Cauliflower

Cauliflower seems to be one of the more underrated vegetables out there. It's readily available at most US supermarkets, is relatively inexpensive and versatile. Yet it doesn't seem to get used as often as broccoli, though. A Google search for broccoli recipe turns up more than double the amount that cauliflower recipe returns. Broccoli is slightly more nutritious, but only with a bit more Vitamin A & C. Both are really high in fiber and low in calories.

The reason I compare broccoli to cauliflower is because they are closely related. They are both part of the brassica oleracea species of plants. This species also includes kale, cabbage, savoy and brussel sprouts. These were some of my most-hated vegetables as a kid, but my most loved as an adult. I am looking forward to finding even more recipes to make these vegetables in new and creative ways.

I had pinned, on Pinterest, a cauliflower 'rice' pilaf recipe a few weeks ago and had been meaning to try it. I finally made it tonight. Grating a head of cauliflower on a cheese grater is messy, but it was a super-tasty side dish. A big advantage was that an entire pan of it is fewer than 100 calories. I think I will give it another try when I'm less tired and rushed.

Fish

I like fish in forms that most people would turn their noses up at. I like anchovies, sardines and pickled herring. I grew up eating most of these items and still enjoy them as an adult. I didn't have anchovies until I was an adult, but love them. I know that most people hate them, though, so I only eat them when I'm home alone. That means I don't get to enjoy them as often as I would like, which only increases my enjoyment on the occasions when I do eat them. They're like rare treats. Most of them are also healthful foods.

Sardines area also relatively healthy and totally natural. Other than cooking and cleaning the fish, a can of sardines is a whole food. One $1.50 can of sardines provides 19 grams of protein and 25% of the RDA of calcium. It is a bit high on cholesterol, though. I don't eat many animal-derived foods, so I don't worry about the occasional can of sardines causing too much damage. Tuna has a touch more protein, with less fat & cholesterol, but also less calcium. I do eat tuna as a diet staple, so sardines are a nice change of pace.

I love pickled herring. Only in wine, not in sour cream. Maybe it's because I love almost anything pickled. Give me pickles, pickled okra, pickled eggs and pickled spicy garden mix and I'm a happy eater. I won't eat pickled pork hocks, though. Did when I was a little kid, before I realized a hock is a pig ankle. Yuck. Pickled herring is a bit more processed than sardines, so there is sodium and sugar added, which makes it taste good, but adds calories. It's also pickled, so I can only eat a small amount at a time. A normal serving size is about 100 calories. Online searches will show more calories, but they suggest a portion of one whole cup. That's a bit much for me.

I also love anchovies. Could eat them on pizza and salad every time. An entire 2 ounce can of anchovies is under 100 calories. I can't imagine eating an entire can, unless it was on top of a HUGE pizza. That same can has 13 grams of protein, omega 3 fats and a TON of sodium. The sodium is one of the reasons I love anchovies, but also a good reason to eat them sparingly.

I know many of you stopped reading well before this because you find all of these forms of fish to be disgusting. I hope that I may have changed your mind and convinced you that they can be a great way to get protein into your diet. If not, I'll keep eating them on my own when no one is around.

Dinner Improvement

I love fried green tomatoes, but don't like the heavy oil and aioli that usually go along with them. I found some green tomatoes at the grocery store yesterday and then found a recipe that would work for me. They turned out beautifully. The coating was browned and crispy, but no oil was used at all. The only change made was replacing the bread crumbs with matzo crumbs. (That was what was available in my pantry.)

I also looked for a good recipe for tuna patties. I have loved the idea of tuna (or salmon) patties for years, but can never get them to stay together. Mine always end up being scrambled tuna, which is not very appealing. I found this recipe online and have made it twice with great success. My choice for bonding ingredient has been a 50/50 mix of corn meal and whole wheat flour. The key is to not cook them longer than 5-6 minutes, or you get hockey pucks. I love that they stay as patties, though.

For the aioli, I just used some low-fat mayonnaise. The kind with olive oil, not the chemically lowered fat versions. There was some salt, pepper, lemon juice and garlic juice. Nothing was measured, just to taste. That and some hot sauce made for a healthful and tasty meal.

Cooking

Cooking at home is one of the best ways to take control of your diet. Not only do you get to control all the ingredients that you consume, but you're fully aware of what you're eating. It's really easy to be removed from your food and ignorant of the ingredients when you're dining out. That does not mean that all home-cooked food is good for you. In fact, some cookbooks are downright dangerous. Luckily, there are people who analyze the recipes and let you know which cookbooks to avoid and which to seek out. Here are there list of the five worst for 2011.
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Cookbook	Nutritional Shocker
Jamie Oliver’s Meals in Minutes	One serving of the Meatball Sandwich contains more fat than a Big Mac and more than double the calories, cholesterol, sodium, and saturated fat.
Guy Fieri Food	Jambalaya Sandwich contains bacon, smoked sausage, and Andouille sausage; such processed meats raise colon cancer risk.
Paula Deen’s Southern Cooking Bible	One serving of Hot Buffalo Wings (three wings) contains 910 calories and 85 grams of fat; meat-heavy diets raise obesity risk.
The Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook	More than 50 pages of recipes featuring grilled meat, which increases cancer risk.
The Neelys’ Celebration Cookbook	Bourbon Bread Pudding is saturated with butter, half-and-half, and whole milk; high-fat diets increase heart-disease risk.

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I am not surprised to see

the Neelys,



























Paula Deen and Guy Fieri on the list, but Jamie Oliver's name really surprised me. It just goes to show that you really need to check out the nutritional information on recipes before making them at home. Many cookbooks contain that information on the recipe page. If not, you can go online and calculate for yourself.

Mashed Potato Makeover

I made myself some roasted garlic mashed turnips for dinner tonight. I used turnips instead of potatoes for the increased fiber and reduced calories. I replaced the butter and cream with tofu to cut fat and increase protein and calcium. As an added bonus, it increased the amount of vitamin C, folate, iron and all the other nutrients that aren't part of the regular food label. The flavor is different; it's sweeter and deeper. It's not an identical switch as far as flavor is concerned, but it's a great way to get that comfort food fix without eating a totally horrible meal.

Keep this in mind the next time you're thinking of making mashed potatoes. I recommend that you use a food processor to puree the tofu before adding it to the potatoes. That will make it creamier and will combine better.

If you have any recipes you'd like me to tinker with, please let me know. I'm always up for a food challenge.

Healthful food

So Full Bars were on sale at Target recently, so I bought a box. I like the convenience of breakfast/snack bars, but find that many of them don't have enough protein or fiber to fill me up enough to make the calories worth it. I do think that one bar will fill me up for hours, but only because they were so dry, that I had to drink about two glasses of water with it to wash it down. I'm not sure if the food or the water will keep me full until lunch. Not a product I would recommend to others.

I have also been eating more healthful foods at other meals, too. I have rediscovered the rutabaga. I enjoyed them as a kid, but have found that they make a great replacement for potato. It has just a little less fiber & protein than a potato, but about half the calories. That means you can eat twice as much rutabaga as potato and feel fuller without fear of gaining weight.

Last night, I made rutabaga oven fries. With the nutty sweetness that the rutabaga has, they reminded me a bit of sweet potato fries, if they were steak cut. I found a simple recipe online. I tossed them with olive oil before baking and cooked them a bit longer than they suggested. I do think that I will be trying them again in the future.

I don't mean to malign the common potato, but the average American consumes about 129 pounds per year of them. I think it would benefit many of us to replace a few of those pounds with another vegetable that has fewer calories. It would also widen up the flavors experienced during eating, without any negatives.