Mashed Cauliflower is a great sub for Mashed Potatoes

I made cauliflower like this once and asked my family how they liked the new mashed potato recipe. They all agreed it was delicious and had seconds.  I didn't tell them it was really cauliflower until the dishes were done!

Mashed Cauliflower

Mashed cauliflower is a delicious, low-starch alternative to mashed potatoes. This cruciferous vegetable is an excellent source of vitamin C, containing almost as much as oranges.

Ingredients

1   lg head

cauliflower, chopped into florets and steamed

2   tbsp

low-fat milk

1⁄4   cup

low-fat sour cream

2   oz

reduced fat cheddar cheese

1⁄2   tsp

kosher salt

1⁄4   tsp

ground black pepper

If you have a pre-programmed Blendtec blender, just add the ingredients to the blender jar in the order listed and secure the lid. Press "Sauces" or blend on Medium Low (Speed 3 or 4) for 30 seconds and serve.

Some people feel that adding butter instead of sour cream gives it a more traditional mashed potato taste, and if you're not using dairy products, try substituting coconut milk or yogurt instead of milk and sour cream.

Chef Kristi leaves out the cheese and adds "nutmeg with a touch of roasted garlic and 1 tsp of balsamic glaze, which I make by reducing the balsamic vinegar by 3/4 of its starting volume, it adds the hmmm factor really nice" so there are a few variations and gourmet idea.

As originally posted here are the nutrition facts for the recipe:

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

• Servings 5.0
 
• Sodium 340 mg
• Serving Size 3/4 cup
 
• Carbohydrates 9 g
• Calories 90
 
• Fiber 4 g
• Fat 4 g
 
• Sugar 5 g
• Saturated Fat 2 g
 
• Protein 7 g
• Cholesterol 10 mg

This recipe is from the www.blendtec.com recipe section.  Make it with confidence!

*As a side note, if you store leftovers in the fridge, the high water/low starch content starts to show and the water begins to separate off.  Plan to make a cauliflower soup with it the next day!

Blendfresh Product Labels

People have asked me what exactly is inside the beautiful bottles, so here are the actual labels.
Click here to see my post about how to analyze the label and what to look for.

Ingredients: Organic beet juice, Purple Carrot Juice, Organic Concord Grape Juice, Organic Acai, Organic Blueberry, Blackberry, Purple Cabbage, Organic Acerola Juice, Plum, Eggplant, Black Raspberry, Black Currant Juice, Passion Fruit.

Ingredients: Organic Apple, Beet Juice, Red Pear, Strawberry, Organic Beet, Raspberry, Cranberry, Oraganic Acerola Fruit Juice, Pomegranate Juice, Red Pepper, Rhubarb, Prickly Pear, Tomato, Cherry Juice.

Ingredients: Peas, Organic Apples, Organic Apple Juice, Kiwi, Broccoli, Spinach Leaf and Stem Juice, Kale, Green Cabbage, Organic Acerola Juice, Asparagus, Brussel Sprouts, Lime Juice, Collard Greens, Romaine Lettuce, Chard.

Ingredients: Organic Carrot Juice, Organic Sweet Potato, Organic Pumpkin, Butternut Squash, Banana, Organic Mango, Pineapple, Organic Acerola, Apricot, Peach, Yellow Bell Peppers, Organic Lemon Juice, Orange Juice.

 Ingredients: Protein Blend (Pea Protein, Rice Protein, Potato Protein, Quinoa, Black Bean, Flaxseed, Alfalfa Juice, Spinach), Honey, Oat Bran, Agave Inulin, Natural Flavors, Guar Gum (from Guar Beans), Stevia Leaf Extract, Citric Acid (from Beets), Xanthan Gum, Tara Gum(from Tara pods), Orange Fiber, Papain (from Papaya), Bromelain (from Pineapple).

Ingredients: Psyllium Husk Powder, Organic Acacia Gum, Organic Amaranth Sprout, Organic Garbanzo Bean, Organic Quinoa Sprout, Organic Lentil Sprout, Organic Buckwheat Sprout, Oat Bran Fiber, Organic Millet Sprout, Organic Adzuki Sprout, Organic Flax Seed, Organic Sunflower Sprout, Organic Pumpkin Sprout, Organic Chia Seed, Organic Sesame Sprout.

Pumpkin Muffins - the first ever Recipe Card!

I don't know about you, but I started out with a file box of recipe cards, just like my mom did.  Then I graduated to a binder (or several!) to collect my favorites.  Then finding a recipe turned into typing a search into my favorite recipe website and if it looked really promising, printing off a recipe.  

Well I have been getting nostalgic lately for the old fashioned stuff like quilts and hand made furniture.  No wonder vintage is back with a vengeance!  We all want to be connected to our traditions.  So, to pay homage to the recipe card box, I'm going to post my "recipe cards" as I share my favorites.  Maybe they will make it into your recipe card file too.  

