DON'T WISH FOR IT. WORK FOR IT.

Whether you are gluten free, paleo, count your macos, a calorie counter, want to add more vegetables into your day or just like to try new things this is the post for you.  Using vegetables and preparing them a different way can not only change up your meals but can help to cut calories and carbohydrates while keeping you fuller and help you to lose weight.  You can make some amazing and inventive meals by just changing up how you think about simple things like cauliflower, zucchini and squash.  

Here are some of my favorites:

Cauliflower

Cauliflower is so versatile you can make so many different things with it.  Cauliflower is low in calories and carbohydrates and is easy to prepare. 

Pizza crust- I have made pizza crust with cauliflower and added my favorite topping to it to make it a healthy version of pizza.  

Bread Sticks-You can also use the same recipe and make it into cheesy breadsticks by following the same recipe and topping it with just cheese and cutting it into sticks.  

Tater Tots- A friend has also made tater tots by using the same recipe and making them into small balls like tater tots and baking them.  They are a great alternative to the original fried version.  

Here is the recipe to make the the pizza crust, bread sticks and tater tots:

1 head of cauliflower

1 whole egg

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese

1/2 mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Wash and dry a small head of cauliflower and cut off the stem.  You will only need to use the florets.  Pulse the florets of the cauliflower in the food processor for about 30 seconds or until you get a powdery mix.  

Place the cauliflower in the microwave for 6 minutes in a microwave safe bowl.  When it is cool wring out the excess water from the cauliflower.  Place the cauliflower back into the bowl and add in the egg, parmesan and mozzarella cheese, 1/2 teaspoon basil, 1/2 teaspoon oregano, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder.  Mix all the ingredients together with your hand.

Mold into a pizza crust, breadsticks or tater tots.

Cauliflower Bread -Did you know that you can use use cauliflower to make bread?  Well, neither did I until my friend Amanda Brown of Beautiful You showed me how to use it.  http://beautifulufitnessuniversity.com/wonder-power-cauliflower/ 

Cauliflower Rice- Another recipe Amanda came up with is using cauliflower as a substitute for rice.  She tells you about about how to make fried rice here  http://beautifulufitnessuniversity.com/fried-cauliflower-rice/

Mashed Cauliflower-  I think the South Beach diet made this one very popular.  Using cauliflower instead of potatoes to make a dish that mimics mashed potatoes.  

I gave a little spin to this recipe by adding some wasabi to it.  

Wasabi Mashed "Potatoes"

1 head cauliflower, torn into florets
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk 
1 teaspoon wasabi powder
1 tablespoon chives, minced 
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Ground black pepper to taste

In pot, steam cauliflower in 2 cups water until fork tender, about 20-25 minutes.  Transfer cauliflower and any remaining liquid to blender or food processor and blend until smooth.  Heat milk in small saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes.  Whisk in wasabi powder until dissolved.  Add milk mixture, chives, butter, salt, and pepper to cauliflower.  Mix well to combine: serve immediately.  

Shirataki Miracle Noodles   

Shirataki noodles are made of naturally water soluble fiber with no fat, sugar, or starch. 

They contain zero net carbohydrates and zero calories, no gluten -made of a healthy natural fiber called Glucomannan.  These noodles wheat & gluten free and kosher and easily absorbs the flavors of any soup, dish, or sauce.

2 cups will give you 0g of fat, 0g of protein, 0 carbs, 0 calories and and 4g of Fiber.    

You can find Shirataki noodles at your local Asian or health food market.

Mung Bean Noodles

Mung Bean Noodles are made up of mung beans and water, that’s right only two ingredients.  They are a great alternative to pasta if you like yours al dente ( a little hard).  For a serving size of 2 oz, there are 182 calories, 2 grams of fat, 17 grams of carbs 11 of which are fiber, and wait for it...25 grams of protein!!  Yes! 

You would cook these like you would regular pasta and I would serve it with more of an asian flair cooking then a Italian style dish.

Spaghetti Squash

I feel in love with Spaghetti Squash years ago.  It is so super easy to make and is a great alternative to making pasta.  There are plenty of gluten free pastas on the market like quinoa and brown rice pasta but using Spaghetti Squash is a great to use when you want to keep it high in fiber and low in calories and carbohydrates.    

Spaghetti Squash is easy to make, you can pick up the squash at your local grocery store and either cook it in the microwave or oven.  

My friend Esther Blum of Living Gorgeous takes you through how to make my momma’s meatball and sauce recipe using spaghetti squash here. http://www.livinggorgeous.com/mamas-sunday-meatballs-spaghetti-squash/

Spiralized Vegetables 

Have you been spiralized yet?  This may be my new favorite addiction!  I have heard about it for a long time but just never tried it.  A few weeks ago my friend bought one and we had dinner get together to test out a bunch of recipes.  Let me tell you, it was A-MAZ-ZING!!  

A spirlizer takes any type of firm vegetable like butternut squash, zucchini, cucumber and turns them into spaghetti like strands.  

Our first meal we made Butternut squash “pasta” with Butternut “risotto” and a spiralized cucumber salad.  This meal was SO good!  It was loaded with veggies and fiber and really filled you up.  

We also tried a spiralized zucchini dish with broccolini and chickpeas on another night and again it was so good.

I love the spiralizer because it is a great way to change up eating your vegetables, it actually makes it really fun to make different things with a simple piece of equipment.  I’m still new to using the spiralizer and haven’t developed any of my own recipes yet but you can check out www.inspiralized.com and get all of her amazing recipes.  All the recipes I made are from her site.  That is one girl that knows how to do so much with her spiralizer.  

I hope you got some new ideas on how to change up your meals by using vegetables in  a different way.  

Let me how you like these recipes if you have tried them out. 

If you are interested in more fat loss friendly recipes click here to get one of my latest cookbooks http://bit.ly/1gNjfBJ