Phase 1 - Meal Examples

Amazing Collie Flower

Amazing Collie Flower
Author: Anne
Ingredients
  • See below
Instructions
  1. See below
Serving size: 1 whole medium sized head raw Calories: 146 Fat: 1.6 Carbohydrates: 29 Protein: 11

Our Food of the Month is cauliflower, which is a little unlikely given that it has to share March with Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes, but so it goes.

Cauliflower is most fabulous because of its chameleon-like qualities, but let’s start with its nutritional profile. An entire head of cauliflower has about 210 calories, so in the unlikely event that you eat the whole thing, it won’t trash your nutrition for the day and you’ll get trace fat, about 45g of carbs (about half each of fiber and sugar), and 16g of complete protein in the deal. It delivers some vitamin C and traces of other macronutrients, and contains mostly water. Not everyone loves the flavor, but it’s mild and makes a good vehicle for dominant tastes like baba ghanouj (eggplant-based version of hummus, with garlic, tahini / sesame paste, salt, and lemon).

Like most “solid” veggies (others: broccoli, peppers, okra – the ones that aren’t leafy and floppy), cauliflower is awesome when roasted. Chop it up or buy florets, toss with olive oil and some garlic or garlic salt, and roast at 350′ for about 20 minutes to make a delicious side dish. You can notch it up a little like this with pine nuts (pricey!) if you’re feeling gourmet or if your mom is visiting.

Roasted Cauli

 

Now for the “chameleon” part of the story: cauliflower can stand in for mashed potatoes, rice, and even the flour in pizza crust, all of which come in handy if you are avoiding carbs or not having a training day. Really! In order of increasing complexity, here’s what I mean.

1. Cauli puree: steam cauliflower – chop it up, put it in a pot in or over a little water, and boil the water for about 20 minutes until the cauli gets tender (don’t let the water dry up). Carefully slide the tender cauli into the blender or food processor, and puree. You can add a little almond or coconut milk, oil, butter, garlic, chives or sliced green onions, or anything else you would normally put in mashed potatoes (did I mention garlic?). Cauli puree is great on its own, as a side dish, under grilled meats and fish as itself or with the faux-tato alias (faux-tato?? yep, it’s mine and you can’t have it), or as a topping for meat pies or stew.

Caramelized Diver Scallops, Cauliflower Puree, Capers, Almonds, Golden Raisins. Ommmmmm.

Caramelized Diver Scallops, Cauliflower Puree, Capers, Almonds, Golden Raisins. Ommmmmm.

2. Cauli rice: it’s pretty easy to turn cauli into rice if you have a food processor; it’s harder with a knife, but can be done. I use this blade:

calui blade

After chopping a head of cauli, shoving it through the food processor, and steaming it, I have this:

cauli rice raw

This riced cauli is ready for makeup. Let’s head east…it works great with Cajun food, in place of rice in jambalaya – especially under ample Tabasco sauce. The resulting dish is not as heavy as Mama’s jambalaya or gumbo. Much further east, you can sauté it with an egg and some soy sauce to make faux-ried rice. (Get it? foh-ryed? fried? Okay, I’ll stop.)

Tonight, we made slow cooker soy ginger chicken (thighs, soy sauce, ginger, carrots, and chopped onion in the slow cooker for 6 hours on low), and enjoyed it with stir-fried veggies on top of cauli rice. Bok choy – chopped and stir fried – works well with this too.

Blurry but delicious

Blurry but delicious

 

cauli rice

Saucy…after the chicken was gone.

 Of course, I hit it with Sriracha chili garlic sauce, but I put that stuff on everything these days.

 3. Cauli pizza crust: you can make wheat-free crusts with just egg, but cauli works a lot better. I’m a fan of both white pizzas and pizzas with loads of sauce. The recipe shown HERE gives you a set of instructions, and you can choose how you top it. Other DNA chefs have shared their cauli pizzas, which you can top with fresh chopped tomato (or sauce, but check for added sugar), grated parmesan and/or mozzarella (dairy splurge!), GARLIC, oregano / basil / Italian seasoning, and whatever else you like – mushrooms, sausage, pepper…BACON. If in doubt, bake at 350′ for 20 minutes. I find that baking the crust on its own first prepares it to take the toppings and crisp up a bit – less soggy.

Cauli Porn

Cauli Porn

Feel free to share your favorite cauliflower recipes here. If you’ve never tried it, you should!

