Do You Want Cauliflower With That? Yes, If You Don't Want Bleach .

 

For "Foodie Friday", Kick the unhealthy white flour habit:

Original Cauliflower Mac and Cheese Casserole

Who loves macaroni and cheese? This version features cauliflower to give it a healthy boost.

Added to Recipes on Fri 01/13/2012

Ingredients:  Serves 8

• Kosher salt, as needed, plus 1/2 teaspoon
• Vegetable oil spray
• 1 large head cauliflower, cut into small florets
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 ounces cream cheese, cut into small pieces
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, plus ½ cup for topping the casserole
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions: Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil, seasoning the water with salt.  Spray an 8x8 baking dish with vegetable oil spray.

Cook the cut cauliflower in the boiling water until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

Drain well and pat between several layers of paper towels to dry.  Transfer the cauliflower to the baking dish and set aside.

Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan and then whisk in the cream cheese and mustard, continuously whisking until smooth.

Stir in the 1 1/2 cups of cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and whisk just until the cheese melts, about 2 minutes.  Remove the sauce from the heat, pour over the cauliflower, and stir all to combine.

Top with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese and bake until browned and bubbly hot, about 15 to 20 minutes.  Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Helpful Hints:  To save on paper towels, we’ve found that you can place the cauliflower in a colander and drain the excess water by pressing down on the florets with a heavy bowl.

Nutrition Information: Calories: 190. Fat: 15g. Protein: 7g. Fiber: 3g. Net Carbs: 4g."       From: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/original-cauliflower-mac-and-cheese-casserole

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Cauliflower Pizza

"A skinny secret from guest Caroline, this delicious cauliflower pizza is a popular diet dish that is easy to make and incredibly versatile. Bake the crust in half an hour and throw on your favorite toppings."

Ingredients

• 1 cup cauliflower, grated
• 1/2 cup shredded light mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 tsp basil
• 2 tsp parsley
• 1/2 tsp fennel
• 1 green pepper
• 1 onion
• 1 tomato
• Garlic powder, to taste

Directions

Chop pepper, onion and tomato. Set aside. Steam the cauliflower, let it cool and then grate it.

Combine grated cauliflower with the mozzarella and egg in a large bowl. Spray a circular or rectangular metal pan with cooking spray before spreading the dough evenly. Sprinkle the dough with fennel, oregano, parsley and basil. Add garlic powder.

Bake at 450° F for 12-15 minutes. Remove the dough from the oven and sprinkle chopped green pepper, onion and tomato, as well as the remaining mozzarella cheese on top. Return the pizza to the oven. Turn the heat up to broil and leave in until the cheese has melted and the crust is crispy." From: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/cauliflower-pizza

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Another one, plus several other cauliflower recipes:

Cauliflower Crust Pizza.

"This pizza is a wonderful alternative to your favorite guilty pleasure. What is very exciting is that it’s loaded with vegetables and is low on the glycemic index scale. This means you prevent unnecessary insulin spikes that lead to mood swings and weight gain. If you are on a Health plan you know to avoid certain foods at night that cause us to store fat, well this meal is perfectly fine for your supper meal! Feel like you are having something treat-like and make this pizza this week!"

Cauliflower Crust Ingredients:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• 1 cup cooked plain Cauliflower Rice (as shown above or microwave if you are in the worlds biggest hurry. It pains me to even suggest this, just don’t add any water)
• 1/4 cup egg whites, or 1 large egg, or 2 small. 
• 1 cup low fat mozzarella cheese OR Feta
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 tsp parsley

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
2. Slightly grease a cookie sheet (or use my favorite baking stone)
3. In a bowl combine cauliflower, egg whites and cheese.

Press evenly on to the pan and sprinkle with the oregano and parsley.
4. Bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes (depending on your oven – *see below).
5. Remove the crust from the oven. Add organic, natural pizza or pasta sauce (see Simple Marinara Sauce below), toppings and lightly with the cheese.
6. Place under a broiler at high heat until cheese is melted and golden. Remove and Enjoy!
*Tip – Here are my main tips to make your crust crusty:
1. Make sure your cauliflower is dry after washing (no water to cook).
2. Spread your crust out thin (not too thin – just a thin layer).
3. Bake until crust-like. If you peak at your crust at the recommended cooking time and the middle is still not cooked… cook longer."

Toppings *see recipe ideas below.

