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 raw, whole food powders

Want something that makes getting your fruits and veggies easier? I have just found this and am IN LOVE! Raw, whole food powders, pesticide free, non-GMO, soy free, gluten free, dairy free, vegan. Just the good stuff you actually want in your body. I have been sneaking scoops of this into our smoothies the last two weeks and no one in my family seems to mind they are eating so many veggies! This is the new foods line put out by Blendtec and one of the reasons

 I'm so excited to work with them.

What happened was that Blendtec, the maker of the world's most advanced blenders, would make a great product and then their completely satisfied customer would be gone for 8-10 years enjoying their blender.  Millions of people worldwide know this brand for quality, and they all go and buy various qualities of produce to use for their smoothies.

Blendtec saw an opportunity to better serve their customers by spinning off a sister company that would focus on high quality foods that could be used with their amazing blenders.  As soon as I knew this line was affiliated with a 200 million dollar company and a 38 year reputation, I wanted to know more.  There is no way a stable company like this would put out a substandard product.  

The more I learned, the more excited I got.  Yes, several companies sell greens powders, I've been buying them for years.  But how many are actually raw?  Dried with light instead of heat to keep the enzymes unharmed and active?  And are greens all we really need?  What about the orange, red and purple colored vegetables - we are supposed to "eat a rainbow" of color right?

I was even more impressed when I read the label.  "Bell pepper, rhubarb, strawberries, cranberries..."  twelve ingredients.  Only fruits and vegetables.  No fillers so that they will make more money selling a larger container of product.  No binders so it looks artificially pretty.  No preservatives so they can keep an abnormally long shelf life.  This is just a bottle of food with the water carefully removed.  Wow.

Because it is a fresh, raw food they suggest keeping it in your fridge and using within 90 days of opening.  I love looking in my fridge the last couple of weeks, wonder what I should make, and then having a beautiful bottle remind me and inspire me to make a nutritious smoothie.  Sounds corny, I know, but that's what's been happening.  And with zero arguments from kids or hubby!

I'll post more detailed articles soon on the other great products in the line, but here's a teaser; a probiotic complete with blackstrap molasses as a pre-biotic, so your friendly germs are still alive when you open your bottle.  A fiber blend of sprouted nuts and seeds that meets FDA requirements for soluble and insoluble fiber so that they can say it "lowers cholesterol" right on the label.  And last but not least a delicious (which is rare) vegan protein powder, with not one but 8 different protein sources for a complete amino acid profile.  Lighter on the digestive system than traditional whey and made of whole foods - you can actually read and understand the label!  I could go on and on, and I will, soon.  Just know that if you need a solution for more nutrition quickly and simply (and I forgot to even mention that it even costs you less than fresh produce!) just find out more about this!  I've made a YouTube video link so click here to see me explain it in more detail.  It even goes along with a Blendtec blender discount program if you need one of those.  

So think on it, and have a great day.  I'm going to go mix up a glass of Purples!

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

No-Guilt No-Bake Cookies

This recipe was developed as a way to get more amazing coconut oil into my body. I’ll do a separate post on the benefits of it, but this cookie helps me not miss traditional treats so much while I am preparing for competition. LOTS of fiber, and only good stuff in it!

In a glass measuring cup barely melt 3/4 Cup coconut oil, and add 1 tsp vanilla, stir.

In a big bowl combine and stir together;
1/2 Cup cacao powder (I like raw, you can use any chocolate powder)
1/2 Cup almond flour
1/2 Cup Coconut flour
1/2 Cup quick oats
1/2 Cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 tsp salt

Pour the wet into the dry and mix. Drop by spoonfuls or into a mini tart pan and freeze 10 minutes. These are best cold. Makes 12. Try to share them!  If you don't have almond or coconut flour, they are great to add to your pantry and start experimenting with - worth the risk of trying something new!

This recipe is vegan, gluten free and raw (if you use GF/raw ingredients), and high in fiber.

Help! My family wants Mexican food!

Starting with this picture is like reading the last chapter of a book first; it takes all the suspense away.  But I really was proud of the solution I found ,so it's okay.

It was Sunday night.  Earlier in the day I had filled the crock pot with chicken breasts and the best intentions before we left for church.  Seasoned with just a little garlic and dried onion, I had planned to come home to enough chicken for a nice Sunday dinner and extra to help me stay on track through the week.  Perfect plan right?  I had even cleaned the kitchen so it would be so easy to make a nice Sunday dinner for the family.

The problem was I had planned nothing other than chicken breasts.  I make sure when I shop to stock up on lots of fresh veggies, so I had a number of things I could steam or make a salad from.  But I had made a salad the night before, and I've been looking at lots of steamed veggies lately, so neither one of those had much appeal.  Combine this weak spot with the family asking "what's for dinner?".  Uh oh.  This is where your metal gets tested.

Like a bunch of baby birds chirping, I keep hearing "Mom, I'm hungry..." (insert whine as you read).  I had made a good start, but now it was showtime and I didn't have a good finish planned.  With 11 days left until the Beachbody Classic physique competition, this was no time to be hungry and without a plan.  I stalled to give myself time to think.  First I would take care of the noise-makers in the room.

Enchiladas are a quick go-to (I'll give my super easy microwave recipe in an upcoming post), but we didn't have enough corn or flour tortillas to make a whole pan.  It is more dangerous for me to keep uncooked, fresh tortillas in the fridge to tempt me, so I opted for quesadillas to use them up first.  I was thinking I might make myself a corn taco, but wondering how to handle the cheese situation (corn and cheese are both off limits until after the show).

I had to get creative, and fast.  I can honestly say I would not have come up with this if I had not had a rock solid "why" or goal in mind.  I came very close to just having one quesadilla.  What's the harm?  It's only one.  It won't ruin everything, can't be more than 200 calories, right?  But for me I know this is a slippery slope, and I have made a commitment to myself to say no to those things TEMPORARILY for a greater reason.  It was hard.  I'm not saying this lightly.  I'm making food I like for everyone else and still don't know what I will be eating, but desperately trying to figure it out before my resolve wanes.  But then I realized, not only do I want to do my best and be proud of my choices - especially when they are hard - but I will be in this exact same situation again.  And so will the good people I coach.  And I had a chance under pressure to make myself think to the next level and find a solution that worked, and that I could advocate as a substitute.

So there you have it.  You can see the results in my picture above.  I did serve my family refried beans along with their meal (PLEASE give your family some fiber if you are serving white flour tortillas!).  I topped them with a few sliced orange bell peppers for color and so I wouldn't miss the cheese as much.  In the heat they softened and were really very good.  And as I had mentioned, I was not in the mood for a salad again on this day, hence the steamed broccoli.  And my own personal solution to not having a quesadilla?  I shredded some of the chicken, mixed the enchilada sauce with it and topped with avocado.  Absolutely delicious.  In the end I did not feel ripped off at all.  In fact, I came out last with my plate and there were a few envious eyes.  My husband even said "I would have eaten that instead if I had known you were making it"!  The most delicious part though, was knowing I had kept my word to myself and as a payday I not only am closer to my goal, but I have a new recipe to look forward to on Mexican night