Comfort Food for Cold Weather: Chili

We’ve had quite the cold snap lately, and cold weather means comfort food: soups, stews, and CHILI. The latter of these comes in all varieties, as seen at cook-offs everywhere. Maybe you prefer your grandma’s recipe. I can’t get past Cinci chili. I was stuck in Ohio for almost 2 years, and Cincinnati chili was my favorite part – the finely ground meat and touch of cinnamon and chocolate are irresistible. I also love Southwest heat, and fortunately, blending the two works!

Without further ado, here’s AJ’s “clean” Cinci-Mex Chili recipe.  You can spice this up with chili powder or finely diced peppers if desired. The recipe combines the Mexican mole flavor with Cincinnati style chili – go 5 ways if you like! (look it up if you don’t know what I mean by “5 ways”)

If you’re early in your nutrition plan, skip the spaghetti squash, and be aware that tomatoes have a lot of carbohydrate. Kidney beans are also not ideal – legumes, antinutrients….

Ingredients:

  • 16 ounces chorizo sausage (nitrite-free, preferably; Mexican, not Spanish, which is hard sausage)
  • 1 yellow onion , diced
  • 1 1/4 cup tomato sauce, or pureed/strained tomato
  • 1 1/4 cup beef broth
  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 spaghetti squash
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 15-ounce can red kidney beans, optional (LEGUME!! not ideal)
  1. Preheat oven to 400′.
  2. Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Roast halved spaghetti squash at 400′ for 30 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, preheat stock pot on medium 1-2 minutes.
  4. Add chorizo and 1/2 c onions (and optional diced hot peppers to taste); cook 2-3 mins, stirring to crumble meat, or until onions soften.
  5. Combine chili powder, cocoa powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and cumin, then add to meat. Stir and cook 1-2 minutes.
  6. Stir in tomato sauce, broth, vanilla, and cider vinegar.
  7. Cook 8-10 mins or until chili thickens.
  8. OPTIONAL – Heat kidney beans (rinsed and drained) in a small pan.
  9. Scoop spaghetti squash into individual bowls with a fork.
  10. Top with heap of chili. Top with onions, kidney beans, and/or cheese, to taste. Add hot sauce if desired.
  11. Enjoy!!

Thanksgiving Menu – What to Eat?

We at DNA do not always agree on nutrition for special occasions. While we all subscribe to the same science-based approach to nutrition, holidays present unique challenges. December is a minefield of sugary treats and beverages, and is best approached in moderation – choose your exceptions, and make them infrequent and worthwhile (skip the corn-based eggnog but drink the real homemade stuff). Thanksgiving, however, is just one big day of eating…plus leftovers!

David believes that you train and eat well all year, and that eating whatever foods that your family traditionally enjoys on Thanksgiving is a healthy and appropriate. He says that you should enjoy yourself, eat what you like, and not feel guilty!

AJ makes exceptions at times (birthday cake, wine…) but doesn’t like to feel crummy after a big meal, and really enjoys cooking whole foods. She prefers some alternatives to the traditional starch-fest, and won’t touch a white roll with a 10-foot pole.

We encourage you to post Thanksgiving recipes here or on the Phase I & IV Nutrition Group Page. Meanwhile, you can download AJ’s Thanksgiving Menu, complete with recipes and a shopping list. Pick one to try and take to a friend’s house. Alternatively, go to Mom’s and ENJOY the candied yams – it’s a special occasion!

AJ’S THANKSGIVING MENU & RECIPES  – click to download

Hey Pumpkin!

Pumpkin season is here! Pumpkin is a GREAT way to get your carbs, plenty of micronutrients, and a heap of cinnamon, which is a great replacement for sweetener and thus can help with weight loss. You can buy it in a can – make sure you’re getting PUMPKIN, and not PUMPKIN PIE FILLING. Making your own puree is easy too:

  • Get a small pumpkin – jack ‘o’ lanterns are not great for eating
  • Cut it in half, place seed-side down, and roast at 375′ for 35 minutes
  • Let it cool, scrape out the seeds, scoop the meat from the shell, and puree it in a blender or food processor – add water to make it smooth
Alternatively, don’t puree it, but scoop the meat out and slice it into cubes for use in savory recipes, such as pumpkin and chicken curry.
Pumpkin soup is delicious and easy to make:
  • 1 onion, chopped fine
  • 2 cloves garlic , chopped fine
  • 1 14-oz can coconut milk (low fat or full fat)
  • 14oz pumpkin puree
  • 1.5c broth – vegetable or chicken
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • fresh cilantro leaves and sliced green onions for garnish
Saute the onion and garlic for 5 minutes over medium-high heat, and then mix in the rest of the ingredients (except the garnish) and simmer for 10 minutes. Spoon into bowls and sprinkle the garnish on top. You can also puree this soup to make it smoother.

