Cauliflower Gluten Free Pizza Crust

I have tried many, many gluten free pizza crusts over the years: this one has actually become my go-to, can you believe it? A cauliflower crust? I’ll tell you why:

IT’S EASIEST AND HEALTHIEST, BOTH.

Pre-riced frozen cauliflower has been the BEST for healthy pizza crusts. I don't know about the rest of you, but ricing my own cauliflower was WAY too much effort.






Nice and easy, here, I’ll show you. 2 10-oz bags Green Giant riced cauliflower (I buy name brand Green Giant because it says Gluten Free right on the front); 3 eggs; about 1/2 C mozzarella; and maybe a scant 1/3 C grated Parmesan. 

I use a pizza stone covered with parchment paper: note the use of parchment paper! A friend of mine tried this WITHOUT the parchment paper and it stuck horribly.

Preheat your oven to 400. Microwave the riced cauliflower according to package directions. Mine called for 5 1/2 - 6 minutes a bag. Tear or cut the bags open and let it sit for a bit to cool.

I beat my eggs with a fork (and checked my written changes to the original recipe!) while I was waiting.

Then stir both bags of riced cauliflower and your cheeses into the egg.

If you've never used parchment paper before, you've absolutely <got> to get some. Stuff is magical for baking and easy cleanup! Nothing sticks to it that I've ever tried, and you just throw it away when you're done, no scrubbing pans or baking sheets! They sell it in the grocery stores with the aluminum foil and plastic wrap and that sort of thing.

Scrape all your cauliflower mixture onto the pizza stone and spread it around. I use my bare hands to shape it; that’s always seemed to work best. SO much easier and quicker than kneading and shaping regular dough!

And into the oven for 25 minutes at 400 it goes!
Voilà!






Top it with whatever sauce or pizza toppings you choose: I am using an alfredo sauce I whipped up in the microwave real quick (equal parts butter, fat free half and half, and Parmesan, just heat till it’s melted and whisk together), steamed spinach, and rotisserie chicken. And mozzarella, of course, what’s a pizza without mozzarella cheese? 

*Just a health-conscious, calorie-saving tip here: I have found that if I use really top-quality pizza toppings (note I made the sauce rather than using a canned alfredo), I don’t feel the need to DROWN it in cheese. You’ve got cheese in the crust already, remember! If I’ve put the money and effort intgetting really good pizza toppings, I want to be able to TASTE those toppings, you understand. You can see, it's not a solid slab of melted cheese. I used closer to 3/4-1 cup, rather than two or three cups of shredded cheese.

Pop it back in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Aaaaaand done!


CAULIFLOWER PIZZA CRUST

2 10oz bags frozen riced cauliflower
3 eggs
1/2 C shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 C shredded Parmesan 

Preheat oven to 400.

Cook cauliflower according to package directions and allow to cool slightly.

Beat the eggs together; add cauliflower and cheeses. Stir until mixed well.

Top a pizza stone or round baking sheet with parchment paper. Press cauliflower mixture to even thickness on parchment paper.

Bake at 400 for 25 minutes.

Remove from oven; top with desired sauce and toppings. Return to oven 8-10 minutes or until cheeses are melted and lightly browned.

Servings: I wound up cutting six slices out of my pie.
Calories per serving: *just for the crust* 55

My Cream Sauce is better than Your Cream Sauce (and *Healthier* Too): Grilled Chicken Florentine Pasta

I started today with that “Florentine,” which really just means “spinach,” for those of you not used to that!

I was steaming it in the microwave. Buy a lot of spinach, it cooks down like nothing else.

Add a little bit of water (I just run it under the tap for a few seconds), cover, and into the microwave it goes for four minutes at a time, until the whole bag’s steamed. Stir it in between its four-minutes-es.

Next I did the chicken. Just one chicken breast, but this one’s a little over a pound, by itself. Use the big knife! The chef’s knife really IS best.

Trimmed up, and I’m just playing a bit with the spice cabinet before I put it on my George Foreman (my condo doesn’t have space for an outdoor grill, you see!): I patted parsley, thyme, and oregano into it.

I think I gave that eight minutes on the electric grill. It may not be as much fun as a gas grill outside, but it sure is a lot more convenient! 

I had eighty-seven other things going on in the kitchen (I’m making lunches for the week too), and the chicken grilled right there on my counter where I could keep an eye on it. And the George Foreman is even cleaned and ready to go back on its shelf while the chicken is resting.

IMPORTANT TIP for you newer cooks out there: don’t cut your meat right away after it’s cooked. Let it sit - oh, five or ten minutes or so - long enough to clean your grill, at least, lol! That keeps it juicier, less dry.

I was cooking my pasta while all this was going on. And that pasta-pot is KEY to the healthier cream sauce!