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Garlic Breadsticks

"These also are wonderful as garlic breadsticks. For garlic breaksticks follow the above recipe but add garlic salt (2 tsp). Form the crust “dough” into sticks on a sheet instead of the pizza crust shape. These garlic breadsticks are great for dipping in soups or chili. They are also great to just dip in your all natural pizza sauce or the Simple Marinara Sauce below.

DAMY Veggie Pizza

• Sun-Dried tomatoes (Chopped)
• Low Fat Mozzarella or Feta Chopped
• Chopped Broccoli
• Diced onion
• Spinach
• Black Olives Sliced
• Red Bell Peppers
• Simple Marinara Sauce

Chicken BBQ Pizza

• All natural BBQ sauce in place of the pizza sauce
• Grilled chicken (sliced)
• Red pepper slices
• White onion slices
• Low fat Mozzarella

Hawaiian Pizza

• Ground turkey
• Pineapple chunks
• Roasted red pepper sauce
• Mushroom slices
• Feta cheese

Spicy Sausage Pizza

• Spicy Sausage (see recipe)
• Red Pepper Slices
• Orange Pepper Slices
• Onion Slices
• Mushroom Slices
• Simple Marinara Sauce
• Hot Sauce

If you want to get really healthy on me – here is a great, simple pizza sauce recipe

Simple Marinara Sauce

Makes about 3 cups
Use this simple marinara sauce as a topping for your pizza or as a dipping sauce for your garlic breadsticks.

Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 cup finely chopped white onion
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 2 tbsp no-salt-added tomato paste
• 2 (15-ounce) cans no-salt-added chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp thinly sliced fresh basil
• 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh oregano
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, bring broth to a simmer. Add onion, garlic and crushed red pepper and cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium, stir in tomatoes and cook about 15 minutes to blend flavors, stirring occasionally to make sure mixture doesn’t stick to the pan. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Serve warm or chill until ready to serve."

Ground Turkey Sausage:

• 1 lb Lean Ground Turkey
• 2 tsp Olive Oil
• ½ tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 1 tsp Fennel Seed
• ½ tsp Red Pepper Flakes
• ½ tsp Smokey Paprika
• ¼ tsp Ground Cayenne Pepper

Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in a frying pan.
2. Add the ground turkey and all seasonings and cook.
3. Chop turkey while frying to hamburger consistency.
4. Cook until browned completely!
5. Add to your pizza

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Whipped Cauliflower “Potatoes”

"Use these whipped potatoes instead of your regular potatoes tonight for supper. I bet no one in the family notices and if they do it will be because they are so darn yummy. They feel so naughty but they’re not. They are a must try this week! They are “whipped potatoes.” No where in this recipe will you find potatoes! Instead we will be using cauliflower! We choose this due to the many health benefits of coniferous vegetables (phytonutrients and vitamin C). Aside from all the wonderful health benefits of cauliflower this recipe is delicious! You will be addicted!

Ingredients:
• 1 large head cauliflower
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup fresh herbs (chives work particularly well)
• Sea Salt
• Fresh Ground Pepper
• ½ Cup Onion
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Directions:
1. Chop cauliflower into smaller chunks – about bite-size pieces works well.
2. Peel garlic cloves and cut in half, lengthwise. Chop onion into slices.
3. Steam cauliflower, garlic and onion for 15 minutes, or until cauliflower and garlic are tender enough for a fork to easily pass through.
4. Combine steamed cauliflower, garlic, onion, olive oil, fresh herbs, pepper, and sea salt in a food processor and blend until everything comes together into a mashed potato-like consistency. I like mine whipped. Top with a little pepper for looks and enjoy your guilt free whipped potatoes.
TIP: if you love a sour cream and chives on your whipped potatoes; top your whipped cauliflower with a dollop of fat free Greek yogurt and some fresh chopped chives! So delish!

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Cauliflower Fried Rice

"This recipe is sure to become a regular in your kitchen; it is easy, simple and yummy.

Ingredients:
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 head cauliflower, trimmed and coarsely chopped
• ¼ tsp sea salt

Directions:
1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.
2. Sauté onion over medium heat for 10 minutes, until soft.
3. Meanwhile, place cauliflower in a food processor with the “S” blade and process until the texture of rice. (TIP: if you do not have a food processor do not fret, you can simply use a cheese grater to grate the cauliflower into rice. Works awesome!!
4. Add cauliflower to skillet, cover and cook 5-10 minutes, until soft, then add salt.
5. Enjoy this “rice” in soups, as a side for supper in place of rice, or in a casserole. Serve as your “rice” side dish with chicken, or fish, veggies and a side salad for a complete meal!

