Cauliflower Rice
It seems all I remember is having cauliflower on Thanksgiving as a child. It was always the same recipe, steamed or boiled cauliflower topped with breadcrumbs browned in butter. Yum! I would eat seconds every time!
I wonder if my son will only remember having cauliflower rice. I’ve made it 3 times in the past 2 weeks.
Cauliflower Rice
1 Head of Cauliflower
1 medium onion
2 tsp Olive Oil
Place clean, cut cauliflower in a food processor to chop to small rice size pieces. {I use a Vitamix, but I find I can only place a few pieces in at a time.}
Chop the onion and add to pan with olive oil. Sautee until clear.
Add the cauliflower rice and let cook. Turn every few minutes to allow even cooking. I like it a little brown, so I will allow it to sit a bit longer to get darker.
When the cauliflower has cooked down you’ll see it change from a white to a more of a clear color.
Serve as an alternative to rice or as a complement to any meal. I’ve topped the cauliflower rice with chicken and broccoli.
Mangia! Mangia!
Cauliflower health benefits.
Read MoreCreamy Broccoli Chicken
Some nights {ok most nights}, I decide last minute what to make for dinner and tonight was one of them! I searchrd for a few of the ingredients on hand and came up with this yummy recipe from Fast Paleo!
Creamy Green Goddess Chicken and Broccoli
This went over with flying colors! I substituted asparagus for the yellow squash and it truly to 30 minutes to throw together!
Read More
A Door Opens
A door opened for me today.
I have really been struggling with giving up coffee. I love my quiet coffee time on the back patio, the taste of it, the smell of it and even on a Summer morning the warmth of it!
I know on many levels I need to stop drinking it. Even decaf. When I examine my health goals and the direction I want to go, coffee really doesn’t fit in the plan!
I have been struggling with this and I know I have 10 days to kick this habit. In 10 days, I’ll be heading off to a Blue Sage Sanctuary detox center to take this journey to a new level.
{And coffee isn’t in the plan.}
A door opens!
The Paleo Mom shared an excellent post on the Pros and Cons of Coffee
For me, I have to get my head right to take the next step and this is exactly what I needed this morning.
It’s a choice, a choice of health! I can do this!
xoxo – Lori
Read More21 Day Sugar Detox
How does it happen? It sneaks in and it’s a downward spiral. All it took was a simple banana to trigger sugar cravings. I think I’m in a bit of denial about sugar since I’ve had to remove just about every pleasurable food from my diet! Really one more thing!
And the list: All grains, nuts, dairy and eggs.
It’s really about health and not about what I am being deprived of {believe me, it’s taken a loooong time time to get to this point of acceptance}
I saw the 21 Day Sugar Detox and thought I would jump on the band wagon, not because I eat a great deal of sugar, mainly it’s because I have such intense cravings around 3:00pm every day. I just don’t think that is normal to have such intense cravings.
Typically my 3:00 craving is satisfied with a banana or an apple with peanut butter {yes I can eat peanuts, no tree nuts, even though I know I shouldn’t eat peanuts. It’s a guilty pleasure}.
Who am I kidding, it’s dark chocolate too. And who was the genius that put sea salt in dark chocolate?! I know it was a woman!
Another motivation to remove the sugar was how great I felt after I managed to wean myself off caffeine in two weeks. I feel awesome! No more 10am pick me ups needed.
If you want to join me in this adventure on April 2, you can find more info at 21 Day Sugar Detox website and 21 Day Sugar Detox Facebook Page
There are 3 stages of the 21 Day Sugar Detox. Find the one that works best for you and where you are in your journey. I will be doing level 3 because my diet is Paleo {by default}.
I would like to create a group page on Facebook for anyone interested so we can hold each other accountable, share our success &yummy recipes and support one another. If you are interested, let me know! It’s starts tomorrow!
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Sauce!
I have fond memories of Nana Gajarsky’s {Robustelli’s} sauce. You’d walk in the house and it would smell heavenly, pot of sauce on the stove and the first thing we would do is slice up some Itailaian bread and coat it with sauce to dull the hunger pains. It was an hour drive and you wanted to arrive hungry!
There was always a spread, a delicious pasta dish, chicken, antipasta, and the meal would be topped off with at least 5 desserts on the table {You get a “piece-a of each-a” and you have to say it like you are Italian}.
You’d eat so much you’d have to roll out of the house, but not first after napping from being comatose from the overload of food {now I know why the sound of football or any game puts me to sleep, there was always a game on the tv}. There was so much delicious food and did it taste heavenly!
For so many years, I tried to make Nana’s sauce! It just never tasted the same as hers, so finally I asked what her key ingredient was! Da! It’s not like she was keeping it a secret. The key ingredient, drum rolled please, pork bone!
Red sauce, tomato sauce or “gravy” {for most gravy is brown, if you are Italian you call it gravy} is a basic for many meals. When I make sauce, I make a big batch of it and I always have it as a basic in my freezer.
Last summer I grew 2 plum tomato plants with the hope of much success to have homemade sauce all winter. Every garden season is different and I had huge tomato success last year and packed away bags and bags of sauce. {Let’s hope for another successful tomato season}!
“Sauce” or “Gravy”
4 boxes of Poma tomatoes - Italian tomatoes or garden grown {Italian Plum Tomatoes} are key!
{I prefer a smooth more lick a marinara sauce so I throw the tomatoes in the blender to make them smooth}
4-6 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 bay leaf
Pork! You can use pork links or pork chops and even just a pork bone.
I have found making this in the crock pot is best for tender sausage and pork {sometimes I even add chicken} and a yummy slow cooked sauce. The house will smell so yummy!
Add the sausage first, then tomatoes and finally the seasoning! Cook on a 4- 6 hour setting.
Mangia! Mangia!
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Kale Chips
More kale chips Mom, please! Oh how this is music to my ears.
One afternoon I had a late lunch and wasn’t hungry for a full dinner, so I made myself kale chips. {Key words “made myself kale chips”}
I prepared a meal for my boys and sat down to eat “my” kale chips! It seems I peeked some curiosity.
What was this yummy crunchy snack I was eating and not sharing?
To my surprise, both my boys loved this crunchy salty snack.
I hope you and your family love them too! Kale is packed with lots of nutrition and this snack serves the salty and crunchy we crave!
Baked Kale Chips
Pre-heat over to 350 degrees.
- 2 bunches of Kale
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1/2 Lemon
- Pinch of sea salt
Wash and cut the spine from the kale.
Add kale to a large bowl, add olive oil, sea salt and squeezed lemon juice. Coat all the kale evenly.
Lay the coated leaves on a bake sheet. Make sure the kale is not touching each other. If they over lap, they don’t get crunchy.
Bake for 10-15 minutes. They’ll burn fast so watch carefully after the 10 minute mark.
Add Parmesan cheese or a spicy pepper. Be creative!
Enjoy!
About Lori
My life is so wonderfully full with the love of my life of 9 years, our spunky very imaginative 6-year-old, two obsessive herding dogs and a few fish! We reside in God's country, Denver, Colorado. A nutrition journey began, after the birth of my son and the discovery of countless food allergies. On my journey, I became passionate about all things that relate to health, physically, emotionally and spiritually. I hope you find my journey an inspiration to Live Life Whole! Read More… 