I made roasted cauliflower a few days ago and it's now one of my favorite key-friendly foods. The original recipe is called "cauliflower popcorn," but I agree with my key-friends who make this all the time — cauliflower popcorn sounds too misleading — it's not at all popcorn-like. Call it what you like, but make this soon and make it often! It was so delicious I didn't event take a photo.
Ingredients
  • 1 head of cauliflower (or equal amount of commercially pre-cut cauliflower)
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil 
  • salt to taste (1⁄2-1 teaspoon, optional)
Directions
  1. Turn oven on to 425 degrees.
  2. Trim the head of cauliflower, discarding the core and thick stems; cut florets into pieces about the size of ping-pong balls.
  3. In a large bowl, combine the olive oil and salt, whisk, then add the cauliflower pieces and toss thoroughly.
  4. Spread the cauliflower pieces onto a baking sheet and roast for about 1 hour, turning 3 or 4 times, until most of each piece has turned golden brown. 
  5. The browner the cauliflower pieces turn, the more caramelization occurs and the sweeter they'll taste.
Other Suggestions
  • For easy cleanup line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Sprinkle granulated garlic or roast fresh garlic along with the cauliflower.
  • When it comes out of the oven sprinkle lightly with Parmesan.
  • Make a cream of cauliflower soup using cauliflower, chicken stock, and shallots, and just before serving add caramelized cauliflower.
When I cooked the roasted cauliflower I put these these bacon-wrapped sirloin medallions (from Target - see package below) in the oven too. The meat was delicious, but the medallions were so thick that by the time they were cooked well enough for me they weren't visually appetizing because the meat was so black. I'll make this from scratch next time and when I do I'll cut the meat thinner and use better bacon.
Photo and recipe source for cauliflower popcorn: Food
March 10, 2015
This recipe looks delicious. Adding sausage or your favorite meat is an even better idea. Otherwise, serve this as a side dish with meat.
Ingredients
  • About 3 cups cooked spaghetti squash
  • 2 large garden tomatoes sliced
  • Kosher Salt
  • Garlic Powder
  • Onion Powder
  • Basil (dried or fresh)
  • Parsley (dried or fresh)
  • 5oz of fancy shredded Mexican cheese blend
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Spray a 11 x 9 casserole dish with non-stick spray.
  3. Spread about 1 cup of spaghetti squash on the bottom.
  4. Top with a layer of sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle with kosher salt and spices.
  5. Top with 1.5 oz of cheese.
  6. Add another layer of squash, then tomatoes, spices, and cheese. 
  7. Top with a final layer of squash.
  8. Add the last 2 oz of cheese on top of the squash and sprinkle with more spices.
  9. Bake for 30 minutes uncovered.
  10. Top with fresh cut basil.

Photo and original recipe source: Simplex Food
March 02, 2015
This recipe comes from key-friend Barb, whose family thoroughly enjoyed this dish right along with her. Blog contributor Jennifer jumped right on this recipe and made it her own by adding soy sauce (see her photos and recipe alterations below). I had every intention of making this for dinner last night, but it turned out to be one of those nights where I skipped dinner. Skipping dinner never happened before I started this program!
Prep Time: 16 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 6

Ingredients
  • 3 pounds (21-26 count) Unpeeled Shrimp (more or less works too)
  • ½ cup Olive Oil
  • Salt And Pepper
  • 3 whole Lemons (juice Of)
  • ¼ to ½ cup Worcestershire Sauce
  • Tabasco
  • 1 stick Butter
Preparation Instructions
  1. Thoroughly rinse raw shrimp w/shells still on. I use 21-26 count (that means 21-26 shrimp per pound) but I’ve certainly used bigger. Any smaller than this, and it’s difficult to peel, so stick with 21-26 or bigger. 
  2. Place the shrimp in a large baking pan in a single layer. 
  3. Drizzle about ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil over top of shrimp.
  4. Generously sprinkle black pepper over top of the shrimp and then sprinkle salt (I use kosher). Be very generous with the salt and the pepper.
  5. Squeeze the juice from about 3-4 lemons over top of all of the shrimp.
  6. Drizzle ¼ to ½ cup Worcestershire sauce all over the shrimp. 
  7. Drizzle Tabasco sauce over the top to your desired heat/temperature.
  8. Cut the stick of butter into pats and then evenly distribute the pats on top of the shrimp.
  9. Place the pan of shrimp under the broiler for just about 10 minutes until the shrimp are no longer translucent. 
Blog contributor Jennifer Churchill made this recipe and here's what she had to say about her spicy shrimp with soy sauce:
"The only addition I made was about 3 tbs of soy sauce added after the pats of butter. Just amazing.."


