Cauliflower Crust Pizza

The Lucky Penny  has created a gem of a recipe. 

Grain-free cauliflower crust pizza.

This may truly be one of my favorite recipes, EVER.

And undoubtedly one of my favorite pizza recipes ever.

We followed her recipe nearly 100 percent, with the exception of not using onions in the sauce or adding the almond meal to the crust. 

We did add the crushed red pepper to the crust.

Because of extreme popularity of her recipe,
she requests that this recipe not be copied in full onto other sites.

 Therefore, I am sharing her page and this recipe with you HERE.

INGREDIENTS

1 small to medium sized head of cauliflower - should yield 2 to 3 cups once processed
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil (crush it even more between your fingers)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (crust it even more between you fingers)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
optional a few shakes of crushed red pepper
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
1 egg
optional 1 tablespoon almond meal

Here is our cauliflower crust pizza cooking experience via photos.

My husband set to work on the cauliflower crust.

I started on the sauce.

Then I began on prepping the veggies.

By this time, he placed the crusts in the over for 10 minutes, and 

then started on prepping the chicken. 

We did use the bloggers linked pizza sauce recipe.

It's essentially organic tomato sauce mixed with
 onion, garlic, oregano, basil, sea salt and a smidge of sugar.

You could use any pizza sauce.

For toppings, we decided to forgo our favorite chicken and pineapple.

We instead added chicken, bell peppers, sundried tomatoes, and mushrooms.

By the time the pizza finished cooking and cooling, we were famished.

And EXCITED.

Everything smelled so good.

The FLAVORS of the crust and sauce were incredible!

This isn't a type of pizza you can pick up and eat. 

You must cut it with a fork and it will fall apart.

However, it's safe to say this is one of the best crusts I've ever eaten.

We will surely be using this recipe in our home for years.

Hopefully our someday kids like cauliflower.

Good thing they'll never know...certainly doesn't taste like cauliflower.

Beyond thrilled to have added another "favorite" recipe to our mix.

We love to stay in and cook on Friday, so this is a great, healthy, clean addition.

Also ... you can find the link to her pizza sauce recipe HERE.

I hope you enjoy!

Message me with questions!

GOOD LUCK!

A Gym Story

I lifted heavy yesterday at the gym. 

I'm starting a new program to increase my strength.

I'm excited because I get to squat three times a week on this program. Yipee for me, and thanks to my husband for recommending this program to me. 

I'll be doing heavy lifting three days a week and adding in 21 Day Fix workouts the other days. Lots of good fitness going on. 

I like to finish my workouts with a quick sweat session of cardio. Usually this is no more than 20 minutes. I've been trying to increase my speed, so am running between one and two miles on the treadmill as fast as I can. It's going surprisingly well for the "not fast runner" that I am.

Upon finishing, I was cooling down at a walking pace and noticed a woman to my left. I had seen her walking a few days earlier and had the same thought I did previously, "That's awesome. Good for her."

I've been going to the gym off and on for years. There are "gym types." You see your super skinny runner-type people, the lean bodybuilder type, the bulking hulk-type, the ripped-out-of-their-mind women, the big upper body/small lower body middle aged newly retired men, the skinny non-muscular type, the athletic type, the curvy type, the basketball player type, the wrestler type, the super strong middle-aged man with a belly, the elderly man or woman who are there every day, the pregnant woman, new moms, overweight individuals, the freshman 15-ers ... and the list goes on. Yes...I am classifying, but only to make a point.

My point being, you hardly ever see obese individuals at the gym.

The woman walking to my left was obese. I thought to myself..."I should go talk to her." And then I thought, "No...maybe she doesn't want to be bothered." But then I thought, "I'd love to say hi and offer her encouragement." Then I thought, "Maybe she doesn't need or want any and will take offense to your offering."

I left my treadmill, grabbed a cleansing wipe, and returned to my treadmill to de-germ it. I looked at her again.

I decided.

I walked over to the left of her treadmill, looked up and said, "Hi."

She looked down and shyly smiled back, "Hi."

I said to her, "I've seen you in here a few times."

She replied, "Yes, I'm here every day."

I said, "That's awesome. What are your goals?"

She smiled, cocked her head and said, "Well...to keep losing weight. I've lost 127 pounds so far." (she beamed...obviously proud)

Amazed, happy, and excited, I said, "Wow...that's amazing! Good work! How did you accomplish that...by walking? Do you come here alone or with someone?" (I was curious about her support system)

She said, "I come here by myself every day to walk. And I only eat healthy proteins and vegetables."

Truly floored, I exclaimed, "That's great! Wow. I am so impressed! So, what are your goals now?!"

She responded, "Well...to lose another 125 pounds and to get healthy."

My heart was just overjoyed!  This woman, is a champion. She was confident, and SO proud! She is losing weight the healthy way, by exercising and eating healthy. She is consistent. She has goals. She has experienced the results of hard work and dedication. And she isn't giving up. Yes...she may be starting "small" by walking every day, but I guarantee you, this women won't be walking forever.

I went on to talk to her about adding strength training to her routine (which she already does "some" on the weekends when she "has more time." I introduced myself at the end, found out her name and said, "I'll see you around, then!"

