Meatless Mondays (Tuesday Edition) -- Cauliflower Crust Pizza

In our continuing effort to better our lives, Erin and I continue to practice our Meatless Mondays... This week, we were invited out to dinner on Monday night at El Potro Mexican Restaurant (Apopka's only Mexican restaurant, I believe, and quite a good one too!) and so we paused Meatless Monday for a night.

Some of you may wonder why we choose to do a meatless night each week...

Even though we are only one family, we recognize that reducing our meat consumption reduces our carbon footprint. It is estimated that the meat industry accounts for more greenhouse gas emissions than transportation... it also cuts fossil fuel consumption and water consumption... while us, alone, can't really make a dent, if more and more families implement just one meatless night (or whole day) a week, imagine what a difference it would make, worldwide!

In addition, it reduces our red meat consumption, fatty meat consumption, etc... the health benefits alone will be good for our family.

Tonight, we chose Cauliflower Crust Pizza, which I found on Eat.Drink.Smile. (photo credit goes to them, tonight) thanks to Pinterest.

I'd like to point out just how much I've come to enjoy the Pinterest website. Granted, I don't get much out of the constant pictures of fingernail paint colors, purses, or pictures of dudes in boxer briefs, I do find lots of good ideas for the kitchen.

Let me start by saying that Cauliflower Crust Pizza is a sort of work in progress, I think... Ricing cauliflower is the easy part. The cheese caused the crust to stick (A LOT), which I found irritating. In fact, in classic Joey fashion, my plate ended up a pile of two pieces of the pizza, and didn't look all that appetizing, which is what I get for getting irritable. The recipe suggested cooking the toppings first, which you certainly should. Even with broiling the pizza (Erin suggested against cooking the toppings, because of the broil) the onions and mushrooms still seemed mostly raw (we used onions, baby bella mushrooms and tomatoes).

Erin reports that she really enjoyed it, and Madison ate almost an entire piece (she really liked the crust and cheese), which is excellent. The entire pizza was about 600 calories, and a head of cauliflower makes three pizzas. We made two pizzas, and ate every bit of it. This was not my favorite meal, but it was good, and I've learned a few tips for next time. I think it would have been delicious with peperoni, but that would defeat the purpose of being meatless. Also, I will point out that I'm full from my four pieces.

If you decide, yourself, to try this pizza, please let me know. I'm curious what other people think about it. Until next time...

Meatless Mondays - Black Bean Burritos

In an effort to change the way we eat (and really, the way we think of food and meal time), Erin and I have decided to make a few changes to our kitchen, fridge and meal planning.

First, and foremost, we've decided to start adding back some color to our fridge. The greens, the reds, and everything in between has been missing for far too long (or being purchased and going to waste). We've been working on adding veggies and fruits back to the fridge.

Next, we are sitting down, and thinking out meals (still very much a work in progress for us, but Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither were our food habits!).

In working out meal plans, Erin and I have decided to try Meatless Mondays for 2012 (and hopefully beyond). Each week, we will have a healthy, interesting, exciting dish that (for some crazy reason) doesn't include meat. However, the purpose is to make that meal a healthy meal, one that integrates some veggies, which we need more of.

We had cauliflower soup a couple of weeks ago, and it was fantastic. However, as with any soup, we ate a 4' loaf of bread with it, which sort of negates all the good.

Tonight, we chose Black Bean Burritos.









They were great, and they utilized something we don't eat very often -- red bell peppers. Chock full of vitamin C and E, and carotenoids and sulfur. There is also some belief (I'm not sure if it is verified or not) that capsaicin is a cancer fighter and blood sugar.

We didn't get fancy tonight. Erin just had the black bean mixture (onions, bell pepper, jalepeno, cream cheese) in the burrito, where I added some lettuce and cheese, along with some hot sauce to mine. We really enjoy them, found them to be filling, and the black bean mixture felt hearty, like a meaty burrito would have. I was full from two, and Erin from one (a bit less than we usually eat). One serving of the bean mix was about 1/2 cup, which was about 180 calories and another 180 calories for the burrito. All in all, a great meal.

Tune in next week, when I share Lentil Burgers with you (if Erin agrees with me!).

Cauliflower Soup

Ok. Here's what you need:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cloves minced garlic
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks
1 head cauliflower, broken into small florets
3 red potatoes, diced
2 cups vegetable stock
2 cups milk
basil
salt and pepper to taste

First, melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute for a couple minutes.

Next, add cauliflower, carrots, celery and potatoes, and continue to saute for about 5 minutes.

Add vegetable stock (I added a little water as well, just to make sure all my vegetables were covered, and I sprinkled with basil) and bring to a boil.Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender.

Add milk, stir to blend. Salt and pepper to taste. 

Delish!