I'm back on the whole "losing weight" thing again. I refuse to call it a diet because a diet sounds temporary. This is a permanent change. I'm not following any particular plan but I'm going to a low-fat, low-simple-carbohydrates food regime. Previously, I used to allow myself larger quantities of carbohydrate but only if it were complex - wholemeal flour, wholemeal pasta etc. Now, I'm not limiting it, just applying portion control on everything I eat. I've mentioned some of the things I've been cooking to friends and they expressed interest in having the recipes.
These three recipes rely on cauliflower. It sounds strange, but trust me, the cauliflower is essential for moistness and to reduce the total carbohydrate significantly.
To prepare the cauliflower for these recipes, cut the stem out of the cauliflower and cut into florets. Place a quarter at a time into a food processor and blitz with the blade until about the consistency of short-grain rice. Put into an airtight container and freeze. When you need to use it, take it out of the freezer and place back in the food processor with the blade and blitz until crumbly again.
Pizza muffins
Ingredients:
80g finely chopped onion
80g finely chopped peppers
80g wholemeal self-raising flour
10g baking powder
80g cauliflower rice as prepared above
10g chopped fresh oregano or 5g dried
5g sugar (I use Truvia to reduce the calories further)
40ml skimmed milk
40g crumbled low-fat feta
30g tomato paste
1 large egg, beaten
30g chopped black olives
2.5g garlic granules
Olive oil in a pump spray
Method:
Spray a non-stick frying pan with a little oil and fry off the onions until tender. Add the peppers. When cooked transfer to a small bowl to cool.
Heat the oven to 200°C and spray a muffin pan with oil.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, cauliflower rice, baking powder, oregano, sugar and garlic granules together.
Stir milk, feta, egg, tomato paste and olives into the onion mixture.
Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients and combined until just mixed.
Split the mixture between the 12 muffin cups and bake until golden for about 15-18 minutes. Leave in the pan to cool for 5 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack.
60 calories for muffin. These make very shallow muffins. You can push the boat out and double the recipe for more of a meal rather than a snack. Or, use the standard quantity and use a 24-piece muffin pan for a party muffin.
Banana bread
The banana and sugar (sweetener) mask all taste of the cauliflower. But, with the addition of cauliflower the cooking time is extended and varies from oven to oven and depends heavily on the shape of the tin.
Ingredients:
120g lightest spreadable butter (my preference is Lurpak).
65g Truvia or other stevia-based sweetener.
120g wholemeal self-raising flour.
120g cauliflower rice as prepared above.
10g baking soda.
2 eggs.
Between 2-4 bananas (depends on the size and ripeness of the bananas, better to have a little more than you think).
Method:
Put the butter and sweetener into the mixer and mix using the plastic blade. Lift the lid and scrape the sides until the butter and sweetener are creamed.
Peel the bananas and rip into chunks and add to the mix while blending.
Stop the mixer and add the flour half at a time until everything is thoroughly mixed.
Pour the batter into a non-stick 2lb loaf tin and place in a pre-heated oven at 180°c (170°c for fan) for 40 minutes. Reduce temperature to 150°c (140°c) and cook for a further 40 minutes.
124 calories per slice.
Pizza base:
All the cauliflower does in this is reduce the carbohydrate by about half and makes a wholemeal pizza base a little lighter.
Ingredients:
250g wholemeal self-raising flour.
375g cups of cauliflower rice
80ml cup skimmed milk
65ml sunflower oil
Pump spray filled with oil
Method:
Pre-heat oven to 190° c.
Put all ingredients into a bowl and mix until mixture leaves the side of the bowl. Gather the dough into a ball and knead 10 times to make smooth. Divide the ball into two.
On a lightly-floured board roll each half into a 30cm circle.
Turn up the edges 1cm and pinch.
Spray surface with oil.
Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
Cover with chosen toppings and bake for a further 10-12 minutes.
Makes 2 pizzas. Half a pizza per serving is 367 calories. Load the toppings with lots of vegetables, lean meat and a very sharp cheese.
Posted with Blogsy on my iPad
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