Cooking for One

Bariatric Support Group

Cooking for one!
Facilitator: Chris Bovos, RN, CBN

Chris cooked today using cauliflower instead of pasta or rice.  Chris made a pizza crust from riced cauliflower which she cooked and then cooled before putting pizza sauce and cheese on top.  It probably should have been cooked a little longer than it was to make it as crispy in the middle as it was on the edges, and while you can’t pick it up and eat it with your fingers, it still tasted a lot like pizza.  To rice cauliflower, just put the flowerets in the food processor or chopper and chop until it is uniform size – about the size of a grain of rice.  It can be a great substitute for rice and adds a lot of vitamin C and other nutrients to your diet.  Like its cousin, broccoli, it is a wonderful antioxidant and powerful anticancer food, especially if used with turmeric.  It has anti-inflammatory properties as well, making it a wonderful superfood!

Cauliflower Pizza Crust:
2 lbs cauliflower florets – riced to make 6 cups
1 egg beaten
1/3 cup soft goat cheese
1 tsp dried oregano
1 clove crushed garlic
2 TBL grated parmesan
1 tsp paprika

Fill large pot with 1 inch of water, bring to boil, add “rice” and cover cooking 5 minutes.  Drain and transfer to clean towel – squeeze out all moisture. In large bowl  mix strained rice, beaten egg, goat cheese, spices and mix well (use hands). Press onto baking sheet lined with PARCHMENT (not waxed) paper.  Make crust about 1/3 in thick with edges slightly higher.  Bake for 35 – 40  minutes at 400 degrees until light brown. Add your toppings and return to the oven and bake 5 – 10 minutes until cheese is bubbly.  (let crust cool to prevent tomato sauce from soaking into the crust, or put cheese on first to prevent this)

Then Chris made stir fry replacing the rice with riced-cauliflower. Eveyone was amazed at how it tasted just like regular stir fry!

In a large fry pan over med-high heat, put some sesame oil in the pan and add chopped onion, garlic, carrots and peas.  When the onions are clear, add 2 – 3 beaten eggs and stir.  Lastly, add the riced cauliflower and soy sauce to taste.  One medium head of cauliflower makes about 4 – 6 cups of riced cauliflower.  You can also add some chicken which has been previously cooked and chopped, to make it into chicken fried rice!