For “Fried Rice” simply add some spices to this dish, red peppers, mushrooms and some ground turkey (see the spicy turkey sausage recipe below) and have a wonderful “Fried Rice” meal!"

From: http://www.damyhealth.com/2011/03/the-secret-life-of-cauliflower/

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Why All The Fuss about Bleached Flour?

Do You Want Bleach With That?

"The truth about white bread.  What is enriched bleached white flour?"

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The Little-Known Secrets about Bleached Flour...

"Nearly everyone knows that white flour is not healthy for you, but most people don’t know that when white flour is bleached, it can actually be FAR worse for you.

It’s generally understood that refining food destroys nutrients. With the most nutritious part of the grain removed, white flour essentially becomes a form of sugar. Consider what gets lost in the refining process:

• Virtually all of the vitamin E

• Fifty percent of the calcium

• Seventy percent of the phosphorus

• Eighty percent of the iron

• Ninety eight percent of the magnesium

• Fifty to 80 percent of the B vitamins

• Half of the beneficial unsaturated fatty acids

And many more nutrients are destroyed -- simply too many to list.

The Journey of the Wheat Berry

Have you ever wondered how white flour is made?

The website Healthy Eating Politics has an interesting article about the process.

Most commercial wheat production is, unfortunately, a “study in pesticide application,” beginning with the seeds being treated with fungicide. Once they become wheat, they are sprayed with hormones and pesticides. Even the bins in which the harvested wheat is stored have been coated with insecticides. If bugs appear on the wheat in storage, they fumigate the grain.

A whole grain of wheat, sometimes called a wheat berry, is composed of three layers:

There are 3 parts to a wheat kernel (sometimes called a wheat berry):

1)  The BRAN is the hard outer covering of the wheat kernel, high in fiber & nutrients.

2)  The GERM is the nutrient-rich embryo that will sprout and grow into a new wheat plant. 

3)  The ENDOSPERM is the biggest part (83%), the "insides" of the kernel - mostly starch.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Diets rich in "whole grain" foods and other plant foods low in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers.
WHITE FLOUR is made from the endosperm only = NOT a whole grain

WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR combines all 3 parts of the wheat berry
= a whole grain.

• The bran

• The germ

• The endosperm

The bran is the layer where you’ll find most of the fiber, and it’s the hard outer shell of the kernel. The germ is the nutrient-rich embryo that will sprout into a new wheat plant. The endosperm is the largest part of the grain (83 percent), making up most of the kernel, and it’s mostly starch.

White flour is made from the endosperm only, whereas whole-wheat flour combines all three parts of the wheat berry.

Old time mills ground flour slowly, but today’s mills are designed for mass-production, using high-temperature, high-speed steel rollers. The resulting white flour is nearly all starch, and even much of today’s commercially processed whole wheat flour has lost a fair amount of nutritional value due to these aggressive processing methods.

White flour contains a small fraction of the nutrients of the original grain, with the heat of the steel rollers having destroyed what little nutrients remain. But then it is hit with another chemical insult--a chlorine gas bath (chlorine oxide). This serves as a whitener, as well as an “aging” agent.

Flour used to be aged with time, improving the gluten and thus improving the baking quality. Now, it is treated  with chlorine  to instantly produce similar qualities in the flour (with a disturbing lack of concern about adding another dose of chemicals to your food).

According to Jim Bair, Vice President of the North American Millers Association:

“Today, the US milling industry produces about 140 million pounds of flour each day, so there is no way to store the flour to allow it to age naturally. Plus, there is a shelf life issue.”

It has not been determined how many mills are bleaching flour with chorine oxide, but we do know the use of chlorides for bleaching flour is considered an industry standard."   More at: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/03/26/The-Little-Known-Secrets-about-Bleached-Flour.aspx

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Yesterday:

As long as she is on familiar turf, near-blind Misty will quicken her pace, so I made her trot instead of her usual 'sniffing stroll', down at Jay's.  She doesn't eat much, but she is getting fat.

We went into town, the main goal was to find a faucet for the stealth-cargo-toyhauler trailer. (Album on the sidebar) When my kitchen faucet went kaput, I 'stole' the new one out of the trailer.  We looked in Lowes, Home Depot and a thrift shop.  My, how faucets have gone up, but what hasn't? I couldn't find the kind I wanted, but bought one that I can use at the thrift shop.

Organix is changing the packaging on their organic dog food, so I got some at half price at Petsmart.  That's my kind of shopping.

The weather was back to sunshine, after all that rain yesterday.