Healthy Subs for Starchy Sides

It's not news:  grains are bad for you.  My family has cut wheat from our diet completely, and cut way back on other grains, such as rice, corn, and even quinoa.  The evidence in favor of this change is, well, evident... around our waists and around the time we go to the doctor and find out how much our blood sugar, serum cholesterol, blood pressure and other metrics of health have improved.

One of my personal challenges, however, has to do with my once-ingrained (ha ha) belief about what constitutes "a healthy, balanced meal."  For me this was a protein, a starch and a vegetable.  And as for the starches, I habitually served my family tasty, convenient, just-add-water side dishes that were a snap to prepare and had a seemingly endless shelf life.  You know what I'm talking about -- that San Francisco-style treat, that rice from everybody's favorite old uncle, that zesty taste of New Orleans in a box... Trouble is, such processed, grain-based, chemical-laden foods were bad for us.  But coming up with something better to serve as THE STARCH in my meals?  That has been a challenge.

First I had to throw out the whole idea that protein-starch-veggie is the ideal makeup of a meal.  The formula has changed in favor of a moderate amount of good-quality protein, lots of vegetables and some healthy fat.  It's good, for instance, to skip the starch and serve some steamed fresh veggies and a green salad -- provided you don't ruin your nice salad with a deluge of fattening, unhealthy dressing.



Instead, try making your own, starting with healthy, homemade olive oil-based mayonnaise.

Then check out my recipes for homemade 

• classic Caesar dressing 
• creamy Green Garlic dressing 
• healthy Garlic Herb Vinaigrette.

But inevitably we all find ourselves craving warm, starchy comfort foods.  Is life without creamy mashed potatoes and hot, buttery noodles even livable?

Granny says NO!

(Buuuuut... keep an open mind.)

It seems that all over the internet these days, someone is touting a recipe for something that used to be bad for you (but really, really delicious) that can now be made healthily out of cauliflower.  Cauliflower bread, cauliflower pizza crust, cauliflower tots, cauliflower tortillas, cauliflower "rice".....  And that's because these things are GOOD!  Not just fewer-calories-lower-glycemic-vitamins-and-fiber good, but TASTY!

My personal favorite is cauliflower puree in place of mashed potatoes.  Half the time my family doesn't even know they're not getting "the real thing."  The rest of the time, they marvel over how yummy this stuff is.

We also really enjoy zucchini noodles made with a spiral slicer.  (Readers tell me an inexpensive Vegetti tool works really well, too.)  There is a trick to keeping these from getting overcooked and soggy, so check out my post to learn how.


I am always looking for delicious grain-free dinner ideas.  What's your favorite?





Also look for more good ideas at these great parties:
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Zoodles

I'll bet you can guess what's been in my CSA box lately.  'Tis the season for zucchini.  Lots and lots and lots of zucchini!  Don't get me wrong; it's one of my favorite vegetables.  I love...

• slicing it horizontally into thin strips and marinating it in a little olive oil, garlic and lemon juice, and then grilling it ever so lightly.  Delicious!
• grilling skewers of round zucchinii chunks, cherry tomatoes and onion wedges.
• zucchini breads and muffins...

But what I really love is making zoodles,  Zucchini noodles.  Healthy, low-calorie, gluten-free... and really, really fun to make if you have one of these...

This is my spiral slicer.  There are many like it, but this one is mine.  My sprial slicer is my best friend.  It is my... oops.  Got carried away there for a second!

My slicer is a Paderno World Cuisine Tri-Blade Plastic Spiral Vegetable Slicer that I bought off of Amazon for about 35 bucks, as a matter of fact.  And I like it.  

You most definitely can make zoodles without one.  (But what fun is that, I ask you?)

I'm not going to belabor this.  You pop a zucchini into the slicer, turn the crank, and watch the magic happen.  Children love to help with this, and what better way to get them interested in eating a vegetable?  (Just keep little fingers at the handle end and away from the blades.)

In no time at all, you've got a huge pile of perfectly-sliced -- and may I just point out, really pretty -- zoodles.


So, how do you cook these things?  Well, actually you don't.  I've tried lightly boiling them like noodles, and they just go all limp and soggy.  I recommend "warming them" in a pan with a bit of salt and a little butter.  Maybe some sauteed garlic.  Some fresh basil is really good.  A sprinkle of Parmesan cheese or whatever.

And voila!  This just might be the healthiest, tastiest and prettiest veggie side dish ever.  No, really.  You have to try this.  Granny says eat your zucchini.







This post can also be seen at some great parties.  Check them out:
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The Gathering Spot
Twirl and Take a Bow
Wow Me Wednesday
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Showcase Your Talent
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Fabulous Friday
No Rules Weekend Blog Party
Freedom Fridays

Creamy, Delicious, Decadent... Cauliflower?

Wouldn’t it be great if there was some kind of food that was healthy AND low-carb AND gluten-free AND low in calories?  And wouldn’t it be fantastic if that food also tasted creamy, decadent and delicious?  And wouldn’t it be awesome if that food was also inexpensive and super easy to make?  If such a food existed, I would make it two or three times a week.

Well, there is, and I do.  It’s cauliflower puree, and if you‘ve never had it, try it tonight.  Tonight!  You will be gobsmacked to discover how, with almost no effort, this humble, much-maligned vegetable can be transformed into something creamy, comforting and truly delicious.

Hail Caesar! Salad, that is.

I’ve had Caesar salad at fine restaurants, prepared table-side with all kinds of flash and flourish.  It was good, but what a bother.  I’ve had so-called Caesar salad off of quickie lunch menus that I wish I hadn’t bothered with at all.  You might conclude from this that good Caesar salad is complicated.and difficult to prepare.  Not so. 

To make a really great Caesar salad at home, you need just four simple ingredients: