Attempting “clean” eating……whatever that means.

I’m really trying to eat better lately but I’m having a hard time trying to figure out what I should actually be eating. I’ve been reading about clean eating lately and while everyone has their own version of what this means, I think I get the gist of it. Its pretty much eating whole foods rather than processed, several smaller meals a day, lots of water and stay away from crap. Sounds easy enough….yeah right.

I’m going to give it a really good try though and I will be posting recipes I find and make – the good and the bad. And make no mistake guys, there will be bad. 

My first attempt is a veggie pizza made with a cauliflower crust…..yes I said cauliflower. I’ve heard that you can make faux mashed potatoes from cauliflower but I couldn’t quite picture the crust. I looked it up, found some recipes and gave it a try. I knew that this wasn’t going to taste or be the same texture as regular pizza crust, but I figured it could work when I’m craving something carby. There were many reviews on this crust raving how it was just as good as the real thing and how even the pickiest eater in their family loved it. I call bullshit. 

First, I will give my opinion of just the crust. Unless I did something wrong, and I’m pretty sure I didn’t, this is not a substitute for actual pizza crust. The texture was wet, and it tastes like cauliflower with a crispy outside and mushy inside. The taste was good, but the texture takes some getting used to. Plus, be prepared to use well sprayed parchment paper underneath or it will stick to whatever you baked it on. 

Now for the final product. Once I added the oil sauce, veggies and cheese, it started to resemble something I could enjoy. It had good flavor and I could see making this and cutting it up as appetizers or on a night where everyone else is eating real pizza. 

Now that I’ve made it sound so good and you guys are just waiting to make this here is the recipe:

Cauliflower Crust:

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

1 egg

1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded

1 teaspoon oregano or Italian seasoning blend

 salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450. Rice the cauliflower in a food processor. Get a small saucepan, add and inch of water and bring to a boil. Add the cauliflower and cook for 4-5 minutes until soft. Strain the cauliflower and place in a clean dish towel. Twist the dish towel and squeeze out all the excess water. In a medium bowl mix together cauliflower, egg, cheese and spices. Cover a baking sheet or stone with parchment paper and cover generously with cooking spray. Bake crust for 15-20 minutes. 

Now its time to add sauce and toppings. 

Oil Sauce:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp oregano

a pinch of salt

Mix together and spread on crust.

This is where you can add your favorite toppings. I used chopped onions, mushrooms, olives and mozzarella cheese. 

Place back in oven and bake for another 10 minutes. 

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

Cooking the last few weeks has been really fun, but we’ve paid a price.  I can’t zip my jeans without using a hanger……yes people, its that bad. All of the breads, brownies, cookies and pastas have caught up with us. I say us, because my husband  is feeling the effects just as much as I am. He had a weigh in at work and lets just say that there will be no more bread making in the foreseeable future.

I’m not giving up on cooking though…..I just need to find healthier recipes to try out. As always, I’m open to suggestions so if anyone has a great recipe they want to share, feel free. I’m mostly looking for dinners and desserts, but anything is welcome. In the meantime I will be doing some research and coming up with some of my own.

Its too early for my winter weight!!

SHREK SMOOTHIE

I woke up this morning and thought how good it would be to have a piece of the apple carrot cake with my coffee this morning……or a brownie. Oh yes, a nice warm chocolatey brownie dipped in coffee. Then I realized that I might have to write a weight loss book after this cookbook is finished and I just don’t have the motivation for that. So its time to get healthy. Um, well…..healthier.

This is what I decided to “eat” for breakfast this morning. Yes, I know its green but if you can get past that its really filling and yummy! I know I’ve posted one of these before, but its worth a second look

 SMOOTHIE:

1 apple, cored and peeled – I used a granny smith

1 banana, sliced

soy milk – about 3/4 -1 cup – I used Silk Vanilla

spinach leaves – I stuffed as much as I could get in there

ice

Throw it all in the blender and mix until smooth.  The possibilities are endless for this smoothie….you can put in some greek yogurt, or whey, different fruits and veggies and whatever milk you like. Have fun with it & if anyone wants to post a recipe and pic of their favorite smoothie, I would love to try it out!

I’m declaring this Ice Cream Week

I’m starting to have fun with my ice cream maker and have used it a couple more times since I posted (yesterday) that I figured I would just continue the theme this week. I highly suggest getting one and trying out your own recipes!

I’m definitely open to suggestions for a flavor you want me to try this week…here are a few I was thinking of – feel free to add any:

Blackberry with dark chocolate chunks

Rocky Road

Cherry Cheesecake

Cafe Mocha w/Almonds

Chocolate Swirl Pecan

Cinnamon Apple Pie

I didn’t forget you my fellow weight-conscious readers. Yesterday I made a chocolate banana almond milk ice cream that has about 60-75 calories per serving. It actually turned out pretty good ….the texture is more frozen yogurt than creamy ice cream. Next time I will add almonds or pecans because I like a little crunch in my ice cream. It totally works when you are craving something chocolatey and sweet and won’t set you back for the day. Plus it is low fat, low calorie, vegan, and I believe gluten free – can’t get better than that.I found this recipe on Bay Area Bites website.