Original recipe and photo source: The Pioneer Woman
March 02, 2015
This Pepperoni Pizza Cauliflower Casserole recipe looks delicious, but right now I'm seriously restricting the amount of cheese, so I won't be making this any time soon. It calls for heavy cream, which you may want to substitute with whole milk and also cut back on the amount of cheese. When I make this, I will update this recipe to reflect my adjustments and I'll add my own photo.
Ingredients

For the Puree
  • 1 medium head of cauliflower
  • 2 Tbsp Heavy Cream
  • 1 Tbsp Butter
  • 8 slices pepperoni
  • 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • salt and pepper
For the Casserole
  • 12 slices pepperoni
  • 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions

For the Puree
  1. Clean and trim the cauliflower, breaking it into medium sized pieces.
  2. Place in a microwave safe bowl with cream and butter.
  3. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 10 minutes.
  4. Stir to coat cauliflower with cream/butter mixture.
  5. Microwave for another six minutes on high (or until tender.)
  6. Remove from the microwave and put into a high speed blender or food processor along with the 8 slices of pepperoni and 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese.
  7. Puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  8. Adjust the cream and butter to your preference for consistency. 
For the Casserole
  1. Spread the cauliflower puree into an 8 x 8 oven proof casserole dish.
  2. Cover with 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, and layer with pepperoni.
  3. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes (or  microwave for 5 minutes).
  4. Serve hot. 


Photograph and original recipe source: iBreathe I'm Hungry
March 02, 2015
Here's a recipe for the cauliflower and ham hash, which is similar to the description Jennifer gave me after I had this at Earlee Mug last week.
Ingredients
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil 
  • 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets (5 cups) 
  • 1 medium onion, chopped 
  • 1/2 pound baked or deli ham, chopped (2 cups) 
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt 
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper 
  • 4 large eggs 
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley 
Instructions
  1. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. 
  2. Add the cauliflower and onion and cook until browned, 10 to 12 minutes. 
  3. Add the ham, season with the paprika, salt, and pepper, and cook, tossing, until tender, 10 to 15 minutes; transfer to a plate. 
  4. Reduce heat to medium and heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in the skillet. 
  5. Fry the eggs to the desired doneness, 2 to 3 minutes for slightly runny yolks. 
  6. Serve on the hash and sprinkle with the parsley. 
Recipes for the other foods I had last week at the Earlee Mug:

Cauliflower and Ham Hash recipe modified from: Real Simple
March 02, 2015
Last week I made a visit to the Earlee Mug (Granby, MA) and I had three delicious foods that are specifically key-friendly: Chicken buffalo burger (recipe below), cauliflower ham hash, and a cauliflower bun. All were delicious and Jen has graciously offered recipes. I live so close to this place I just go there instead of making these foods.
Ingredients for Buffalo Burgers
  • 1 lb ground chicken
  • 1/4 cup hot sauce
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheese
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp celery seed
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1 egg (optional)
Ingredients for Cucumber Slaw
  • 2 medium cucumbers, seeds removed and grated
  • 2 Tbsp shredded carrot
  • 2 Tbsp homemade mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • Juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • 1/2 tsp celery seed
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt and pepper
Note: if cucumbers aren't available, top your buffalo burger with blue cheese dressing.
Instructions
  1. Combine all the cucumber slaw ingredients in a bowl and put the bowl to the side.
  2. Mix all of the ingredients, except the chicken, in another bowl.  
  3. Add the chicken and stir (or use your hands) until the buffalo sauce mixture is incorporated.
  4. Form the meat into 3-4 equal patties.
  5. Grill the patties for 5-7 minutes on one side. Oil as necessary to prevent sticking. 
  6. Flip the burger over and brush with additional buffalo sauce. 
  7. Cook for another 5 minutes or until cooked through.
  8. Serve the burger on a lettuce leaf and top with Cucumber Slaw (or blue cheese dressing).
Key-friend Lou stopped by the Earlee Mug and took home some of their ham hash. He heated the ham has on his cast iron skillet and served it with two eggs over easy.