In my four-cup measure (if you do not have a glass four-cup measure you simply MUST get one), I have tossed in about two tablespoons minced garlic, half an 8-oz block of Neufchâtel cheese, and probably a teaspoon each of parsley and oregano - you see?

NOW, as I drain my pasta, I’m <reserving> TWO CUPS of the water the pasta cooked in! One cup is going in the four-cup measure, the other I’m saving to thin down the sauce if it needs it. Get a whisk and stir till it’s smooth.

You see?

I’m putting it in one of my great big mixing bowls to toss it all together, since I’m not serving it from here. A nice serving bowl would work as well!

*A note on that Neufchâtel: it’s often sold as the “low-fat cream cheese.” Which it is, a lower-fat cheese very similar to cream cheese - but it really is a separate kind of cheese (a Swiss cheese, from Switzerland, that is: as my friend Eric just reminded me, as he helped me title this blog post). I prefer it for cooking or for hot dips - I use it in my Spinach-Artichoke Dip, for example. Cheese balls and such, I prefer regular cream cheese. You can use either here; but I prefer the Neufchâtel!

GRILLED CHICKEN FLORENTINE PASTA

Large bag of fresh spinach (mine was 40 oz)

16oz Tinkanyada pasta

1lb chicken breasts

1/2 an 8oz block of Neufchâtel cheese

2T minced garlic

Parsley

Thyme

Oregano 

Fresh Parmesan

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Steam the spinach in the microwave, four minutes at a time, until done. Set aside.

Pat parsley, thyme, and oregano onto chicken breasts, to taste. Grill chicken. Remove chicken from grill when done and set aside to rest. After 5-10 minutes, thinly slice chicken.

Roughly chunk the Neufchâtel into a large glass measure or small bowl. Add the garlic and more herbs, as desired.

When pasta is done, reserve two cups pasta water. Add one cup to the Neufchâtel mixture and stir until smooth. Thin with reserved pasta water as needed.

Toss steamed spinach, grilled chicken, pasta, and sauce together. Top with fresh Parmesan to serve.

Servings: 7

Calories per serving: 283

Chicken Fried Rice

The trick to fried rice is <leftover> rice. Dead serious.

I cooked this yesterday and left it in the fridge overnight. 

If you’re using bacon, fry that in your wok first. I didn’t go to the trouble of finding GF bacon, so I started with my chicken. 

Pan spray, your stir-fry-sized chichen, and garlic: stir fry is best done over relatively high heat, but that means you’ve got to keep an eye on it!

When the chicken’s done, set it aside and scramble an egg or two.

When that’s done, add in your leftover rice; I used a bag of frozen peas and carrots too. Top it with a good bit of soy sauce.

If you’re gluten free, make sure you are using GLUTEN FREE SOY SAUCE. This is Tamari, a brand made with 100% soy. Most brands have wheat. Check your labels, as always!

I added half a bag of cole slaw mix, because I like the crunch of the cabbage. Once that was all heated through, I added my chicken back in.

And voila! Stir it in, serve it up.

I’m packaging this in my bento boxes for lunches this week. I LOVE homemade stir fry for packed lunches!

CHICKEN FRIED RICE

2 cups rice, cooked ahead and refrigerated overnight

2 slices bacon
2 T minced garlic

1 pound chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 eggs

12oz bag frozen peas and diced carrots

1/2 16oz bag cole slaw mix

GF soy sauce

Fry your two slices of bacon in the wok over medium-high heat. Remove bacon when done, reserving grease. Crumble.

Add chicken to the wok. Stir fry until done; remove.

Scramble the eggs, adding more pan spray if necessary. Add rice and peas and carrots; heat through, topping generously with soy sauce. 

Add the cole slaw mix and reserved chicken and bacon. Stir through till thoroughly heated. Serve.

Servings: 7

Calories per serving: 330

Baked Potatoes: A Week’s Worth of Options

So I was at the theater all day Saturday, which is usually my cooking day.

Easy and quick solution? A bag of Russet potatoes. 

Potatoes get a bad rap, between all the the low-carb folks and all the horrible things we do to them - well, horrible health-wise, at least. I’ll be the first to admit I like a deep-fried potato as much as anyone! 

But to try and keep them lighter and healthy - this bag of Russets were BAKED. A good sized (10oz) Russet baking potato - those are the great big brown ones in the store - only has 150 calories, but has a good bit of fiber and potassium and over HALF of your Vitamin C for the day. (Who goes to potatoes for Vitamin C?

Here are potatoes in their nice little bento boxes for my weeknight dinners with some of my toppings behind them

 

Some of the suggestions:

Pesto + Spinach + Fried Egg + Bacon (I tried that one)

Greek Yogurt + Tomato + Smoked Salmon + Chives (I tried this one too)

Barbeque Sauce + Broccoli + Shredded Pork + Cheddar Cheese (I'll get you my recipe for homemade barbeque sauce one of these weeks - SO easy, and SO much better than anything you can buy!)