CHOCOLATE BANANA ALMOND MILK ICE CREAM

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups almond milk
• 2 ripe bananas
• 2 heaping tablespoons chocolate cocoa powder
• 2 Tbsp sugar

Instructions

1. In a microwaveable bowl or cup whisk 1/2 cup almond milk with the chocolate cocoa and sugar until fully incorporated. Microwave for 40 seconds and then stir.
2. Place bananas plus the remainder of the almond milk into a blender along with the cocoa mixture and puree for about 10 seconds.
3. Place mixture in the ice cream maker and process for 20 minutes or until thick.
4. Serve right away or store in the freezer for later use or to firm up a bit more if desired.

I don’t need a parade, but I did make my own bread!

I’m going to share a few things about me. Some of these are repetitive for those of you following my blog, but they need to be said again.

1. I am not an experienced cook or baker….I’m basically stumbling through this trying to learn new things.

2. I had no idea you could cook a chicken in a crock pot. I know…duh!

3. I’ve never made bread (actual yeast bread) ever. Never ever. I find it intimidating.

Last week as I was being a bit lazy, I was trying to think what to make for dinner. It was cold, dreary and rainy out so I knew comfort food was a must. I went through my freezer and discovered I had chicken breasts I forgot about and an overabundance of noodles (thanks Sams Club!). Chicken noodle soup it is then. I’ve never made soup before…..I know that sounds ridiculous but I figured it was much easier to buy from the store so what’s the difference? The difference I found out was the taste…..soooo worth it to make you own! I thought it would be much harder, but it turns out you just throw a bunch of crap in a crockpot and let it cook. I just made that sound really appetizing.

Then came the question of what to serve with soup. The most obvious answer was bread, but all I had was sliced bread and that doesn’t make the most winning combination. I remembered I had yeast in the cupboard….I bought it to make sticky buns, but never got around to it. Anyway, I only had a couple hours so  I looked up a quick bread recipe. I found one that looked easy enough and got to work. After a few minutes, it actually looked like dough and I proudly put it in the oven. Too bad I accidentally set it at 450 instead of 400 and didn’t realize until 20 minutes in. It wasn’t burnt, but crunchy it was!

As you can see from the pictures, the loaf came out pretty good, but slicing it was a nightmare. I freaked out after cooking it too high and turned the temp down too low. It looked pretty bad, but was good with butter and as toast. Not quite a disaster because it tasted good, but pretty close! I will try it again making sure I get it right next time.

CROCK POT CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP:

4-5 boneless skinless chicken breasts (or thighs)

5 carrots, sliced into coins

1/2 head cauliflower

1/2 onion, chopped

2 boxes fat free low sodium chicken broth

seasonings: sea salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, oregano. paprika – add at least 1-2 tsps of each, but you can add more to taste

1 large bag noodles – your preference

Place chicken breasts on bottom of crock pot. Add veggies, spices & broth. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. Make sure chicken is cooked all the way through. You can take chicken out & cut into pieces or shred right in crock pot. Cook noodles and add to soup.

EASY PEASY BREAD:

I found recipe on : http://www.food.com/recipe/quick-yeast-bread-8916

• 5 cups white all-purpose flour        
• 2 tablespoons yeast (or 2 x 7g pkts)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups warm-hot water
• 1/4 cup cooking oil

1. Put 4 cups of the flour, yeast, sugar and salt into large bowl.
2. Pour in hot water and oil and mix until combined- it will be sticky.
3. Add the remaining flour in increments until dough is no longer sticky.
4. Knead for about 5 minutes until dough is elastic and smooth.
5. Place dough back into bowl and cover with a damp teatowel and let it rise until double its size- about 1/2 hour.
6. Punch it down and divide dough into two pieces.
7. Roll pieces long enough to fill two well oiled loaf pans and leave to rise until dough has reached the rim of the pan.
8. Bake at 400F for 40 minutes.
9. Rub hot breads with water and wrap in a teatowel to’sweat’ to soften the crust.

Low Calorie Mocha Frappuccino Alternative

I was in line at Starbucks the other day ordering my usual iced green tea and while I was waiting at the counter I heard the lady in front of me get a raspberry green tea frappuccino. So of course the next day I ordered thinking it can’t be too bad if I get it with soy and no whip. UM, WRONG! I looked it up and it’s freaking 420 calories!! This led me to my own kitchen to try to come up with a lighter drink that still tasted good. I would have liked to use green tea, but I don’t have any powder so I went for a coffee and chocolate – can’t go wrong there!

I came up with a mocha frappuccino type drink that contains about 130 calories for a 20 oz.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups brewed coffee, really strong

1 cup vanilla Silk soy milk (or skim or 2 %)

5 tsp no calorie sweetener

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

ice

whipped cream (I use whipped topping – 25 calories per 2 tbsp)

Put all ingredients (except whipped cream) in blender and blend on high until desired consistency. Top with whipped and enjoy!

You may have to adjust some of the amounts to come up with something that suits your tastes, but this is a great alternative to a sugary, calorie filled frappuccino.