Original recipe source: Holistically Engineered
March 01, 2015
Today's recipe is from Lou, one of our key friends who is a fabulous cook. The beauty of this pesto is that it does not contain pine nuts. It's also fresher and cheaper than store bought pesto.  Pesto is one of those ingredients you can add to just about everything you make. Fresh basil is available year-round and you can make this in large batches and then freeze it in smaller portions. This recipe is inspiring me to try growing basil summer.
Ingredients
  • 1.5 cups baby spinach
  • .75 cups basil
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • .5 cups grated Parmesan
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
Directions
  • Place everything in a blender or food processor and blend while adding olive oil until smooth.
Related Articles
Suggested recipes for Lou's Pesto:
February 25, 2015
My eating routine has evolved since I started eating the key-way. I used to think the time of day determined when or if I was hungry. Every morning I would get out of bed and it was immediately time for breakfast. At the strike of noon, I was hungry. A clock, I've learned, has nothing to do with hunger.

My eating routine completely evolved on the morning after my first session when I got out of bed and I did something I hadn’t done since I was 19 years old - I skipped breakfast. I just wasn’t hungry. The fact that I had woken up that morning fully embracing the concept to eat only when I'm hungry shocked me, but it felt good and it felt right, so I went with it.

It’s four years later and I still don’t eat breakfast - most days. I say most days, because my appetite changes from time to time. With no ties to the clock, I usually eat between 11-2 and then again between 5-8. There are mornings when I am hungry and I have breakfast, days when I’m not hungry and skip lunch or dinner completely, and days when I don’t eat at all. Yes, there are times when I don't eat for a day or two. Talk about shocker! Once again, it feels good and it feels right, so I go with it.

As I was writing this piece, I realized I was hungry. I noticed the time, 10:50am, as I got up from my computer. I wasn’t looking at the clock to determine if I was hungry, those days are long gone, I needed to keep an eye on the time so I wouldn't miss an appointment.

I heated up the last of yesterday's homemade chicken soup and as I stirred the soup I thought about a conversation I had with blog contributors at our potluck this past weekend. A few of us discussed the possibility that we may be using the concept to eat when you hungry to allow ourselves to eat too much.

Is it possible that we're on a plateau because we're eating too much? 

As I write this, my immediate response is:
If you think you’re eating too much, then you probably are.
Can it really be this simple? Yes, I believe it is this simple.

Looking at my bowl of chicken soup, I wondered if one bowl of soup would be enough.

Of course it’s enough – it’s a whole bowl of chicken, vegetables, and broth! 

The day before I made chicken soup from a whole chicken. At lunch I ate some of the chicken when it was still warm. At dinner, I ate three bowls of soup. Or was it four?

But that’s okay - right? Everything I ate was on program. The chicken-vegetable ratio was spot on. Sure, everything I ate was on program, but did I really need to eat that many bowls? Was I really that hungry?

I knew the answer: probably not.

I'm at a turning point in my weight loss journey and the answer to this question is essential:
Am I ready to evolve once again on my weight loss journey?
Yes,  I'm ready to evolve my weight loss program. Reaching my goal size depends on this evolution. This feels good and it feels right, so I'm going for it. 

What about you? Is it time for an evolution in your weight loss evolution?
February 23, 2015