicious Homemade Applesauce

 

Once you make this, you may never want store bought applesauce again!!

Ingredients:

7 cups of peeled, cored and cut apples (chop into about 1 inch chunks), best to use sweet, softer varieties- I used Gala

1.5 cups water

optional add ins: maple sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract

Directions:

Bring the water to a boil on high heat in a large pot, add the apples and reduce to medium low heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until apples are very tender, about 10-15 minutes. Drain the water out in a colander and transfer the cooked apples into a medium bowl.  Mash with a fork until the desired consistency is reached.  If you would like to add a little sweetness, stir in 1-2 teaspoons maple sugar (or brown sugar) and you can also add a dash or two of cinnamon and a splash vanilla for some flair. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Makes 3 cups, 6 servings

Serving size: 1 /2 cup Calories 80 Protein 0 g Carb 20 g Fiber 4 g Sugars 15 g Fat 0 g Saturated fat 0 g Sodium 0 mg

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