I have a new Blendtec blender (which I LOVE) and I've never made muffins in a blender before now, but this took just seconds and I was the hero.  I am all for quick and easy when it comes to dinner prep!  Warm soup and fresh muffins - how can you beat that for a rainy night?  I adapted this recipe to my own style (more healthy, but still very tasty).  It also has a lot of fiber, which goes nicely to keep you satisfied with a light meal like soup.

As a side note, I love the Orange Fruits and Veggies Blend by Blendfresh.  If you aren't familiar with it yet, it's a powder made of 12 fruits and veggies dried at low temperatures to protect their nutritional value and enzymes, and then powdered so they won't spoil.  It makes it easy to add extra plant nutrition to your foods.  For example, the bottle of Orange has carrot, sweet potato, pumpkin, butternut squash, banana, mango, pineapple, acerola, apricot, peach, yellow bell pepper, lemon and orange in raw, whole food powder form.  But the beautiful thing is that while you and your family will enjoy all the benefits of added vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and fiber, no one will even taste it!  Awesome ;)

If you'd like to learn more about or purchase any of the whole food blends from Blendfresh, just click www.blendwithjenn.com to learn or shop.

In case you can't see my old fashioned recipe card graphic above, here is the text version of it.

Pumpkin Muffins

In your blender jar combine and blend 20 seconds:

1 C canned pumpkin          2 C buttermilk
3 eggs                                1 t vanilla
1/2 t salt                             1/2 t baking soda
1 tsp baking powder           1 t cinnamon
1 T coconut (or other) oil    1 C oats
1 T (optional) Blendfresh Orange Fruits & Veggies Blend

Next add:
1 C flour and pulse 4-6 times.

Pour into 12 muffin tins and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.
Enjoy!

Easy Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe

Easy Broccoli Cheese Soup

This takes literally less than ten minutes from start to table, so you are hearing a chorus of "What's for dinner?" this could save the day!  Pair it with a hearty slice of whole grain bread and you have a nice light evening meal that satisfies.

4 Cups broccoli florets, steamed and divided

1 Cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarian)

1 Cup water

Salt and pepper to taste

1/3 Cup grated cheddar cheese

Add 3 1/2 cups steamed broccoli and the rest of the ingredients to the blender jar.  Blend on the Hot Soup setting if you have a Blendtec blender (the heat from the blades will heat the soup), or 90-180 seconds in a regular blender.  Add the remaining 1/2 cup of steamed broccoli and pulse about 3 times, until they are bite sized chunks.   You are done!  You may need to heat the soup in the microwave or on the stove if using lower end blender.  Pour and top with shredded cheese to make it pretty.

Is it good?  Yeah, they like it...

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The Secret to Getting the Most from your Green Smoothie

Green smoothies have become a popular way to get more fresh fruit and veggies and all their wonderful parts into our diets.  If you aren't sold, you should try one!  As if more produce wasn't reason enough in itself, when we do this we are sneaking in all the fiber, extra water and phytonutrients that come with them for very minimal effort.  My kids have grown up associating a glass like this with sweet deliciousness instead of "yuck,green!".

 TIP:  If you have a hard time with the color, try putting it in a colored cup and drink with a straw, or just add blueberries for a lovely shade of purple every time.

Unless your veggies are fried or coated in a not-so-good-fat dressing, we want LOTS of them in your diet. Making smoothies is one easy and creative way to quickly put the raw, fresh version straight into your body. 

 My recipe:  I use a full size blender filled with about 2 cups of water, a big handful or two of greens, some ice or frozen fruit to chill and then top off with fresh fruit.  The secret ingredient I like to add to make the most of the iron in my greens is coconut milk.  

I buy it in a liter box from Costco (I like the So Delicious brand).  Doesn't that just add extra fat calories you ask?  It does, but coconut fat is special - medium chain fatty acids like what is in breast milk - good for the human body; joint, skin, hair, brain, etc.  That in itself is a topic for another day. 

So yes, I want to add coconut oil to my diet as a supplement, but specifically with my greens?  Absolutely!  Part of what makes them green is the iron.  Quick story - during my pregnancies I suffered from a mild case of anemia, which means lack of iron in the blood.  In real life that means there weren't enough little molecules  roaming around my bloodstream to carry the oxygen fast enough for me.  For example, if I stood up too quickly my brain would take a quick brake (the little oxygen was going to my muscles instead), and my vision would go black, hearing would temporarily disappear, and if I was lucky I could steady myself on a chair or a wall until it returned in a few seconds, or feel my way down to the floor without fainting.  That's a fun side note, and hopefully one you have never experienced, but the point is that ABSORBING the iron from my diet was very important for my body.  It is for most women in general.   

Greens are a great source of iron - more on that is coming.  And according to a Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry research article "iron utilization and iron absorbtion was greater in diets in which the fat was supplied as coconut oil".  A stimulating read to be sure, but the point is that you'll actually use the iron from your diet better when combined with coconut oil.  So why not pack one more punch in that smoothie?  Yay for good fats!

So take a risk and try it out.  My bet is you'll enjoy the creamy texture it adds and you'll feel good about your food choice all day!

ps-
If you love medical data and studies here is the link of the article - enjoy!
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf60198a036