Fresh Salsa + Avocado + Pinto Beans + Chili Powder 

Mayonnaise + Lettuce, Tomato, and Onion + Ground Beef + Colby Jack Cheese

PORTIONING

Ashley’s diet ruminations of the day: 

How I Keep That Hundred Pounds Off, in other words.

*measuring out nuts for bedtime snack now*

A really huge problem with obesity in America - I know we eat trash, that’s the other huge problem - but really, a big part of it is that Americans just eat TOO MUCH. What a restaurant serves you, just for one, is usually twice a meal!

I cook on the weekends, if you haven’t figured that out by now 😊, and bento box my portions for the week. 

I think we all probably have a tendency, too, to think we can go on eating what we always have been able to eat - no? 

Our metabolisms slow down with age. If you haven't figured that out yet - hold on, it's coming. 

Note that! That means if we want to stay the same weight with a slower metabolism, WE’VE GOT TO EAT LESS THAN WE’VE BEEN USED TO.

I hit the ‘40-year-old’ slowdown a couple years early, I think, but it definitely happened. I kept the weight off! But I’m eating less to do it.

Think about it. Legit think, if you’re struggling with your weight. Lots of times it’s not really a fad diet you need, you know. 

It’s just - not eating as MUCH.

PORTION what you eat. For me, I count calories to keep portions in check. A lot of people don’t want to do that; I get it, it’s work. It's just what works for me!

Measure it. Weigh it. 

Count out how many servings are in that box or bag and separate them out. Figure out how to make 2 oz of pasta a dinner serving! (I add bulk, vegetables and lean protein.) Food scales are the best, too. Get a food scale. They’re cheap, I picked mine up for $10-$15, I think.

Use your measuring cups. Buy that food scale! We ALL overestimate when we're estimating.

KNOW what you're eating - and KNOW HOW MUCH.

InstaPot Burrito Bowls

I LOVE this recipe. Burrito bowls used to be such a mess: your meat, your rice, your beans and whatever else, all cooked separately equaled a total mess of a kitchen, no?

Here it goes all in one Instapot. 

I just used one chicken breast; you can use more, of course, if you like more chicken. But this chicken breast was almost a pound (13 oz) itself, so I called it good!

Chicken breast, trimmed, diced tomatoes, ground cumin, a touch of chili powder (adjust for heat), and garlic powder into the InstaPot: cook on Poultry for 15 minutes. 

Release the pressure carefully. Add in a cup and a half of rice (you can see I’m a rice snob, using brown because it’s healthier, and Basmati because I like it best, lol), a can of black beans, and a cup and a half of frozen corn.

Use your own black beans if you had time to prepare them ahead! I usually do, for the sodium factor, I just didn’t have time since I was on vacation last week.

Stir; replace the lid (don’t forget to turn your exhaust back to ‘Airtight’!), and set it for 16 minutes on the Rice setting.

When it is done, let it rest for another 10 minutes before opening the lid. 

Shred the chicken with a fork and stir back into the other ingredients to combine. 

I portion this out as burrito bowls, myself, because of the gluten-free issues with finding the large tortillas, but you could certainly use it as burrito filling as well. I top with Greek yogurt (easier to find gluten free than low-fat sour cream) and sometimes sharp cheddar cheese.


INSTAPOT BURRITO BOWLS

Ingredients:
1 lb skinless boneless chicken breasts, trimmed
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
1 T ground cumin
Chili powder, to taste
Garlic or onion powder, to taste
1 1/3 C chicken stock
1 1/2 C brown rice
1 C frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 14-oz can black beans

Add chicken breast, tomatoes, cumin, chili powder, garlic/onion powder, and chicken stock to InstaPot and stir to combine.

Properly close the lid. Start cooking on 'Poultry' mode for 15 minutes.

When cooking is done, release pressure and open lid.

Add brown rice, corn, and black beans and stir to combine. Replace the lid, making sure exhaust vent is closed, and set to 'Rice' setting for 17 minutes.

When cooking is done, let rest for another 10 minutes before opening lid.

Shred the chicken and stir back in to combine with other ingredients.

Servings: 7
Calories per serving: 257

InstaPot Green Beans

I was very wary of vegetables in the Instapot - I thought they’d be too fragile to stand up to pressure cooking - but green beans do GREAT.

You know I tend to buy my vegetables in bulk. I bought two of these bags for the week.

Thankfully they did not need much trimming! 

Lessons from the knife skills class inserted here: how to hold a paring knife! See how my forefinger’s steering the paring knife?

Filled up the Instapot, and just barely covered with beef broth. 

Put the lid on, set on Pressure Cook (pressure high) for two minutes, and - go!

Then I release the pressure manually when they’re done, so they don’t continue cooking, and drain in a colander. 

So nice and easy! And that’s green beans for the week!