I like pumpkin pie just as well without a crust. You can make it as a custard with this recipe:

  • 2 cups pureed pumpkin
  • 2 cups (1 can) coconut milk
  • 1t cinnamon
  • 1/2t ginger
  • 1/4t cloves
  • 1/4t salt
  • 1/2t vanilla
  • sweetener: stevia to taste, or 1/2c of any of these: honey, applesauce, palm sugar (low glycemic). Use as little as possible, and you can combine them too.
  • 2 eggs

Mix all ingredients, and pour into a pie pan or into ramekins. Place the containers in a water bath – use a bigger pan and set the containers into it, and then fill with hot water, being careful not to slosh it into the pumpkin mix. Bake at 350′ for 40 minutes and test with a knife for doneness.

Another easy treat is Pumpkin Ice Cream – recipes here and here.

This link has a mess of great pumpkin recipes, and you can find a lot online.

Bonus: butternut squash works in most pumpkin recipes, which is smoother and delicious but also more starchy, with a different carb composition.

Coco Loco: Fabulous Coconut

Coconut is enjoying significant attention as the new hot thing in kitchens across America, for good reason. It’s not a grain and therefore does not lead to inflammation as grains do; its sugar content is relatively low, and while high in satisfying healthy saturated fat (YES! I said “healthy saturated fat”), it has less fat than tree nuts. Technically, it’s a drupe, which is a fruit, a nut. (For the record, peanuts are not nuts either – they’re legumes and they contain antinutrients.)

Coconut can be found in many forms, most of which are minimally processed. You can find most of these at Sprouts, Whole Foods, or Trader Joe’s, except for coconut flour, which you can buy online.

Coconut water has

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Substitute Teaching, Part 2: The Wonders of Cauliflower

More than meets the eye…

Who knew that cauliflower had such potential?

An entire medium-sized head of cauliflower has 11g of protein, 30g of carbohydrates (15g of sugar), and 1g of fat, for a total of 144 calories. Cauli comes in many colors and varieties; recipes here have been tested with the standard white variety that you will find at the store.

Apart from being a great raw vehicle for guac (avocado, lime, salt garlic, cilantro mashed together, all to taste) and other dips, cauli is a great stand-in for mashed potatoes and can work as a crust too. Here are a few favorites.

1. Pureed cauli: steam it (or microwave for 4 minutes in a bowl with a bit of water), and then puree in a food processor or blender. Oil is optional. Spread on a plate and put something else delicious on top. Makes a great “polenta” sub, or just call it what it is…cauli puree.

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GUILT FREE French toast with strawberries and cream


We train hard and eat healthy to be able to afford the fun stuff. Guess what? The fun stuff doesn’t have to be complete trash! This treat is one the whole family will enjoy!

How?… make bread with almond flour and coconut oil (see zucchini bread). Beat an egg with 1t cinnamon (more or less to taste) and 1/2t vanilla. Dip a slice of bread in the egg mixture and cook on a griddle or frying pan on medium for about 5 minutes, until golden brown.

For the strawberries and cream, just slice some strawberries and mix with whipped cream, which has only fat – no carbs, no sugar. It’s naturally sweet, but you can mix in a little bit of Splenda, stevia, or honey if it works with your macros and if you want a bit more sweetness.  Dollop on top of the French toast. There you go – delicious strawberry and cream !!!! 🙂

Submitted by Norma S.

Substitute Teaching, Part 1

Establishing a new eating pattern is a major lifestyle change, which works best when you discover new and delicious ways to meet your nutritional needs, rather than imitating your old diet. For example, pasta and sandwiches can be replaced with meat, vegetables, and interesting salads. However, food is very central to our cultures and behavior. Certain foods make us happy and remind us of celebrations of the past; hence the popularity of “comfort food,” just like Mom made it.

Therefore, while we recommend recreating your meals instead of substituting the old ones, we will be providing suggestions for delicious substitutes for popular foods, many of which are gluten-laden disasters. We will be starting a “Sub Board” at DNA, where you can write down foods that you want to substitute, and answers will magically show up for all to see and share. Three such examples follow, and for a fourth, see LeeAat’s mini pizzas with cauliflower crusts!

1. Spaghetti

Let’s start easy: spaghetti squash is a GREAT sub for spaghetti. It has 10g of carbs in 1 cup, about 1g of protein, and trace fat. According to Livestrong, it also has Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids.

It’s easy to cook – just cut it in half, lay the halves face down on a cookie sheet, and bake it for about 30 minutes in the oven at 400′. Let it cool a bit, flip it over, and scrape it out with a fork. LOAD with a meat and tomato sauce, or anything else that works with your macros. Nom nom!

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