Joining a gym can be daunting, especially if you don't know anyone else or understand how to use the equipment.

My goal was to give her a friendly, recognizable face to see at the gym, and I think I succeeded! Can't wait to see her continue to shine!

Grilled Squash & Pineapple

My next recipes are all paleo recipes adapted from 

Diane Sanfilippo's Practical Paleo cookbook.

Here is the first in a three-part series.

Grilled squash & pineapple. 

If this doesn't get you ready for summer, I don't know what will.

Ingredients:

1 whole butternut squash

1/2 of a pineapple, skinned and sliced into 1 inch pieces

1/4 cup melted butter, ghee, or coconut oil

1-2 T Smoky Spice Blend 

Sea salt to taste

1/4 cup shredded coconut for garnish

Smoky Spice Blend (yields 5 T):

1 T chipotle powder (I didn't have this)

1 T smoked paprika

1 T onion powder

1/2 T cinnamon (I used 1T)

1 T sea salt

1/2 T black pepper

(i also added ginger...no idea why, but it tasted good)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

I bought a cored pineapple, so just sliced it into thick pieces. I then cut my squash in half and placed both on a baking sheet in the oven for 30 minutes.

This softened the squash enough for me to remove its skin, gut it,
and cut it into one-inch pieces. 

I then placed both the pineapple (I flipped it) and the squash bake in the oven for 30 minutes to continue roasting (or until tender). 

Once the roasting was complete,  I melted coconut oil and drizzled it on my carbs. 

I then lightly sprinkled the seasoning mix over it. 

We have a griddle in the house which worked perfectly for this occasion
 (thank you wedding shower gift from my mother-in-law). 

I grilled each side for about five minutes, or until the grill marks appeared. 

It looked and smelled delicious!

I did happen to have shredded coconut in the house so I tossed
a little on the top for garnish purposes. 

This meal was hubby approved. 

Can't beat grilled pineapple in the winter.

Strength.

Strength is so often realized under the most difficult circumstances. 

"Out of the suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars." 

~Kahlil Gibran

Exodus 15:2 The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

THESE PARENTS KNEW THEIR BABY WAS GOING TO DIE. HOW THEY SPENT HIS FINAL DAYS ARE UNFORGETTABLE.

Paleo vs. Clean Eating

This is a great visual I found from eMeals. I love it because I eat "both" ways. I am in the category of living a healthy lifestyle and I don't prefer clean eating over paleo, or vice versa. I tend to make many paleo meals because they are easy and tasty. But I also would never given up grains entirely. I rarely eat dairy, so that falls more to the paleo side of things. 

Paleo is pretty basic: meat, veggies, fruits, and good fats.

Clean eating is anything whole and natural and includes whole grains, beans, and dairy.

Neither allows processed foods or unrefined foods. Think periphery of the grocery store. Both eliminate added sugar or alcohol. Both include limited healthy fats, veggies, fruits, and lean meats.  

If you are looking to start eating and living a healthier lifestyle, it is "easier" to transition by eating clean first and then seeing if Paleo is a lifestyle choice that interests you.

For a more in-depth look at "clean eating" - check out this awesome blog post.

Healthy Granola Bites

Granola Bites

Ingredients

1 c. oats

3/4 c. unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2 c. raw almond butter

3 tbsp. flax seed meal

1 tbsp. chia seeds

1/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 c. raisins

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 c. light agave nectar

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well mixed.

Scoop tablespoons into your hands and shape into balls.

Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

Photo and recipe c/o Honey We're Healthy.

Stuffed Peppers

This was one of the easiest and tastiest meals I've made. The recipe was adapted from Diane Sanfilippo's Practical Paleo cookbook. 

You can use any color bell pepper. My favorites are red and orange.

We had extra lean ground beef, so I decided to use that for the stuffing, but really any type of ground meat would work (chicken, turkey, venison).

First step is to preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. 

Ingredients:

Bell peppers

Oil/grease - eg. coconut oil

Veggies: tomatoes, onions, spinach

Seasonings - Italian, pepper, sea salt, etc.

Garlic

Ground meat of your choice, 1 lb.

Basil

First step is to preheat the oven.

Then you'll want to clean and halve your peppers. 

If you are adding grape tomatoes, you can clean and halve these as well.

Place facedown in a pan and cook for 10 minutes if you wish your peppers to be a little softer ... otherwise you can just skip this step (I should have...mine where too soft).  When they are softened, turn over in pan so peppers face up.

 If you like onions or other veggies, you can saute those on the stove top and mix in any of your favorite seasonings. I like to heat the pan first, then add a little coconut oil, and then add the veggies.

Next you can add your meat of choice. I used ground beef. Here you can add your chopped basil or wait until later to add it. 

When this was done, I just scooped the meat mix and filled the pepper boats. I then added a little basil to the top of each one and dropped in some tomatoes. 

Cook in oven for 15-20 minutes.
This will blend the pepper and meat flavor together. 

Remove from oven and there you go! Stuffed peppers!

You may eat right away, store in the refrigerator, or freeze for later!