Tag: Cauliflower

Cheesy Cauliflower Curry, a recipe

Today I’m sharing a favourite recipe – Cheesy Cauliflower Curry.

This last week has been so busy with work and other commitments, I’m glad I got back into meal planning. It was really helpful having meal ideas bookmarked, knowing that all the ingredients were in the fridge and pantry.

The original recipe for this dish comes from a book called ‘The Inspired Vegetarian’, that I received from a very dear friend.

We are still endeavouring to eat more of a plant-based diet. So with that in mind, this is an easy recipe to create and is a repeat winner according to Scott. Though not good for anyone on a ‘dairy free’ diet, it is a very tasty dish and quite filling.

As per his suggestion, I am sharing it with you today.

Cheesy Cauliflower Curry

Serves 4

Ingredients,

1 medium sized Cauliflower, cut into small florets.

1 medium onion, diced

2 eggs, hard-boiled and chopped

3 tbsp plain, gluten free flour

2 tbsp margarine or butter

1 tsp curry powder (I used 2)

2 cups milk

100 g grated cheese

½ tsp thyme (I used fresh thyme)

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

2 tbsp of toasted pepitas (or if you prefer – a handful of ‘soup croutons’ )

Method

*Sauté the onion and put aside into an ovenproof dish.

*Steam the cauliflower till just tender. Drain and add to ovenproof dish, mixing with the onion.

*Scatter over chopped egg.

*Put flour, curry powder, butter into a saucepan and mix well.

*Slowly add milk, mixing till the sauce thickens.

*Add chopped herbs and allow to simmer for a minute or two, to allow the flavours to develop.

*Remove from Heat and stir in ¾ of the cheese.

*Pour the sauce over the cauliflower mix and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

*Scatter the pepitas (or croutons) over the top and put the dish in the oven under a hot grill until golden.

 

We ate this as a main meal, however it would also work well as a side dish.

 

I hope you enjoy this dish as much as we do.

 

Till the next post,

 

 

Live Clean n Prosper

A Great Coconut Curry recipe

Today I thought I would share a great curry recipe.

Since my last post, Scott and I have been eating primarily a plant-based diet.

This is intended to help our bodies eliminate any toxins and improve our digestive system. I am also hoping to shed a couple of ‘cruise kilos’. So far I am on track. We are both feeling better and interestingly our sleep has improved.

Recipes for Inspiration

There are many great recipes that I regularly use for meal inspiration and this is 1 of our favourites.

The original recipe is in a small booklet that I got from The Source Bulk Foods last year. I have made a couple of small additions.

This quick, easy and delicious meal has many health benefits.

  • Garlic contains antioxidants that protect against cell damage and ageing.
  • Onions have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.
  • Broccoli is high in many vitamins and minerals.
  • Cauliflower provides a significant amount of antioxidants
  • Capsicum is very high in vitamin C
  • Studies show that tomatoes and tomato products may reduce the risk of heart disease and several cancers.
  • Turmeric contains curcumin, a substance with powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

You can add or change out the vegetables to suit your tastes, or what you have in the fridge. Though it is a vegetarian curry, it can easily be changed to a meat curry by simply adding your choice of diced meat.

Coconut Curry

serves 4

Ingredients

½ onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

½ broccoli cut into small flowerets

½ cauliflower cur into small flowerets

4 small potatoes diced

½ capsicum roughly chopped

2 tbsp tamari sauce

2 heaped tbsp. curry powder

2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tin diced tomatoes

400ml coconut cream

bunch of fresh coriander roughly chopped

* Cooked rice, noodles or quinoa to serve

Method
  • In a large saucepan, cook the onion and garlic till the onion is translucent
  • add the spices and stir for a minute
  • add all the rest of the ingredients (except coriander and rice/noodles)
  • bring to the boil, then reduce and simmer until the vegetables are cooked
  • add ½ the coriander and stir through
  • serve on rice or noodles
  • sprinkle rest of coriander on top

When I first made this, I thought that the sauce would split. This is not the case.

It becomes a really creamy sauce.

 

Till the next post,

 

Live clean n prosper

Cauliflower, is it a ‘Super food’?

Todays’ post is about Cauliflower. I found out this week that cauliflower aids the body’s detoxification system. This was new information for me.

So I’ve decided to learn a bit more about this vegetable and share the results.

Cauliflower is a member of the Brassica family, better known as cruciferous vegetables. It contains fiber that helps with the feeling of satiety, weight loss and a healthy digestive tract. It is is not only low in calories but also packed with vitamins and minerals.

May be a ‘Super food’

It seems every week experts are calling a food ‘super food’.  To be given this label the food needs to be ‘nutrient rich and considered especially beneficial for health and wellbeing’.

Well, this versatile vegetable also contains antioxidants and phytonutrients that can protect against cancer, choline that is important for learning and memory, and many other important nutrients.

Raw cauliflower is rich in the antioxidant vitamin C, which is required for tissue growth and tissue repair in all parts of the body.

It is also necessary for the formation of the important protein collagen, which is used to make skin, tendons, ligaments, scar tissue, and blood vessels.

Cauliflower contains decent amounts of vitamin K, which has anti-inflammatory properties. Studies also suggest that vitamin K aids in preventing bone loss in both men and women and that it might also decrease the risk of heart disease.

Regular consumption of cauliflower assists healthy blood circulation and aids in maintaining blood vessels, which is attributed to the presence of sulforaphane.

Aids in ‘detoxification’.

Cauliflower also contains a phytonutrient that together with sulforaphane, helps activate and regulate the function of detoxifying enzymes.

These nutrients are important for Phase I detoxification along with sulfur-containing nutrients essential for Phase II detox activities.

Other compounds found in cauliflower are very important for helping the body detox due to their function to support the liver.

These compounds stimulate what are known as ‘Phase II enzymes’, the natural antioxidant system of our body. They help trigger the liver to produce detoxifying enzymes that block free radical damage. At the same time, sulforaphane stimulates detoxification and digestion by preventing bacterial overgrowth occurring in the gut.

Sources; http://www.well-beingsecrets.com/ and http://www.mercola.com/

Minimal cooking

Cooking is harmful to the nutritional content of cauliflower. Cooking for thirty or more minutes reduces health benefits by 75%. So the lesson here is to steam your cauliflower so it’s just tender, or eat it raw.

There was so much more information available on the health benefits of cauliflower. Who would have thought that this humble and unpopular vegetable could contain so many health-promoting nutrients?

It seems that incorporating cauliflower into our daily diet would be a smart strategy to protect against many health conditions.

 

Till the next post,

 

Live Clean n Prosper